Random Acts Of Kindness

[Country Kids]

AnnCurry I believe is having a random acts of kindness campaign since the CT. shootings. It was a great story and loved reading what people have been doing.

Im saddened though that it took something like this for such an awesome campaign. It did a big wake up call for me personally though and something that will be done not for 26/27/28 days (depending on the number of people in the killings you wanted to included), but for one a day. I want to start a campaign within my family to do this, not for the recognition or feel good aspect but possibly just to have a small part in making our little part of the world a better place.

So heres the dilema-what to do when you work in your home 10+ hours a day,5 days a week? What would you guys do for random acts of kindness if it were you knowing how hard it is to leave the house.

Ideas please- Thank you so much beforehand on any ideas you can give-

[daycarediva]

I am participating. Today for lunch I made ham & scalloped potatoes, veggies and salad and made an entire extra meal for our elderly neighbors. I will be bringing it over at 5 with the daycare kiddos (they all helped).

Tomorrow I was thinking muffin basket for our neighbor who is an older single guy.

There is a little girl (3) down the street who often joins us for playdates at the park (Mom is a sahm) and I was thinking about putting together a few of our treats and bring her a christmas care package. (cookies, snowman poop, reindeer food, $1 scholastic book)

[SunflowerMama]

My family and I love to do little things like this. Here are a few things we have done in the evenings and on the weekends.

Bringing breakfast to the workers at the Goodwill donation center when we drop items off.

Bringing breakfast to day labors in our area on the weekend.

Our girls will bag little baggies of candies and notes and we'll take them to walmart or wherever and just pass them out...to the bankers, cashiers, customer service, etc.

Keep a little stash of baggies of goodies with little cards of encouragement in your car. Pass them out at toll booths, homeless individuals, people in parking lots, or anyone that looks like they need some cheering up.

Pay for the car behind you in a drive thru line.

Bake cookies and deliver to neighbors after hours or with the dcks.

Make cards and baked good for local assisted living homes.

Sponsor a child.

Hold collections for the local foodbank or shelter.

I'll try and think of some more.

Here is a link with 100 random acts of kindness.

http://cms.1millionacts.com.au/uploads/sitepage/files/1046/100randomactsofkindness3.pdf

[Country Kids]

Thanks for the link and the ideas you wonderful ladies have posted!

I'm off to read and get ideas-

[My3cents]

AnnCurry I believe is having a random acts of kindness campaign since the CT. shootings. It was a great story and loved reading what people have been doing.

Im saddened though that it took something like this for such an awesome campaign. It did a big wake up call for me personally though and something that will be done not for 26/27/28 days (depending on the number of people in the killings you wanted to included), but for one a day. I want to start a campaign within my family to do this, not for the recognition or feel good aspect but possibly just to have a small part in making our little part of the world a better place.

So heres the dilema-what to do when you work in your home 10+ hours a day,5 days a week? What would you guys do for random acts of kindness if it were you knowing how hard it is to leave the house.

Ideas please- Thank you so much beforehand on any ideas you can give-

We have been doing LRAOKindness for a long time now. The Movie....Pay It Forward inspired us, before that Human Kindness towards others did.

Meals for others
Yard work for the elderly
visiting sick people in the hospital
paying for the person behind us at the toll booth
buying groceries for those in need
going with out something to help someone else
taking a name off the Christmas tree at the Mall
taking a name off of the Christmas tree at the mall of someone you actually know and would buy for anyway
cleaning someones home that needed help but didn't ask
listening to others
free childcare (don't flame me on this one)
cleaning up our earth,trash
giving my time to others for various things
cleaning up the store when I am out and about shopping, facing products and putting them back where they go
letting someone else go ahead of me
hand out a ham or turkey
holding a door
dropped off flowers at a random house that could use a spruce over
flowers on a random grave
send a card for no reason
give a kid money for the gumball machines or tickets when your at an arcade or money to ride one of those kiddy rides.
giving up a seat for someone else
praying for others, even when "gasp" yes I don't want too-
offering words of encouragement to someone I don't even know when it is obvious they are down and out
dropped off a pile of needs at the animal shelter
dropped off a pile of needs at the food shelter
helped someone I don't know in a store find something
leave a good coupon on an item in the store
put some silver in the take a penny give a penny jar. I have taken a penny in need and replaced it with silver just to make my purchase come out to the right amount.
given hand me downs to someone that was needy
this is a small list of some of the things my family and I have done.

Random acts of kindness can happy at any time that you are able-

you can make cookies and send them to someone or deliver them to someone through the mail or after hours or a meal or craft you may do-

If I was wealthy rich I would randomly share that wealth with whoever I wanted to whenever I wanted too, like drop a twenty dollar bill and watch someone find it type thing- not in a stalking type way but to see someones life be made better by something so small. Pay for someones groceries, or layaway for Christmas.

Every once in a while my husband and I just randomly do a RAOKindess. I think the benefits of RAOK are far more rewarding to us, the giver then ever the receiver. Something inside you is just lit up when you do something for someone else with out expecting anything in return or even having that person know that you did it.

Back to your question of what to do...do whatever you want. Prep and prepare anything that you might like to do and then carry it out after hours.Anything that comes from the heart and betters someone Else's life you really can't go wrong. Let it come from the heart and expect Nothing back in return

When we have done something and the person has found out it was us or have done something and didn't care if they knew it was us or not. When approached we have always answered with Just Pay It Forward- and your Welcome-

Have fun with this and hope it gives you as much joy as it does us-

[lovemykidstoo]

There has been a huge Pay It Forward here where I live. There was a little boy in the next town over, his name was Jayden Lamb. He passed away from cancer. In honor of him people all over here have been doing random acts of kindness and it's so great when you here of it. The family of Jayden started it to help them get through the loss of their son. He was only 8 yrs old. They have a facebook page if anyone wants to check it out. There was even a diamond ring put into a salvation army bucket in Washington State (Jayden lived here in Michigan) and the note attached to it said Pay it forward Jayden style.

[spud912]

Those of you who have done random acts of kindness, how did the receiver react? I've found they are appreciative, but usually very confused. It's funny because the first year I delivered baked goodies to my neighbors, they were very skeptical. The next year, everyone knew the drill and did not act surprised at all.

Things I have done:
*Bake and deliver goodies for my neighbors
*Bake and deliver cookies to the local fire department
*Bake goodies and give tins to my coworkers (back when I worked)
*Deliver unused items to Goodwill
*Volunteer at a food shelter
*Give water and other items to homeless people (especially on our hot summer days)
*The normal free things (holding open doors, giving a seat to an elderly person, helping carry things for those in need, letting people go in front of you in a grocery store)
*My husband has stopped a few times and helped change tires

Things the daycare children and I did:
*Deliver baked goodies to a neighbor
*Make a card for the elderly
*Purchase gifts for children (from a Christmas tree in a local church)

Things I have done for my daycare parents:
*Bake them cookies or cupcakes
*Give the mothers flowers
*Give them breakfast in the morning

Things I want to do:
*Deliver flowers to a local hospital (not sure which area yet...still trying to figure that out)
*Bake cookies and deliver to the local McDonald's employees who work on Christmas day
*Visit with elderly at a nursing home
*Pay for a random toy on layaway
*Pay for someone's food/drinks at a fast food or coffee chain
*Pay for someone's groceries in line at a grocery store