Thank you for posting the Random Acts of Kindness you have done in the past week. It’s really heartwarming to read about the ways that you’re giving to others during this busy season. A few that stuck out to me:
Kathy – who made hats and dropped them off at the local chemo center.
Kaholly – who addressed extra Christmas cards to the seniors at the local nursing home.
Ginni – who has been volunteering as an AARP tax preparer.
Nami – who has given a bright red triangle shawl to her elderly neighbor.
Kandice – who shared extra blankets with the homeless people across from her work.
Kathleen – who bought poinsettias for her co-workers to cheer them up.
Eleanor – who knit a hat for a lab mate and is ready to knit another one if he loses it.
Denise – who is on her 6th pair of mittens to donate to the Caring Tree project.
Susan – who sent a delightful package to a friend that she doesn’t usually exchange gifts with.
Melissa – who carries extra blankets and pet food in her car to give to homeless people and their pets.
Christine – who helped a homeless woman with gas and money for food.
Debbie – who knit a shawl for a friend that was missing her Peace Corps daughter.
Cathy B – who knit hats and made pillowcases for lots and lots of at-risk children.
Phyllis’ sister – who decorates hundreds of cookies for a non-profit in her town.
FayLynn – who knit a baby blanket for someone she doesn’t know, who was new to the area.
I just highlighted a few to give you some ideas, but every one of the RAK’s that you left were wonderful and inspiring. Thank you for sharing! It’s time to do that again for this week. Do something nice, leave a comment below, and help the rest of us to get some more ideas and inspiration for future RAK’s. We’ll again draw from the comments and will be sending someone one of the luscious Blue Sky Alpaca Royal Petite kits. Last week’s winner is Stephanie, whose family participated in the Angel Tree Food drive and is providing another family with Christmas Dinner. Stephanie – please email us with your address and we’ll get this kit right out to you!
Sheri whoseRAKthisweekwassendingoutanextradonationtosomeone
Took my neighbor grocery shopping. We ended up having a few laughs. She hasn’t been feeling well and doesn’t like to drive. Also donated to some local guys who have come up with a way to reduce hospital waste and help the handicapped at the same time!
I was wandering through a local artisans market and I saw something perfect for a friend who has recently experienced a huge loss in her life. I sent the little package to her without warning and it brightened an otherwise dark day. I wish I could do that more often for her…
Hi Sheri,
My RAK this week is two fold. First I paid for the car behind me in the drive through. Secondly, we have a Christmas party every year and ask all guests to bring a toy for the Toys for Tots drive in our town. Each year we get lots of toys to share with the community. No child should go without a toy at Christmas. 🙂
I teach in a school for behaviorally challenged students. Many of them don’t care for books, but there are a few who really enjoy them. Once or twice a month, I seek these students out (I don’t work directly with all of them) to see if there is a book, or books, they would like. I purchase the books, and the students get to keep them. I always make the offer to any of my classes. One book was delivered today, and others are due to come in time for Christmas vacation reading.
I just finished another 10 hats for a initiative that my Church has each year for the homeless and bought toys for a family we adopted at work.
Donated some of the hats I have been knitting to a homeless project in the town I work in….
dropped off the last of 27 preemie baby hats (last yr I managed only 10!) at a local hospital, and brought fingerless gloves to 12 volunteers at local animal shelter (where my cats also donated a1 20 lb bags of food & some pet toys).
I work as a meat cutter at our local Piggly Wiggly. Our department doesn’t have a Christmas party, instead we all take one night during the holiday season and spend our time (4-5 hours) collecting and sorting food for our local food pantry. There is an organization called Enchantment in the Park that sets up an amazing light display, gives you a cd for your car (if you don’t have a cd player they provide a portable one) and in the cd elves give a narration explaining the displays. This year it was Christmas from the 1920s to present time. If you don’t want to drive, you can walk or take a carriage ride. 2013 was our 3rd year doing this, and our whole department was able to make it. We collected many, many bags of food and filled almost half of the food pantry’s van. We had a blast working there last night, even though it was a little cold, 15 degrees! I am so fortunate to be able to do this, helping those who need it, and to be with friends makes it even more special.
We had snow overnight so this morning I shoveled my neighbors’ sidewalk for them after finishing my own. I have to admit that it was actually very fun!
I forgot it was the day for Toys for Tots on the train, so gave them cash. The toys I’d already bought for them will go to the Christmas party with the rest of the toys we’ll donate there.
And last night we filled a grocery bag for the food pantry — lots of veggies!
This week we have had our first blast of really cold weather, including 2 snow storms. A coworker who is dealing with not only a divorce, but is also about to start chemo for breast cancer mentioned to me that she doesn’t have a warm winter hat or mittens. She didn’t take any of the “warm stuff” when she moved out of her old house. Right away I thought about my camp loopy hat & mitten set that I made as project 1 in 2012. I asked her if she would like to have them. She was ecstatic! They were just a tad small for me, I knew they would be perfect for her. I am THRILLED that she will wear them & stay warm this winter!!
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/ThePoorGirl/britta-mitten
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/ThePoorGirl/britta-hat
I knitted a baby blanket for a women’s newborn down the street.
We gave a spare bike to someone whose bike got stolen.
I made a small gift bag and left it with a co-worker who’s been going through alot lately, just to help him smile and feel a little less overwhelmed.
My husband and I took a man shopping who showed up at our church this week – he mostly wanted food for his family.
This is Denise who was knitting mittens for the Caring Tree. I managed to finish the 6th pair – and I fell and broke the ring finger on my right hand (yes, I’m a klutz and have osteoporosis. This is my 7th broken bone. I’m just grateful it wasn’t my shoulder or ankle again.) I’m a thrower and am finding it impossible to knit with my finger in a splint. I’m trying to teach myself Continental knitting so *maybe* I can continue my work.
What I managed to do in the meantime is clean out my daughter’s closets and add 5 gently used winter coats to the Caring Tree. I also got 2 of my co-workers to do the same. We may get the kiddos warm yet!
I recently found out that a friend is getting a divorce and I wanted to do something special for her. I put together a giant box of goodies to mail to her this week. Some yarn, some material for quilting, chocolate, a dvd, a book and other small things to hopefully brighten her day. I dont live close so this was my way of letting her know that I care about her.
I donated hand knit items to a charities silent auction to raise money for after school education for low income and at risk kids.
Our angel tree at the church I work for still had tags left on it, so I took 4 more and got coats for new refugee families.
We had a snow storm this weekend, about 6″ of snow covered with a lovely crunchy coating of ice. The ice made snowblowing impossible, so after we chipped and shoveled our own sidewalks and driveway, we continued up and down the block to dig out four of our neighbors. Helping others did make the shoveling more enjoyable!
For the last few weeks I’ve been knitting scarves for a drive the local Pancake house is doing. On Christmas morning they provide breakfast for homeless people in the area and gift each one with a new scarf. I was able to complete six scarves to donate to them.
I also donated some new toys/games to a local shelter for women and children to be distibuted as Christmas gifts.
I gave both shelters my contact information and asked them to let me know of future opportunites to help out.
I’m entering for my mom – Kathy
While waiting at the Oncologist for my sister to get her bi-annual results, a lady admired the lace scarf my mom was knitting. Mom said, “Give me your address and I’ll send it to you when I’m done.”
Well true to her word – the scarf was sent and a lovely Thank you note came back from a grateful caregiver.
it seems that more is done for me than I give back. December was the local Lion’s senior holiday party, not random, as it has to be planned , but all seniors in the town are invited. 5 course meal, served by high school seniors, music by the high school band, and chorus, and enjoyed by all.
Yesterday, the young man who plows my driveway stopped by and also shoveled the stairs for me. I’m starting to feel like a senior now. He is my favorite person who gives Random Act of Kindness, am going to knit him a winter hat.
For my RAK, I always give to the Salvation Army bell ringers every time I stop by the market. It is so cold for them and for a good cause. I’ve been working on hats the past few weeks. as the snow has started and the temp has dropped. If I can finish the current one this week, it will go to the next bell ringer that I see.
While waiting at the eye doctor’s I noticed a mother and daughter trying to do cats in the cradle with the daughter’s bead necklace. So I found the end of my yarn and cut off a section for them. They were really happy to get it and seemed to be having a lot of fun together.
Saturday, I took our Lab to the vet and then to the local Petsmart to buy some dog food. While there, I purchased an extra big bag of food and dropped it off at the Humane Society adoption center.
Dropped off pet food and extra blankets at the humane animal center.
Let’s see…I went to the Dollar Store and bought a box of Christmas cards – wrote a note in each one – and sent them all off to an organization who gives them to hospitalized veterans….
Saturday evening, I scaped and shovelled out our neighbours sidewalk and driveway and also knit 6 more baby hats for the hospital over the week
This time I got the idea from this blog. I was at the coffeeshop ordering from my car and I paid for the gal’s order in the car behind me. I’ve never done that before and it was actually loads of fun. Just driving away and wondering how she will react. I think I’m going to do that again!
I took all the loose change and my Mah Jongg winnings for the year and brought it to the coin machine at the local Stop and Shop. I converted it into supermarket gift cards and brought them to our food pantry for gifts for their senior clients.
A refugee student who I have been mentoring since 2012 has completed her 1st semester at her 4-year college, after graduating with a 2-year degree from the community college where I work. Though she is the recipient of scholarships that total $65,000 over two years, when her semester ends and she leaves college, she is homeless. She has no job because her scholarships preclude her having a work-study opportunity. She is 27 years old and a new American citizen (August 2013). Before she came to the US 5 years ago, she spoke no English. Now, she is completing her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations.
To help her through the times when her semester ends, I am providing her with funds to tide her over so that she may pay rent to a friend and have a place to live, and also have some pocket money.
She is a wonderful person and I believe strongly that she will someday do important things in this world. I chaperoned her last August when she was invited to NY to speak at the UN as part of a panel of experts discussing the plight of refugees in the world labor force. It is a privilege to serve as a mentor to her.
I saw a bell ringer at the grocery store and he looked very cold even with his coat and gloves. So I went and bought a skein of yarn and knit him a scarf. A couple days later I went back to the store and gave him the scarf.
We had a few inches of heavy snowfall, enough for me to pull out the snow blower to clear it. When I finished doing my driveway, and went to do the sidewalk, I decided to clear the rest of the neighbors’ sidewalks to the end of the block, another couple of houses past mine.
My RAK is serving a meal at a homeless/indigent pantry. A friend has been involved with a group called Neighbor 2 Neighbor, which targets the homeless and indigent in a specific neighborhood. The man that had organized the meals died last week, and they weren’t organized for this week. John stepped up and said he’d do it, and when I heard, I messaged him and told him I was off and could help. Our being there helps give the group a chance to adjust to having lost their friend, and doesn’t make anyone take away from the people who need it.
My daughter and I put together a special Christmas care package for her teacher. She’s partial to tea, so we put in a box of Mighty Leaf’s Chocolate Mint Mocha herbal and tucked in a gift card to the Starbucks across the street from the school. This way she can treat herself during lunch to some pastries or what ever she likes. She’s a fantastic teacher to my daughter and we just wanted to let her know how much we appreciate her!