#21: Free Coffee

As you have probably figured out from previous posts, I love coupons and I love helping others save money.  Recently I received some Racetrac coupons in the newspaper for free coffee (no purchase necessary!).  Since I don't drink coffee, I thought it would be fun to give these coupons to someone who would appreciate it.

I pass Racetrac on the way to and from work, so one afternoon I stopped there to surprise two people with the coupons.  I saw a man who appeared to be a construction worker holding a fresh cup of coffee and walking to the cashier to pay.  I handed him one of the coupons and told him it was for free coffee.  Either he was surprised or did not understand English, because he just looked at the coupon and smiled.  Then I saw another guy wearing the same construction uniform and gave him the same coupon.  He also smiled and took it.  I am sure that these two guys could use some free coffee, and it made me feel good to help them out.

#20: Don't Forget Your Wallet!

Today I went to lunch at the Food Court in the mall.  I had just paid for my meal, and the guy behind me started searching in his jacket for his wallet.  He had his plate made at the counter and was ready to take his food, but he did not have his wallet.  He told the cashier "I must have left my wallet in my car.  I'll leave my food right here and come right back." 

I knew what I needed to do.  I said to the cashier, "I'll pay for his lunch."  The guy was stunned.  He was speechless for a second, and then said "no, no, you don't have to do that".  I could tell he felt awkward accepting my money, so I told him that this was an act of kindness and he was helping me get to my goal of 26.  After that, he accepted my offer.  :)

He was so appreciative and told me twice that he would pay it forward.  I have no doubt that he will!

#19: Paying Attention

My good friend and coworker, Sharron, noticed one morning at work that I was wearing a new bracelet. She mentioned that she liked it and it was something that she would buy for herself. I had just bought the bracelet at Forever 21 (don't laugh, that is my new favorite place to buy jewelry!). 

I went to the mall on my lunch break that day and bought the same bracelet for her. I was so excited to surprise her with it that afternoon, but she left after lunch to work from home. I stored the bracelet in my desk drawer waiting for the next time to see her in the office. We kept missing each other due to vacations and conflicting work-from-home days, but finally we were in the office on the same day. She was so excited when I surprised her with the bracelet. I think I had more fun giving it to her than she had receiving it!

#18: Saying Thank You with a Gift

Earlier this week, we kept Buddy, my mom's dog, at our house while she was working.  She likes for him to be here and have company on days when she has something to do after work, so he won't be alone all day and all night.

Buddy is a super sweet dog.  Unfortunately he's also a very untrained dog.  Don't even think about taking him outside without a leash, because he will take off running and will not come when you ask.

So back to Monday night.  I was outside talking to a neighbor, and I instructed my kids to stay inside.  My son decided to ignore me, and the next thing I know, the kids and Buddy are running wild in the front yard.  Buddy took off across the street.  My husband chased after him with some food as bait, and I took the kids inside.  I didn't want to lose anyone else!  He was not having any success capturing Buddy, so I put the kids in the car and we went out to help him look. 

I drove out of the subdivision onto a VERY busy road, and there was Buddy sniffing the sign of the adjacent subdivision.  I pulled over to get out and get him, and he flew across the busy street.  I was so scared and envisioned him getting hit by a car.  My mom would never forgive me if something happened to Buddy while he was in my care.  He crossed that busy road about three times, and I looked like a crazy lady stopping traffic during rush hour to save him from an oncoming car.  Meanwhile my kids were waiting in my car, which was pulled over.  Not a good situation for any of us.

A neighbor across the street from that subdivision sign saw me running around chasing Buddy, and she started chasing him with me.  I started yelling "throw him some food!" because that was really the only way to catch him.  This elderly woman and her grown daughter helped me for about 15 minutes literally running in circles in their front yard.  By this time my husband had found us and ultimately the four of us were able to get Buddy.

I credit these kind strangers for saving Buddy's life.  We did not know each other before this incident, but I will always be grateful.  Of course we said thank you when Buddy was caught, but I wanted to do something more.  I went home, wrote a thank you note, included a $5 Starbucks gift card, and put the note in their mailbox the next day.  I hope they know how much we appreciate their kindness.

#17: Donating to find a cure for Jackson

As you may have read in #13 of my blog, my son, Ethan, has a good friend, Jackson, who was recently diagnosed with a serious kidney disease called FSGS , which stands for
Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis.  Jackson is only 6 years old and has a long road of treatments ahead of him.  His parents would do anything to find a cure for their only child.  Heather, Jackson's mom, posted on Facebook that if anyone wanted to help, she would ask for donations to The NephCure Foundation.  This foundation is working on a cure for this horrible disease.

I was happy to donate $20 to NephCure and help find a cure for Jackson.

If anyone would like more information on FSGS or Jackson's story, you can check out these links:

http://www.nephcure.org/fsgs-facts

http://www.nephcure.org/jackson-story

#16: A kind act in the middle of frustration

After paying the stranger's toll on MLK Day, I took my kids to Lego Land to spend the day off from school.  In addition to having fun and meeting up with friends, I learned to never, ever, EVER go to Lego Land on a school holiday.  We have annual passes, and it is just not worth fighting the crowds when we can have the place to ourselves any Sunday morning.

After a couple hours of playing, we were ready for lunch.  The line at the cafe was LONG.  And of course there was only one cashier.  All of the kids and parents in line, including us, were hungry and grumpy.  I think we stood in line for 25 minutes, but it felt like 3 hours.  When we got to the cashier, I mumbled something about needing more people to work so the line would move faster.  I flashed my season pass so I could get 20% off our meal.

 I wish the cafe looked like this photo while we were there.

 

Then I had a thought.  Why not try to perform an act of kindness in the middle of this frustration?  So I handed my season pass to the woman behind me and told her to use it so she could get 20% her meal, too.  I waited for her to complete her transaction, and I think she was very appreciative.  (What's another 2 minutes after you've been waiting 25?!)  I don't know about her, but I felt so much better after doing that for her.  

I know it cost me nothing and only saved her a few dollars.  But maybe my act of kindness changed her attitude that day or possibly inspired her to pay it forward.

#15: Another free toll

I am not creative.  But a kind act is a kind act, right?  I was driving down GA 400 again Monday, and I decided to pay for another car's toll.  When I told the cashier to keep my change and use it to pay for the next car, she didn't blink an eye.  I'm hoping that means that these acts are becoming much more common!

Sorry, no photos this time!  I was driving with my kids in the back seat, so there way no way to safely take a picture.  You will have to trust me!

#14: Free Bagels!

Leaving coupons for strangers is such a fun and easy way to perform an act of kindness.  Today we ate at Goldberg's, so I pulled out my $5 off coupon.  I noticed that there was a second coupon for "Buy 12 bagels, get 6 free", and we weren't going to use it.

I brought the coupon to the bagel counter and asked the bagel man to give the coupon to the next customer ordering bagels.  To my surprise, he got really excited!  I think he said something like "That is great!  I will tell the next person that a nice lady left this coupon.  Wait, do you want to wait here a minute?  You can watch me give it to the next person."  I was excited that he was excited, so I asked him if I could take his picture with the coupon.

I told him that I didn't want to wait because I didn't want the recipient to know it came from me.  He promised he would help me carry out my act of kindness, and I trust that he did. :)

#13: Cheering Up a Friend

My favorite way to perform an act of kindness is to "stumble upon" an opportunity.  Since I started this project, I have looked for things to do (such as give blood) when nothing presented itself naturally.  Act #13 was awesome because it involved a close friend and the act of kindness just fell into place.

My friend, Heather, had been posting on Facebook recently that her son, Jackson, was having health issues.  He was just diagnosed with a kidney problem and was on steroid medication for three months.  Because the medication suppresses his immune system, he had to stay home during the 2.5 week winter break while all his friends were going out of town, to playdates, and to camp.  It was too risky for him to go out in public and possibly catch a cold or something even worse.  I know he was bored and lonely.  Trust me, keeping a five year old home for two weeks is not fun for the parent or the child.

I wanted to do something nice for Jackson, so I tried to think of what would be most appreciated.  I thought back to the time when I broke my leg in first grade.  I had a plaster cast from my toes to the top of my thigh.  I'm sure I was in pain and miserable at first.  But that is not the part of the experience that I remember.  My most vivid memory of my broken leg experience was the numerous visitors who came to my bed bringing me gifts and candy.  I had no idea what I did to deserve all of the attention.  It was fabulous.  Who knew all a kid needed to do for extra presents was break a leg?

So back to Jackson.  I emailed his mom and asked if I could come with my son (who is also good friends with Jackson) to bring him a gift and cheer him up.  We showed up with a couple treats and a couple toys.  The boys had a blast together, and I could tell that both Heather and Jackson appreciated the visit.  When we left, I felt so good that I made Jackson's winter break a little more fun.

We are all wishing Jackson a quick recovery! 

#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.