I'm a wee late as I haven't been reading the blogs that I follow as often as I do, so last week and this week I've been playing catch up and following up on the various blogs I follow. One of my favorites had posted a "Random Acts of Kindness Campaign" on her blog http://domesticwitch.blogspot.com/2010/02/random-acts-of-kindness-campaign.htmlSo, since March is almost over, I will continue to follow the campaign and then I am going to continue her challenge into April. I will also have a giveaway, which will be the first time I've ever tried this, so it will be interesting to see how it all comes together and also how it spreads.
So, What is a Random Act of Kindness?
In it's simplest form, it is going out of your way to do something nice for someone else and did you know that there are studies that show performing acts of kindness is good for your health?
To see the full article, visit http://www.actsofkindness.org/benefits
It doesn't have to be a grand act and some examples include:
- give a compliment
- visiting a relative or friend you have seen for a while
- leaving change in the vending machine
- paying for the person behind you at the drive-through
- bringing flowers to someone
- posting inspirational signs around town
- buy a lottery ticket for a stranger
- leave a note of gratitude or a wish ticket (also from Domestic Witch's blog) in a library book
- pick up trash on the ground
- babysit for free
- hold the door for someone
- invite someone over for dinner
- help someone with their garden
So, there are some ideas to get you started, but again random acts of kindness don't have to be grand in scale because sometimes it is the littlest act that has the biggest effect on someone. For example, the family and I were visiting Omaha and we ate at a pizzeria, Gino's, and the waiter was great. He took our packages (we only had one) so it wouldn't be in our way and most importantly he was very attentive to us. We were so impressed with his service that we left him a $20 tip and our bill was only $18, when he asked if we made a mistake, we said no. And then he asked if it was a joke and again, we said no. We simply said he was a great waiter and it was the best service we've ever received. He couldn't get over it and ran to his manager and as we were leaving he just came over and said how much he really needed that and thank you, he kept saying it, over and over as we were walking out.
And as with most every family nowadays, things are tight and the hubs had second thoughts because of that fact, but I reminded him that every good we put out eventually comes around and after we left, the hubs said, "that was a great feeling." So you never know the kind of impact you will have if you spread the randomness, if may just be the pick-up someone is needing or the inspiration for the next person.
To enter my Random Acts of Kindness April giveaway....the giveaway will begin April 1st - to enter, simply post your random act of kindness in the comments, please have each act as a separate comment and leave a way for me to contact you, such as email. The person with the most acts of kindness will win the goodies, so the more your post the more chances you have to win. The deadline will be May 1st and the winner will be contacted and announced via my blog. I will also be posting my random acts of kindness via twitter and facebook page.
Some notes.....
- If you don't leave a way for me to contact you, then you can't win
- In the event of a tie, the winner will be chosen through a random number generator, like Random.org
- I hope you participate and let's see how much kindness we can generate and pass along
"Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into a flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light." - A. Schweitzer
