#12: Giving Blood

Giving blood is a truly anonymous, kind act for a stranger.  There is a Red Cross Blood Donation Center just a few minutes from my house, so I went there to give blood today.  It was a very easy way to do something nice for someone else.  The phlebotomist (yes, there a technical name for the person who draws your blood) joked that I should count this event as three acts since one pint of blood saves three lives.  However, I will not go easy on myself, and this will just count as one!

My one complaint is the time... I was there for an hour and a half, and only 20 minutes of that time was spent hooked up to the needle and blood bag (don't know the technical name for that one!).  I waited about 45 minutes because today was a very busy day at the donation center.  I had no idea that people just show up to donate blood on an ordinary day.  I have always donated at blood drives that come to a school or office building.  Then there was the always fun interview questions.  My favorite was "is it ok if I register you as a female?" 

As I was finishing, the staff was excited to hear that a reporter from the newspaper was there to take photos and do a story.  I have no idea why today was a newsworthy day at the Red Cross, but I will look in the paper tomorrow and find out.  I did not stick around to see what the reporter was looking to report on. :)

#11: Ongoing Donations

Today I received a call from the Humane Society of the United States.  They called because I made a donation for the pets affected by Hurricane Sandy in November, which was my stepmother's birthday gift.  This time they were asking for an ongoing monthly donation.  Every time I get a telemarketing call asking for money, I immediately say that I'm not interested, please remove me from the list, and hang up.

This time was different.  I am now looking for ways to complete my 26 acts of kindness.  We recently adopted a puppy, Coco, from the Atlanta Humane Society.  

I support all pet rescues and adoptions.  Why not commit to a monthly donation?

I told the woman on the phone that I would commit to $10 per month.  It felt really good to know that I am helping continually instead of just once.

#10: Free Lunch

I love reading others' stories on Twitter about their 26 acts of kindness (search using "#26acts"). People are so creative! I have stolen several ideas from reading their stories, including paying for a stranger's meal at a restaurant.

Today I took the kids to eat lunch with my brother at Roaster's in Sandy Springs. I saw a man eating alone at a table near us. Toward the end of our meal, I mentioned to my brother, Adam, that I was going to pay for that guy's meal as one of my acts of kindness. Adam turned around and looked at the man, and responded "He is wearing $300 boots. He doesn't need a free lunch."

I considered Adam's reasoning, but decided to pay for the man's lunch anyway. Even if this guy has plenty of money, he may be touched by the act of kindness and inspired to pay it forward in bigger ways than what I have been doing. Take my situation. A stranger paid for my $0.50 toll, and now I am donating much more than that in my 26 Acts project. 

And maybe the guy does not have any money left because he just spent his last $300 on a pair of boots; he would really appreciate the free lunch! :)

#9: Rounding Up

This act of kindness was unplanned. It was also small in monetary value, but it still counts because it is not something I would normally do. 

This morning we were at the mall when my daughter had an accident... (She warned me but we couldn't get to the restroom quick enough.) Unfortunately we did not have extra pants in the car (yes I know, lesson learned), so I bought her some new pants at JC Penney. Luckily it was the day after Christmas, so these new pants only cost me $3. :) Apparently JC Penney has a system where the customer is asked at each transaction if they would like to "round up" and donate the change to the Salvation Army. 

Normally when I am asked to donate to charities during a check out line, I say no. I don't know why I always say no, but I do. This time was different because I am much more conscious about helping others and donating to charitable causes.  My total was $3.18, and I said yes to rounding up to make the transaction an even $4. 

Now I know that this act of kindness was minimal in dollar amounts, but I am counting it because I would not have done this if not for my 26 Acts of Kindness project. I am going to make an effort to start saying yes more often.

#8: Coats for Kids

Over the last few days, I went through my kids' outgrown clothes and pulled out their warm winter coats. I packed a big bag of coats, and today I took my kids to Must Ministries to donate them. I chose Must Ministries because they are a local organization that helps provide food, shelter, clothing, and toys to people in need. 

I had planned to bring my kids inside the building and explain where we were. However, an employee came out to our car with a grocery cart as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. I also wanted to take a photo with both kids and the coats, but my daughter was complaining of the cold, so only my son was willing to pose for the picture. Nevertheless, they both understood that we were giving coats to children who needed them, so the lesson was learned.

#7: Gift for a Stranger

Since I didn't "run into" any easy opportunities for random acts of kindness today, I decided to buy a gift card for a stranger while I was at Walmart. I put the gift card on the windshield of the car next to mine. I will never know who received it, but I'm sure it will brighten someone's day.

#6: Where It All Started

Last Monday I was inspired to pay it forward because a stranger paid my toll on GA 400 (an interstate connecting the northern suburbs and the city of Atlanta.  Today I drove on that highway again, so I decided to repeat the stranger's act of kindness as my #6.  The toll is $0.50.  I gave the cashier $5 and told her to use it to pay my toll and the next 9 cars behind me.  She was stunned, then told me "God bless you.  Merry Christmas!".  As I was driving away, I saw her shoo away the next driver's hand with money and lifted the gate for him to go on.  That was me last time.  I hope that at least a few of those nine drivers decide to pay it forward like I did.

Apparently word is spreading about the "26 Acts of Kindness", which is not surprising considering how exponential it is.  If one person touches 26 others, and those 26 are inspired to perform 26 new acts of kindness, all of a sudden there are 676 acts of kindness going on.  No wonder it is spreading fast!

When I decided to take on the 26 Acts challenge, I was unsure if I should start a blog or tell people what I was up to.  One on hand, the purpose is to do something kind for someone else without expecting anything in return.  On the other hand, if I let people know what I'm doing, I can inspire more people to follow this awesome trend.  So I decided to blog about the experience, partially to inspire readers and partially to hold myself accountable so I won't quit when it is no longer exciting.  I am trying to stay anonymous to the recipients because I don't want them to think they need to "pay me back" in any way.  I would like for them to pay it forward to someone else.

The most rewarding part of this experience is seeing that I am inspiring others.  Two of my friends, Lauren and Rachel, are also blogging and posting on Facebook about their 26 Acts experiences so far.  Another friend, Hilly, paid for 26 people's meals at Waffle House.  My dad called me this morning to tell me that he was on the way to the hospital to deliver 26 doughnuts to the ICU nurses.  

It's also fun to hear about my friends and family talk about their experiences being on the receiving end of strangers' kind acts.  My brother told me that his coffee was paid for at Starbucks this morning by someone ahead of him in line.  The cashier told him that most of the purchases so far today were made by strangers paying for others in line!

Please share in the comments section: Have you done any acts of kindness lately, or have you been on the receiving end?

Small World

I say this all the time, and I'll say it again.  It is such a small world!

The event that inspired me to do these 26 acts of kindness was when a stranger paid my toll on GA 400 earlier this week.  I had been sad all day thinking about the Connecticut tragedy, and the stranger's act of kindness made me realize how nice most people are.  Then after posting the experience on Facebook, my friend Lauren let me know about the 26 acts of kindness that people were doing.

I have loved reading about this amazing trend.  Just search for #26acts or #AnnCurry on Twitter and you will see what I am talking about.  A couple days ago a guy named Steve Miller (@smmill10) posted on Twitter to Ann Curry (the news anchor who started this trend) that he paid tolls on GA 400 for 10 people behind him.  I replied and asked him if he did this on Monday afternoon around 3:45 pm when I was there, and he said yes.  I highly doubt there was more than one person paid for others tolls at this exact time, so I'm pretty sure he's the guy.  If any of you are on Twitter, please give a shout out to Steve for his thoughtfulness and inspiration.

So Steve, if you are reading this, THANK YOU.  I am doing my best to pay it forward and inspire others to do the same.

#5 - Letter to a Soldier

In the last few days we sold a couple books through half.com.  I noticed that one of the buyers was a soldier stationed in Afghanistan.  When I was preparing to ship the book today, I realized that I could use this as another act of kindness.  I decided to write a thank you note to the soldier for his/her service to send with the book.  

Then I had a better idea.  I would use this as a teaching opportunity and let my son write the letter.

Then my husband had an even better idea.  Let's give him his/her money back.

So instead of shipping just the book that was ordered, this is what is going to Afghanistan.  This soldier is in for a nice surprise!

#4: Thank You Notes

I stole the idea for Act #4 from my friend, Jenny.  She posted on Facebook that she wrote thank you notes to the first responders of the Sandy Hook shootings - the Newtown Police Officers and the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Department.  

What a great idea.  These men and women risked their lives to save the children and teachers in that school.  Sadly they were too late to save 26 victims.  However, they had to face the carnage, and I'm sure those memories will haunt them forever.  In addition, they had to inform the victims' families of the news.  I cannot imagine what the first responders have gone through.  These people don't get paid much (and the volunteers get paid nothing), yet they have one of the hardest jobs out there.  We need to thank them more often.

#3 - This is too easy

Seriously, what has taken me so long?  I never considered myself to be an unthoughtful person, but after just a few acts of kindness, I can't believe what I didn't do.  Some of these acts are so easy and effortless.

This morning I was driving home from dropping my daughter off at preschool, and I noticed that my neighbor's newspaper was in her front yard.  It was raining.  I parked my car in the garage, grabbed my umbrella, and moved the newspaper to her front door step where it would stay dry.  My other neighbors are out of the country for a couple weeks, so I took their paper home with me.  I don't think either of these actions would have crossed my mind a week ago.  I hope that after these 26 acts are completed, I will continue to be thoughtful without trying to check a task off  my list.

To all my friends who have "liked" or commented on my efforts, thank you so much for your support.  It feels great to have cheerleaders. :)

Take 2!

I shopped at Sears during my lunch break today, and when I was checking out, a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase printed with my receipt.  Well, anyone who knows me knows that I love coupons.  I also love helping my friends get great deals, too.  As soon as I noticed the coupon, I knew immediately what my next Act of Kindness should be…

I walked to a nearby register where a woman was in line holding several items of clothing.  I told her that I had a coupon she may be able to use, and asked her if she had at least $50 worth of clothes.  “Absolutely!” she said.  I handed her the coupon, watched her and her friend grin while reading it, and walked off.  That was really too easy, so I hope it still counts. :) 

(This was the other coupon I got.  I didn't remember to take a photo of the coupon I gave away.)

Lessons learned about being kind to others: 

It doesn’t need to cost you any money. 

It doesn’t always take effort and time.

Since I still have 24 acts to go, please help me think of new ideas.  Share your ideas in the comments section.  Or better yet, tell me what kind acts you have done recently!

Mission 1 Complete

I tried to think of various ways to perform my first act of kindness while I was working at home today.  I was really hoping to find myself in a situation to give something small to someone I happened to run into, just like the tollbooth event yesterday.  But when you're home alone all day, you don't run into too many people.  I wrote down a few ideas that will probably come to fruition soon.

After work I took my kids to SnipIts so my son could get a haircut.  There is one stylist there that I am not particularly fond of (let's just say I didn't have a great experience with her, but I've been happy with all of the others), so I usually ask for anyone but her.  While I have never been rude to her, she is very aware that I always ask for someone else.  

Anyway, I had read some inspiring articles today about the 26 acts, and someone suggested performing an act of kindness to a person whom you do NOT like.  That seemed odd to me.  Why would I want to go out of my way to do something for someone I don't like?  However, this is a new experiment for me, so I am trying to keep an open mind.

Back to SnipIts.  I figured that since this was my first trip out of the house today, I better find a way to perform act #1.  That article stuck with me, so I decided I would tip both my son's stylist AND the stylist that I always avoid using.  When it was time to pay, I asked the cashier to give an extra $5 tip to the other woman.  I was trying to be subtle, because my goal is to be as anonymous as possible.  However, tipping both women caused quite some confusion. 

 First, the cashier thought I had two kids getting haircuts and she must have forgotten to charge me for one of them.  
 "No," I explained, "just one haircut." 
 "So you want to give HER a tip?  But she didn't cut your kid's hair?"  
 "I know", I whispered.  "Just give her the money."
 The cashier complied and leaned over to hand the woman a $5 bill.
"Where did this come from?" the stylist asked.
"This woman over there".  
I smiled.
Confused looks from the other two.
"I'm just being nice today."

Finally the stylist understood.  She was shocked and excited.  She kept repeating "thank you, thank you, thank you, that is so nice, thank you, thank you...."  I knew that she would appreciate an extra $5, but I was not expecting how excited she would be.  It was quite a scene, and I was proud of myself for pulling off a successful Act #1.  

Now I can't wait to plan #2!

If anyone else is working on their own 26 Acts of Kindness, please share in the comments. 

Getting Started

So many of us have been heartbroken about the Connecticut school tragedy.  We want to help.  We want to make a difference.  But what can one person do?  I don't know how to change the gun control laws.  I don't know how to improve school security or mental health treatment programs. 

This tragic event has impacted me more than any other because it could have been my child.  I have a kindergartener at a "safe" school, but this shooter could have walked into our neighborhood school in Marietta, Georgia.  I cry for all the parents who have lost their precious children, and I cry for the teachers who died protecting them.

Yesterday I was feeling gloomy because of the recent events.  I was driving home from Phipps Mall on GA-400.  I pulled out my money to pay the toll, and the toll booth worked said "Go on.  The car in front of you paid already."  It took me a couple seconds to understand that the car paid for ME.  I had been so wrapped up in the unfairness of the world that I was taken aback by a stranger's kindness.  I quickly remembered that most of us are good, kind, caring people.  But good people don't make headlines!  

I was so moved by the random act of kindness that I posted about it on my Facebook page.  I mentioned that I couldn't wait to pay it forward.  One of my friends responded that some people were doing 26 Acts of Kindness in honor of the 26 victims of the Connecticut shootings.  

So that is my newest challenge.  26 Acts of Kindness.  I have read that some people are attaching notes like "Kindness Act #2 of 26 in honor of Connecticut victims".  I am choosing to perform my act of kindness without providing an explanation (like the person who paid my toll), but I will explain if anyone asks me.  

The best result I can hope for is to inspire others to continue the trend.  Please comment in this blog and share your stories.