Act 126

Friday, November 6, 2009.

Kindness needs no limelight

Today’s act is simple. A coworker had been off from work for a few days sick from the flu. I noticed that they were back today and made it a special point to ask them how they were doing.  Nothing special, just general concern for their health, and asking them if they were feeling better. I hope it made them feel a little bit better and to know that their presence was missed around work.

Acts of Kindness don’t have to be huge and momentous. As long as it helps someone and makes them feel better, you to, the kindness giver will get a good feeling. Just the simple act of asking someone how they are doing today and genuinely listening to their answer might be all that it takes to change their day from bad to glad!

Act 125 WVU fans show their true colors

Saturday, October 24, 2009.

This act of kindness was not actually performed by me, but it is an act that was done by a group of 50,000 football fans at this weekend’s WVU vs UCONN game. And since it was by the faithful mountaineer fans, and I am a lifelong West Virginian, this will be Act 125.

Yes, you read that right, the rowdy, belligerent, couch burning, Mountaineer fans are owners of Kind Act 125.They truly shined. ON an emotional day, a day where Connecticut played its first game after the death of Huskies cornerback jasper Howard, the Mountaineer fans kindness shined. When UCONN wide receiver came out onto the field, he carried Howard’s no.6 jersey on a hanger, and then tailback Andre Dixon had the former player’s helmet.

WVU and UCONN fans together cheered. They cheered the pair and they cheered the UCONN team. Outside of the stadium pins, cut in the shape of hearts, were given out with no. 6, Howard’s number. The two teams lined up on the field for a moment of silence throughout the whole stadium. Heads were bowed, prayers went up, then the teams came together again in the middle of the field to cheers. Hundreds of WVU students wrote words of sympathy and encouragement on a huge banner that hung in the tunnel where the UConn players could read it as they passed to and from the field.

Many WVU fans wore armbands bearing Howard’s number “6”.  After the game, WVU fans offered another standing ovation as the Huskies left the field with several UConn players acknowledging the crowd.

It was a moment for the ages. A moment that UCONN coach Edsall won’t forget. “I thought the WV fans were just very gracious,” he said with tears in his eyes. “The sportsmanship and the love and concern they showed for our team….I don’t know if we’ve ever seen that in sports. So my hat is off to them. They’re a bunch of class fans and it’s a class coaching staff and athletic administration. I’d just like to say thank you to them.”

It was a proud moment in WVU’s athletic history. Forget the WVU win, it was a Hall of Fame moment for the fans. Kindness truly knows no bounds!

Habitat for Humanity begins a Brush with Kindness

Habitat for Humanity of Oshkosh, Wisconsin is starting a new housing rehab program to begin in the Fall 09, called ‘A Brush with Kindness’. This nationwide program strives to further Habitat’s mission by serving low-income homeowners who struggle to maintain the exterior of their homes. ABWK focuses on exterior home repair services such as lawn care and exterior repairs. Groups of volunteers work to revitalize a home’s exterior. This program uses donated materials and funds to make repairs on homes, helping low-income homeowners continue to live independently and securely.

Visit your local Habitat for Humanity in WV to volunteer, help out, or donate money to provide a family with a safe place to call home!

Students act out in “thinking kindness”

MANITOWOC — Kids sometimes act in uncharacteristic ways because of Brian Williams. One day, an entire class of fifth-graders came to school with newly shaved heads, boys and girls alike.

Don’t worry — it was parent-approved.

One of the students’ classmates was going through chemotherapy and was afraid to come back to school after losing his hair. The students shaved their heads in an act of solidarity, to make their classmate feel welcome back at school.

This act of kindness is one of more than 125,000, large and small, that have stemmed from Williams’ “Think Kindness” program, which is in the middle of its run among nine Manitowoc-area elementary schools.

Williams, a 27-year-old martial arts black belt from Nevada, does a combination martial arts demonstration and motivational speech to kick off each school’s two-week mission: to do and document 5,000 acts of kindness and to donate 10,000 pairs of shoes to people around the world.

Students record their kind acts in journals. The target is to eventually generate one million acts of kindness, which can be as simple as holding open the door for someone.

Williams partnered with Soles4Souls, a nonprofit organization that collects and distributes shoes around the world, after two competing Think Kindness high schools came up with the idea to collect shoes, he said. Now, each elementary student is encouraged to get one person they know to send a text message, which will automatically donate $5 — enough for two pairs of new shoes — to the cause.

Act 124

Thursday, October 15, 2009.

Today a couple of coworkers and I traveled to Webster Springs for a grand opening event. It was a wonderful event to help local entrepreneurs with business ideas. After the grand opening we went to a local diner for lunch. It was a small quaint little local diner with great food. Only one problem, they didn’t take debit cards, only cash. In today’s age of debit cards and credit card usage who would have thought, but it was true. Everyone had some cash on them except one of the coworkers I was with.

Without a second thought, I hurriedly offered to take care of it for the person. It wasn’t like they didn’t have the money, unexpectedly they just didn’t have any cash. But it felt good to be able to step up and help a coworker out with no expectation in return. I’m sure they will return the money to me, but it’s okay if they don’t – I just wanted to help a friend out!

Kind words to live by

President George Washington once wrote a paper titled “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior,” which were based on a similar set of rules written by the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic Church. While some of those rules, like “Don’t clean your teeth with your knife” or “Don’t soak your bread in the sauce,” may seem out of date, many of Washington’s other rules of civility are very applicable today.

Here are some of his rules of civility we would all do well to follow:
Treat everyone with respect.
Be considerate of others.
Do not embarrass others.
When you must give advice or criticism, consider the timing, whether it should be given in public or private, and above all be gentle.
Do not be quick to believe bad reports about others.
Do not speak badly of those who are not present.
Do not allow yourself to become jaded, cynical or calloused.

The famous rabbi and professor, Abraham Heschel, once said, “When I was young, I admired intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people.”

taken from www.indystar.com from the “Voices” section of their online publication

Act 123

Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

This morning at the gym, our sick old buddy that was in the hospital was at the gym. He rolled in his normal time at about 5:45am and bounced over to put his stuff in a locker and then got right to working out.

I walked right over and said hello to him and let him know how glad I was that he was back. He was telling me about how the doctor had release him and he had to get back to his gym family. I assured him that we were all still here and what a great surprise to see him back in the gym.

Some friends are irreplaceable.

Act 122

Tuesday, September 22, 2009.

I bought a get well soon card and took it to the gym this morning for everyone there to sign. Later that day, I called the hospital to make sure our friend was still there, and he had been released! I knew they couldn’t hold him down, he’s still a horse and in good health. So I got his address and phone number from a friend of ours and mailed the card to his home.

Act 121

Monday, September 21, 2009.

When people around us in our lives get old, it is really hard sometimes. There is a gentleman that goes to the same gym that I attend. We have been working out for a good while and talking and joking around at the gym. We both are on the early morning gym routine and try to get there around 5:30am during the week. And get this, this gentleman is 78 or 79 years old. He used to be a competition weight lifter and is still in phenomenal shape and can really move some weight around in the gym.

I found out through other friends at the gym that he was in the hospital and having a couple of procedures done. The first chance I got, I went straight to the hospital and visited him. We talked about the gym and what was happening in his absence, how he was feeling, and what the doctors were telling him. He seemed the same and was still cracking jokes and talking weightlifting. I hope my visiting him was unexpected and helped him to feel he was missed by his friends at the gym and the “morning workout crew.”

Act 120

Friday, September 18, 2009.

This morning I was in a hurry as usual before work, but to make matters worse, the cat threw up in the kitchen. So I got out the cleaning spray and a couple of paper towels. But then I watched him go back over and eat some more food and then go in the living room and throw up again.  I think we’ve got a bulimic cat on our hands. But I cleaned up two, yes two loads of cat puke this morning before my wife got up so she wouldn’t have to worry about it and have plenty of time to get ready and get to work.