By CLIFF HAN
AllerPops founder
Los Alamos

It was around 4 o’clock Sunday, and the sun was hidden behind a gray mass of clouds.

I was visiting AllerPops’ investors in Los Alamos and White Rock and started my visits in the early afternoon to reduce the discomfort on both sides. When I knocked on doors, many people were not home. When they were, I usually greeted them with a simple “Happy Holidays.” Occasionally, surprises came from behind the door. “I can write you a check for you if you come in and wait for a minute,” a gentleman who barely knew me from the last fundraise invited me into his house.

I had knocked on doors in the community on several other occasions, including election campaigns and market surveys, but this was my first-time visiting AllerPops’ local investors just before Christmas. I have always been grateful for their support and excited to hear what they have to say about the company, so this year, I decided to thank them personally.

Due to the cold, I debated ending my visits for the day. Before I could come to a decision, though, I came across a house in a peaceful neighborhood with a couple of juniper trees shading the front door. A giant Christmas tree loomed through the glass window, and two more small Christmas trees stood on one side of the front door, paired with a host of other festive decorations. I pressed the doorbell and waited. 

A lady opened the door. After getting to know each other, I presented her with a holiday greeting card and a small gift, and we chatted about AllerPops’ clinical trial and the ongoing fundraising campaign. “Wait a moment,” she said as I was leaving. She went in and brought me a bag of pistachio toffee, “I also have something special for you,” she walked across the gravel-paved front yard to her car and fetched me two hand warmers to keep me warm.

I didn’t use the hand warmer, as my heart had already been warmed by her kind actions. What a kind person! Moments like this never fail to remind me of how amazing our town is. The community here is always ready to help one another, warming each other up through their kind actions.