RAK on!

Happy Friday to you!

I thought I would leave you this week with a though about Random Acts of  Kindness!!

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A friend of mine is doing her practicum at the Women’s Shelter and she mentioned to me that they needed some clothing and gently used bathroom items for the ladies that were there.  This sparked an idea in me and a clothing drive was put in place!

As of right now, there are 8 bags of clothing and toiletries to donate to these women in need, all thanks to my wonderful friends and family! And we’re still going!

8 bags of clothing will make a difference, it might mean a new outfit for a lady who has just left an abusive husband,  a new interview outfit for a women that just finished drug or alcohol rehab, or a warm jacket to keep a homeless women cozy on a cool summer night.

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So here is my thought for each of you!

If each one of you reading this right now does 1 nice thing for someone this weekend, it could start something beautiful!  It doesn’t have to be big, just something nice!

Here are some ideas – they are not all “Random” but they will make a difference to someone!

1. Send nice cards to random people in the phone book.
2. Leave some operation beautiful notes somewhere special.
3. Open the door for a mom, a grandpa or anyone.  Smile and say “have a nice day”
4. Tape a quarter to a pay phone with a note welcoming someone who needs it to use it.
5. Drop off flowers (randomly) at a friend’s place – even better drop by the thrift store to pick up some pretty little vases and then buy a bunch of flowers, this will cost much less than buying a bunch from the florist.
6. Shovel someone's drive way (this happened to us this winter – it was awesome!)
7. Clean up litter along the road – makes for a nicer cleaner walk for someone else.
8. Apologize to someone, if you treated them unfairly. Quick story for you. I was grumpy, I snapped at someone at the grocery store.  I felt bad, went and apologized to her. It ended in a hug! Hugs ROCK!
9. Send a letter (not an email) to someone who has made a difference in you life (ok ok, you can send an email too)
10. Read to a child – EASY- kids get so lost in the shuffle sometimes.  I love to read to my friends kids when I visit, or to the little kids that I work with sometimes!
11. When you ask someone how they are… mean it!
12. Smile at a stranger – SO POWERFUL
13. Pay for the person’s coffee behind you in the line up, if they have more than a coffee, oh well… how awesome would it be if someone paid for your breakfast?
14. Start a food or clothing drive!  Lots of grassroots organizations are always happy to receive snacks or food for their clients.
15. If you ever have leftover or unused gift cards or certificates – pass them on to someone in need.  $10 can mean a warm meal for someone.
16. If you go out for dinner and have left overs – consider passing the left overs to a person on the street when they ask.  It might be the only time they eat in a week. 
17. Drop some of your kids art work off at a Seniors home.  Better yet, bring the kids in to drop off the art work!
18. Cook a meal for a neighbour or a friend that has just had a baby or is going through a tough time. Add some flowers and attach a thoughtful note.
19. Donate your time if you can.  A lot of awesome human service type organizations these days are getting their funding cut to a bare minimum, which means less help for those that need it!
20. Bake cookies and drop them off at the fire hall or police station.  The kids that I used to work with and I did this, it was always so well received! 
21. Give a great teacher or a support person in your (or your children's) life a note or a gift telling them how great they are.  A lot of the good teachers and support people don’t get much thanks!

I hope these ideas inspire you!  If you have any other ideas – please leave them in the comment section!