We’re back with our Random Acts of Kindness Friday blog posts for the month of December! If you’ve been reading the blog for awhile, you might know that this is a fun tradition that we share around the holidays. (You can find links to past RAK posts here, if you need some ideas!) We encourage you to go out of your way to do something nice for someone (anonymously or otherwise), and then come back to the comments section on this post and tell us about it. Why tell us about it, when the nice thing to do is to be humble about your acts of kindness? Well, because we’re all inspired and encouraged by your great ideas and kind hearts. And to encourage you a bit further, we’ll be randomly drawing names from the comments to win one of these sweet kits from Blue Sky Alpacas! Included in each kit is the pattern (mitts, cowls, hats) and yarn to make the kit (small balls of Blue Sky Royal – the most luscious alpaca around). We had this trunk show at the shop in November and loved the little kits so much that we quickly knit up samples to keep on display, when it was time to send the trunk show back to Blue Sky! We’ve had these for sale in-store for a month now, and will add them to the website next week. But – you might win one for free if you participate in our December contests by doing something nice for someone!
Here’s something fun that Melissa in California does for her co-workers every year. She knits them hats! This year, she used Cascade 220 and made them in all colors of the rainbow. I’d say those are some lucky co-workers, wouldn’t you? And that is a whole bunch of RAK’s all at one time. You don’t have to knit for this contest (although you can if you’d like). You can visit a lonely relative, buy coffee for the person behind you in the drive-through, pack up extra yarn and drop it off at your local retirement center, shovel your neighbor’s driveway, clean the snow off your co-worker’s windshield at the end of the day, make cookies for the teacher’s lounge at your local school, or any number of other things. (See why we need you to leave a comment telling us what you did? It gives the rest of us more good ideas!) Pick something to do in the next week, and come back to this blog post to tell us about it. Next Friday, I’ll announce the winner from this week and we’ll start a new contest for next Friday’s blog. Be creative and have fun with it! Need some more inspiration? Watch this video. At the end, it will take you to a screen with 12 more videos of RAK’s. Heartwarming!
Sheri hopingyouhaveagreatweekend!
I have just finished 14 baby hats that are going to be donated to owr newest hospital neonatal ward. These will be given to a seniors group today and then donated to the hospital.
My mail woman walks about a half block from my mailbox to deliver packages — often from the Loopy Ewe. (She can’t drive because my house is on the other side of boulders–long story). Today she came in the snow with a big box. On an impulse I told her I would knit her a pair of socks. She was so excited. Her feet were cold. She’s going to leave me a tracing of her foot tomorrow. (Fish lips kiss heel — my new favorite!)
Knitting two hats and two scarves for the Veterans.
My boyfriend works across the street from our house at a gas station as our area has been decimated by the recession. He has a customer who has been in poor health and she is also homeless and living in her car. He has tried to help her out when he could and spoke to me about it. This past week, our temperatures dropped to 24ºF at night. She buys a few dollars worth of gas every day to try and heat the car at night to keep warm. Just before the hard freeze came, I picked up a sleeping bag rated to 20ºF for her. I also put $10 of gas in her tank and gave her a little cash to get something to eat or to get food for her little dog that she keeps with her. The gratitude and love she showed back brought me to tears. She is an older woman with heart and respiratory illnesses and has recently been in and out of the hospital several times. Now we are trying to help her navigate the ACA to get health insurance and I’m putting together a few items for her for Christmas, things we normally take for granted but that I know she will appreciate.
I have two RAKs.
DH said “One of my coworkers is having a baby shower and I need to get a gift. Any thoughts on where I could go?” I offered to knit something. He said it was too much for someone I didn’t know. I offered again: a hat and moccasins. He took me up on it so I knit up a cute hat and moccasins from Miss Babs. He think it is an awesome gift for someone and a baby I don’t know.
Second: I live near and work at a University. We have had 8 inches of snow and below freezing temps for almost a week–and that just does not happen here. I can get to campus on my unplowed road with a 4WD. On my way in today, a young woman saw me and flagged me down and asked for a ride. I asked her if she was going to campus and she said yes. I asked her what her major was—it was in my school, so I gave a stranger a ride to school. She’s delightful. I have a new friend. I know I should not pick up strangers but this was the right thing to do. I also told her she should not get into cars with strangers and she said “I didn’t flag you down until I saw your face and knew you would be OK.” That makes me feel good. Have a wonderful December everyone!
not exactly kindness to humans, but this saturday, i will be donating a water drinking fountain and some supplies to a local cat rescue that does the most amazing work (a lot with special needs cats)…our four legged friends always need acts of kindness too! 🙂
I hunted down a store employee today for an elderly lady trying to reach a toy on a top shelf. She said she had tried to get somone to help her, but they said it was not their department and left her there!
We were at the grocery store and an older woman was struggling with her bags (it’s a bag your stuff yourself place) she dropped her eggs and the milk she had, splattered all over. You could tell she was mortified. My daughter and I quietly helped her clean up and Bekah then ran for replacement eggs and milk (I was very proud of my little girl at that moment). Wasn’t thinking of it as a RAK but it certainly fits.
A friend whose daughter is in the Peace Corps and will not be home for the holidays (first time ever) complimented the shawl I wore to church two Sundays ago. It was a quick knit with big needles and super bulky yarn, so the next day I bought more yarn and set aside my other gift knitting so I could knit her the same shawl in hopes of brightening her day. I gave it to her on Monday night and she was so touched and surprised, we both were in tears!
This is not totally my RAK as it was shared by my fellow co-workers.
One of our co-workers had an incident where her jaw got broken.
We put together a basket of soft foods that included protein powders, baby or toddler food, jello and puddings and similar items as it will be a challenge for her to eat solid food for awhile.
In the winter I always carry a snow shovel with me in my vehicle. I came across a mother with young kids last week, stuck in the snow on the side of a bad road. I dug (and pushed) them out and got them on their way.
For Christmas this year, I dressed 10 dolls for charity; knitted 20 hats for a homeless shelter, and made 75 holiday pillowcases for the at-risk children in my county. I am fortunate I am able to help others at this time of year and enjoy doing so.
This is not about something that I have done but about my sister Jill. Jill loves to bake and decorate cookies every year. Each year she picks some charity/project to donate to and then makes as many cookies as she can. This woman is AMAZING! She has made 50 dozen so far this year and that is the ones that she has counted. And she will probably make many more before Christmas. And she doesn’t just frost them. She decorates them. Rudolph and Clarice with detail down to Eyelashes and a bow on Clarice! Christmas trees with garland and ornaments and sparkles. They are unbelievably beautiful. This year she is donating them to “Mary’s caring and sharing hands” a non profit in the twin cities. Mary’s Place is a completely donation based charity that helps homeless people in Minneapolis and St Paul.. Mary’s Place receives no government funding because it is a faith based organization started by one very faithful Catholic woman. In previous years Jill has sent hundreds of cookies to the troops. Jill loves handknit socks of which I have made her several pair. What I would wish for her would be a drawer full. Nothing could compare to what she does out of pure love every year.
Yesterday I needed to go to Walmart to pick up some prescriptions. There was a homeless guy standing on the corner with a sign (Just for note, it was about 25 degrees F yesterday). I walked in and got what I needed, but I decided – last minute- on my way out to pick up a sandwich and a soda. As I walked to my car, I made a stop by the guy and offered him the sandwich. He gladly took it. I hope that even if it was the only thing he ate yesterday that it was tasty and filling.
We went out for a work dinner last night. I knew one of my co-workers was short on cash, and worried about paying for it. Two of us clubbed together to buy her dinner to make she could go with us and have a good time.
My acupuncturist was having a baby shower for a patient that had just moved to the area. This is her first baby and didn’t have anyone to have a shower for her. I couldn’t make the baby shower but I left a Hand knitted baby blanket for her.
A little girl that goes to my daughters school was diagnosed with Guillian Barr syndrome, shes in the thirdgrade, two years older than my daughter. (I dont know much else about her) but she has a very long recovery a head of her. I got together my micheals and jo anns coupons and bought a bunch of hospital friendly crafts for her, and i will be giving them to another mom on Saturday to take to her when her sons visit the girl.
I also included a few chocolate bars, and instant coffee (the good kind) for mom 🙂
My company has an award program where employees can nominate other employees for performing above and beyond. A colleague in India, Padma, nominated me for an award in August. She is also a three-year ovarian cancer survivor. About the time that I received this award, I learned that a close family friend, Sylvia, was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I used that award to purchase a Nook for Sylvia. She is able to take the Nook with her to Chemo treatments. She reads the Bible on her Nook to give her strength and support through this difficult time. Since I am not able to give these ladies frequent hugs, I knitted each of them shawls to remind them that I am thinking of them.