Thank you for sharing more of your wonderful random acts of kindness stories from the past week. We sure love reading them. A few that stuck out to me this week, included:
Lisa – who helped a friend serve a meal at their local Neighbor 2 Neighbor group for the homeless.
Kim – who saw a cold bell ringer at the grocery store and went home and knit him a scarf.
Janet – who took all of her loose change to a coin machine and turned it into supermarket gift cards for senior clients.
Betty – who did two RAK’s. She shoveled her neighbor’s sidewalk and driveway, and knit 6 baby hats for the hospital.
Windy – who dropped off pet food and extra blankets at her local humane center.
Barbara’s mom Kathy – who was in a waiting room where someone admired the lace scarf she was making, so she asked for the lady’s address and sent it off to her when it was done.
Bonny – who helped four of her neighbors shovel their sidewalks and driveways.
Alicia – who noticed the Angel Tree at their church still had tags left, so she took 4 of them and bought coats for new refugee families. (It always makes me sad when I see a few leftover tags still on Angel Trees. I like what Alicia did, and I will be on the lookout for this next year.)
Michelle – who, along with her husband, took a man shopping when he showed up at their church and needed help.
Geraldine – who gave an extra bike to someone whose bike had been stolen.
Jan – who filled a grocery bag with food for the food pantry and included lots of vegetables.
Carolyn – who spent an evening collecting and sorting food for her local food pantry.
Judy – who buys books for some of the behaviorally challenged students in her school.
Christine – who sent a special gift to a friend who had recently experienced a loss in her life.
Of course there are more in the comments on that blog post – pop over and read them all and also check out the ones from the week before! We randomly drew a name to win one of the Blue Sky Alpaca Royal Petit Kits, and that goes to Denise in IN, who finished the mittens she was working on for the Caring Tree and them promptly fell and broke her finger. 🙁 Despite this, she also cleaning out closets and added 5 winter coats to the Caring Tree, as well as encouraging 2 of her co-workers to do the same.
Thanks to all of you for the inspiration. Leave a comment below and let us know what you have done this week (or in the coming few days) and we’ll do another drawing and one more RAK post next week. I know this is a hard time for many, and the small things we do to encourage one another can really make a difference.
Sheri whoiscopyingsomeofyourRAK’ssinceyouhavesuchgreatideas
Awesome list. A friend of mine is collecting hats for newborns and preemies, so I sent two hats along after giving them a good blocking.
I would do more, but I have a newborn and haven’t found time for much more than that!
Donated a bunch (like 30 pairs) of my handmade socks that were sitting unused in my drawer to one of the city schools where I volunteer. Asked the school administrator to just distribute as needed and that I didn’t need to be identified. (Trust me…this is an area that has fallen on very hard times) Very heartwarming when I was there this week and noticed one of the little boys wearing a pair of my socks! Feels great to know that I helped someone in need!
I made more pocket hearts for the homeless at my goddaughter’s church. And gave the pattern to another knitter so she could make one for her grandson.
I helped a coworker jump his car and earlier that day I participated in a pay it forward chain at Starbucks. It felt really good.
This week I agreed to teach two friends to learn to knit, and directed them to The Loopy Ewe website for their yarn choices.
We are going to Maine for Christmas – leaving tomorrow and so excited. We will be visiting the Yarn Sellar and my daughter and I decided to take them some yarn from our stash. I decided to throw in some Wollmeise as a treat and what you know – I was able to get some more today from you – Two skeins. So happy about sharing and receiving.
Merry, Merry Christmas to you all.
I’m knitting away as fast as I can so that the people I love can have complete hand knit Christmas presents this year instead of the half done, still on the needles gifts they got last year. And I’m going to the local farmer’s market tomorrow to buy some last minute gifts from local vendors – good for the local economy and good for those who will receive these goodies!
I bought cupcakes for the employees at my dogs daycare. They were pretty darned psyched to try Sprinkles cupcakes and especially because it was a Monday!
Baked nine cheesecakes as gifts for hubby’s co-workers….
My husband and I are hosting a dinner for our church. It follows our Christmas program. It is good fellowship.
My church supports several different groups this time of year and I selected a couple of tags to purchase gifts for a couple of children. (harder than you realize when you don’t have kids!) My work department also adopted a family and I contributed a hoodie for one of the kids.
A very cool thing happened to me today – I was the recipient of a RAK! I came home to discover that someone had shoveled my sidewalk and front walkway. It was the best discovery as it had been snowing almost all day.
Bought two bags of food at the supermarket for our local food pantry. My son cleaned out his closet and found some blankets that I will drop off at the vet this week for use in the kennels.
I have to thank you, Sheri, and all the commenters for your RAK inspiration. I’ve started looking for ways to perform RAK and am really having fun!. Yesterday I ended up waiting in Newark airport for my son’s very delayed flight. After knitting for quite a while, I decided to look for some people that seemed to need RAKs. I helped several older travelers lift their heavy bags off the baggage carousels, bought a frazzled traveler a cup of tea, took a goodbye photo for a couple because the young man was heading to Afghanistan, and entertained three tired children by answering their many questions about knitting and trying to teach them to knit. Their mother was thrilled to have a few minutes of peace while attempting to locate their lost luggage. I’m going to try and continue this into the New Year!
I donated a coat to a local charity that distributes coats to less fortunate kids. For the tenth year, I served as “Madame Secretary” for my knitting group, planning monthly meetings, a baby shower, and our Christmas party with our Yankee swap and our first annual drawing for a grand prize…a knitting basket filled with projects, notions, and a Brown Betty teapot. But, my favorite was helping to plan a “card bomb” to bombard a friend in my knitting group with get well cards when she has a total knee replacement in early January:)
Gave 2 bags of my boys outgrown clothes to someone who needed them, also gave a knitting pattern on Rav to a friend for no real reason, except it was on her wishlist and I felt like treating her.
I received a box of Hickory Farms from my boss today and got a pamphlet inside for the “No Kid Hungry” campaign. I just went online and donated!!!
http://www.nokidhungry.org/
I met a woman, who lives in the next town from me, while getting stranded on the local commuter train. I was on my way home from VKL Chicago. Our car had torn down the overhead electric wires and we were stranded on the platform in the rain, and me with a carrier bag full of yarn & no umbrella. Those with umbrellas shared. When we finally got rescued the woman I had met asked me about what I knit and told me about her friend whose mom had started a sweater for him but died before she could finish it. She asked if I would finish the sweater, her friend would pay for the service. I said yes and met her to get the project bag that contained needles, yarn, pattern and mom’s notes on her knitting.
This week I finally received email from the sweater owner regarding size questions i had, cause I don’t know how long ago his mom started the sweater and perhaps his measurements had changed. They had. I told him the goal is for the sweater to fit him and him wear it.
He doesn’t know this but before accepting this project, I had decided to not charge him to knit the sweater, my gift to him-from one mom to another. When I’m done with the sweater I will meet him and personally present him with it. Only payment I want is to have him get pleasure from wearing his mom’s last gift to him, and give him a hug !
A friend sent me a email that she is knitting a cap for an Israeli Soldier (she got an email with a pattern/request) and said she might want help from me. To provide support to her and also to help the cause, I said I would knit one too and we can mail them together.
I’d like to tell you about my husbands RAK. Our local Rotary club sells Xmas trees to raise money for all the good they do. Every year we buy one, with snow forcasted for Saturday, we went Friday evening to get our tree. There was only 1 elderly gentleman there doing all the work, hauling trees, cutting trunks and putting them on cars. It was rather cold and after getting me, the kids, our new baby, and our tree safely home, my husband went back to help out. For the next 3 hours he hauled trees and lifted them onto car roofs while the 70 year old guy took the money. Here’s the crazy thing. More than 5 different people asked him why he was helping out. They were confused why he would do such a thing if he wasn’t part of the Rotary, or getting paid. He just saw someone who needed a hand and tried to help out.
After the snow came, he helped clear the snow from the sidewalks of our neighbors on both sides. He’s a good guy and I’m proud to know him.
This was my husband’s RAK, but I’m so proud of him I wanted to share.
He was outside shoveling snow (and almost done) in front of our house when a man came up to him asking if he could do some shoveling to earn some money for a food and place to stay since all the homeless shelters were full (it was snowing and temps were hovering around 0). We didn’t have any more sidewalks to shovel, but my husband asked him to wait while he went inside and brought back a couple of sandwiches, some clementines and a drink. He also gave the man his old hiking boots and a pair of insulated work gloves. There wasn’t a lot we could do for him, but I’m hoping that what we could offer made his night a little more comfortable.
My new admin assistant just moved here from out of state and times are tight for her, her husband and their two young boys. Both she ads her husband are veterans so I submitted their names to my ALA unit for help over the holidays. It was awesome to see the look on her face when she opened up two $150 gift cards and a hand quilted lap quilt with a US Marine Corps patch sewn onto it.
I have a friend who is a single mom & grandma who has a hard time making ends meet. I told her I had something small to send her way and surprised her by sending a box full of movies, snacks, cocoa, popcorn and cute socks so they can all have some family movie nights together.
I went out tonight with a group search party for a dog who has been missing almost 6 weeks. She had been adopted not long before she went missing (wind blew down part of a fence), and the owners have tried so hard to find her, posting fliers, etc Tonight there was a possible sighting, and it’s so bitterly cold I had to go help. We found footprints, and someone else got a picture of the dog. Hopefully she’ll be found soon!
This week was the last days for a seniors exercise class that I go to. We also have a foot clinic on the Monday so as I was coming up the stairs to the ground level, I saw Lloyd, a member who just had some sort of heart surgery not too long ago, pushing on Frank’s (the instructor’s) car which was stuck in the snow. I quickly started to help push and with being on the heavier side, we got the car out into the ruts so Frank could leave easily.. It was easier for me to push than give Lloyd CPR if he needed it, since I do not know it very well.lol. On Wednesday, we went out with Frank to make sure he got out ok. His comment was” I guess it takes a woman” lol, after we got him out again. My friend said I’m strong like bull, smart like tractor, jokingly, lol!, since I am a senior, too.
Happy holidays, everyone!
I took a neighbor to the ER when he fell off his bike and broke his arm. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when he showed up on the door scraped and bloody, but he’s doing well now.
I’m a little late but this morning (Christmas Day) I took some just out of the oven homemade cinnamon rolls to the local police station for those police officers who had to work this Christmas Day.
A liitle more than random… I was a target shopping for gifts for my kids, I am an unrepentant couponer and had quite the collection on coupons, everything from 1$ off a my little pony, to 5$ off crayola.
I overheard a woman on her cellphone agonizing about what to get her girls, she only had 30$ a kid for Christmas.
When her back was turned I left my coupon enevlope in her cart, and what little cash I had, with merry Christmas written on it.
I hope it helped.