So how stoked was I when Nancy over at Shabby Apple sent me an email saying she'd love to sponsor a giveaway! Well, first I was sad because it's a giveaway I can't win, but then I thought about how fun it'll be for you guys!
Turns out the folks at Shabby Apple LOVE niceness. And they wanted to do a little something to encourage you all to go out there and participate in a random act of kindness. They're doing that by offering up one of their amazing dresses as a prize! The winner can choose from a list of over 20 that they selected (including maternity and even toddler dresses). These were my personal faves from the list. :)
HAWT, right?
So, what does this giveaway have to do with kindness? Well, in order to enter to win one of these stunning pieces of work, you need to perform a random act of kindness and then post what you did in the comments of this post. I'll pick the winner randomly because I personally think all acts of kindness are extremely valuable, from the small to the huge!
The giveaway will run until next Thursday, January 20, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. So get your comments in!
Thanks so much to the kindness promoters over at Shabby Apple for offering to do this giveaway! And GOOD LUCK!!!
37 comments:
What a great giveaway! Inspired by your nice assignment, I wrote a snail-mail letter to my cousin this week. She seemed like she needed a bit of a pick-me-up, and the letter seemed like a perfect idea. (Plus, we used to write letters back and forth as kids. The sender was always some random name that was a complete inside joke between the two of us.)
I read the blog of a med student who is currently on bed rest as she is pregnant with TRIPLETS!! Yikes. Anyhow, at one point she posted her address for one reason or another, so I sent her $20 anonymously in the mail. I know how tough it is to raise two kids who are different ages and how much money it can take. Not to mention being at the very end of med school, so I thought I'd help her out any way I could. I had a little money from Christmas so I sent her some of it and plan to send more (money or gifts) when I can.
oh - this one is easy - I'm currently donating to all the food drives for the local homeless that I can find. this is a weird time of year since the holidays are over and most people give more during the holidays.
What a wonderful giveaway! My act of kindness is something I do a few times per year. When I went through the Starbucks drive through, I paid for the car behind me. You never know who is behind you and if they are having a bad day. That might be just the thing to put a smile on their face and hopefully spur them to do it one day too.
kufb50 at gmail dot com
I've been training for a new job all week, and the training has taken place at a domestic violence center. I left some Nice Notes inside the baby changing table in the bathrooms that read, "You are doing a great job!" and "You are a beautiful mother!" I'm hoping it will be a nice surprise for whoever finds them.
What gorgeous dresses Shabby Apple has! I'll be window shopping a LOT, but the first item I would *have* to have would be the Cider dress. So gorgeous!
Thank you for this opportunity Melissa. My RAK was last evening at the grocery store when I let a very harried mom go ahead of me in line even though she had more items than I did. She needed the kindness and I felt good all evening for having offered it!
Great giveaway! I'm doing a year long kindness blog but for entry's sake I'll only put what I did today.
This morning I volunteered for Habitat for Humanity building a house in a bad part of town for low income families. The guy who will be owning the home was out there working along side us which I thought was awesome. Anyhoo I spent a whole two hours straight with a shovel in my hand moving dirt/mud/rocks around. It was pretty wet out today and it started raining. But that didn't keep our spirits down. :)
http://365daysofkindess.blogspot.com/
I totally love this giveaway, wow, :D :D :D :D.
Well, I wrote a personal message to a couple of people I thought that needed some encouragement, specially in this new year, reminding them how valuable their existence is, and how much I would love them to be part of my 2011, for they made my 2010 an amazing year.
I don't know if you do, but I adore personal messages. xD
My hometown of Brisbane is currently under four meters of water. Earlier today I signed up with our local volunteering organisation. The flooding has destroyed thousands of homes and hopefully, I will soon be helping people to rebuild their lives :)
I too live in Brisbane, and the flood devastation here is truly horrific.
Felicity (you may remember her from my Operation Nice Flower Drop in Brisbane a few years ago) and myself and a few other friends took some BBQs and hundreds of sausages and muffins and scones into a terribly flood-affected area today and fed hundreds of volunteers who are helping to clean up people's homes and businesses. We've also vowed to make sure we patronise those businesses who were hardest hit by the loss of income and flood destruction.
Katy Potaty
cupcakes@katypotaty.com
I routinely smile and say hello to people I don't know as part of my daily routine. I've found that even the most "intimidating" people reciprocate with kindness in turn when it is extended to them. They say that, sometimes, a smile can make someone's day when they're down or feeling out of sorts! I hope so!
Melissa, you inspire us all! Last week-end I went to a large retail store on the access road to I-35, the major north-south hwy through Texas. As I pulled into my space, I noticed the car opposite me was pulled in backwards so the back of their van was to the front of my car. The older van's top had lots of big black trash sack full of things and the inside looked pretty full too. This older couple was trying to tape some of the trash bags up - with electrical tape! Skinny, not very sticky, so I knew it wasn't going to hold. I had a roll of clear box-packing tape, complete with a cutting mechanism. So, I gave it to them and although they didn't speak English very well (and unfortunately I don't speak Spanish), we just smiled at each other. I went on my way with enough endorphins to make me skip through the day. Such a simple gesture - such great power!
I shoveled out our elderly neighbor's car after the recent snow storm. I actually like doing nice things for her since her husband died because I know she's lonely and even those little things remind her of how alone she is. It help that she sometimes drops by for tea and cookies. Each good turn is returned in some way.
havenera at gmail dot com
I rescued a stray cat last month and have been looking for a home for him. But wait! That's not the random act of kindness! We've found a home for him with a older woman from church. I am bringing him over to her house tomorrow, but what she doesn't know is that I'm going to buy a collar, litter box, bowls and goodies to help her out. The kindness lies in doing that extra something so the costs of a new cat aren't so much.
fashionkitten03 (at) hotmail (dot) com
can i enter for somebody? a girl here at work (Marisa) was working the front desk and saw that a woman that works here had ordered pizza. well, her total came to almost 50 bucks and she left the guy a 2 dollar tip. :( Marisa was very upset that he got so stiffed, and called the pizza parlor back to order a 10 dollar gatorade so he would get a decent tip. so sweet!!! i'd love if i could win her a dress.
I love reading everyone's comments ^_^ This really makes my day. My random act? I signed up at http://www.postpals.co.uk and sent some postcards to sick children who need some cheering up :)
My random act of kindness was to make lunch for my boyfriend's police partner. Apparently he spends most of his dinner break lusting over the measly turkey sandwiches I pack for my boyfriend so I felt it was only fair since he works so hard to keep us safe!
For the past two years I have been adding "works of art" to our horrendous back stairwell at work. I cut up magazines that were normally recycle to make pictures. I've made a baby t-rex skeleton out of cut-up newspapers. And my latest addition is an abstract "school of fish" tessellation!
Love this idea and I love shabby appled! I am watching my brother's son all week so he and his (pregnant) wife could take an anniversary trip together. Nephew is 16 months old and my 4 kids are loving having him around, and so am I!
Awesome give away! I've had so much fun reading everyone's comments! My act of kindness was to make a balm for my friend's baby. He has very dry skin and is having a hard time adjusting to the cold, dry air this winter.
chantilita at gmail dot com
I made pumpkin breads to give to the elderly people at my church.
Yesterday I went to a late lunch, so I just ordered at gelato because dinner would be coming for me soon and I didn't want to be full. Anyway, to say the waiter was having a hard time was putting it lightly. I think he was having a bad day already, and sadly, all of the other people at my table were making it even harder. They were asking so many questions about the menu (things that were right on the menu if they had but read it), and they were trying to use coupons too, also with restrictions that they hadn't read, and then it turned out they didn't even have all of them. I could just tell this poor waiter couldn't wait for us to leave. He stayed nice the whole time though, but you could see that he was more than done with the table.
Anyway, I decided that he deserved a very big tip. Knowing the other people at the table were likely to just leave the min. for their meals, I made sure to leave him a big one. I hope he got a fun surprise when he opened the bill for my $2.00 gelato to find a huge tip!! :)
I sent a care package to a friend who was having a rough time and feeling lonely.
I always look for a chance to donate. I have bags of stuff to give away.
melodyj(at)gmail(dot)com
I sent a care package to a soldier abroad and I'm putting together care packages for my summer staff who are away at college. I love mail so sending nice little packages is always fun!
All these acts of kindness are so heart-warming. Good job everyone. The one I wanted to share was from a few weeks ago. It was snowing here in Maryland and instead of driving the 1+ hrs to work, I set up shop in the local Panera (if you don't have those by you, it's a sandwich, bakery, coffee chain). Soon after I started working, an elderly man came in, ordered a small coffee, and sat down by the fire. I don't think he was homeless, but I got the impression that he'd seen better times.
About a week before, I had signed up with panera's "club card," which rewards you with a free pastry for signing up. I knew that I certainly didn't need it, but thought maybe the man by the fire would. I went up to the counter, picked out the largest cinnamon bun they had, warmed it up in the microwave, and offered it to him. He gladly accepted, thanked me. The best part though was watching him enjoy the cinnamon bun by the fire.
I try to do everything I can, be it charity or trying to help lift someone's spirit/mood. But at the same time I've had a hard time deciding what to post in this comment. Because for me the whole point of being kind isn't expecting any sort of reward, it's to help others. And everything I've written so far left me felt like I was bragging.
However :) There is a random (semi pre-planned) act of kindness I am really looking forward to. My husband and I are moving from San Francisco to Seattle next month. And before we move I want to spend a weekend date together in San Francisco. Instead of going to a restaurant or club ourselves, I am wanting to spend the money to buy meals (hopefully we can find something heated and warming) and pass out to the homeless and hungry.
I really enjoyed reading all the nice things people have shared in the comments by the way :)
My friend was having a horrible week (possible job loss, breaking up with her boyfriend, and lost a game she was coaching) so I surprised her by insisting on taking her out for dinner last weekend. She needed some girl time!
I love that this is how you enter your giveawy---what a great idea!
This week I made dinner for friends (and for their sister in law who was in town with her 11 month old baby).
What an amazing giveaway! I was at Starbucks on Friday, in a zone since I hadn't had my coffee yet, as I waited in line. My ears perked up when I heard the barista tell the lady in front of me she didn't have enough money on her card for her drink that she had already ordered. What did I do? Paid for the difference, of course! She seemed shocked and generally pleased - the $1.70 difference brought so much joy to her ... I'm so glad I was able to help. :)
Reading everyone's comments has been so wonderful! I feel like that's another random act of kindness they all have in common - making me smile as I read how they've shared with other people. :)
I just sent a letter to my sister, who doesn't have many friends, despite how incredible likeable (and hilarious!) she is. She's also been feeling really lonely since I got married and moved away. I thought a note in the mail would make her feel special and remind her that I love her and treasure her, even if I'm not just a doorway away anymore.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I was walking out of Target (in a hurry as I was on my lunch break from work) when I spotted a purse in an empty shopping cart out on it's own. Knowing it may not be safe for long, I snatched it up and took it back in and found a manager. I honestly didn't even think about this being a "nice" thing to do until I walked back out and a guy from a car (who apparently saw the whole thing) rolled down his window and told me "Thank you for doing that!" It really made my day that HE randomly said thank you to me! Good stuff!
Brittany
britsybATyahoo
It's a funny one but if someone did it to me I'd be pretty stoked. I was at the goodwill bins Monday and I saw a lady grab a super cute bikini top. I noticed because I really like it too. As I continued on down the isle I saw the matching bottoms in another bin. I almost didn't take it to her but I thought about how much I'd want someone to do that for me. She was pretty surprised and very happy.
hthompson620@yahoo.com
What a fun giveaway! I've just discovered this blog and I LOVE the motivation behind it. I've been trying to do more kind things lately anyway because I've been sad/unhappy and I thought the best way to pull out of that would be to focus on others, not myself.
My small random act of kindness is that often when I get home from work before my roommate I wash all of her dishes.
Also, I don't know if this falls in the category, but I stayed after my private lesson (I teach english in Spain) to help my student fix his ipod. It made me happy to put my crazy googling skills to good use. :)
You have an awesome blog! I did an awesome project last year called 365 Random Acts of Kindness, where I had to do a RAoK every day for a year! It was hard, but so rewarding! This year I'm not doing the project, but I still try to do a few RAoKs when I think of them, just nice gestures like opening doors for people, smiling at everyone I see in the street and leaving lovely little notes for people in random places!
My Aunt gave me a recipe sometime last year and I recently used it to make a wonderful dish. I emailed her to tell her how wonderful it was and to thank her for inspiring me to make it.
Love reading everyone's stories! You all inspired me to bring the nurses a box of pastries at my ob visit this morning. They're pretty stressed out with over bookings due to the snow/ice storms around here and were much surprised at a little treat.
cbeargie at yahoo dot com
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