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Secret Santa with a Difference

This will be the second year at our company when we do a Secret Santa exchange that makes a difference.

As with the usual gift exchange we all pull a name out of a hat and purchase a gift for that individual. The difference is that we envision our recipient as a child & choose a gift the child would enjoy. After we have all opened our gifts & gotten a good laugh, we collect up the toys and take them to one of the many Christmas toy drives in our city.

This is such a great way to have some fun together & make a difference in the lives of needy children during Christmas.

Hand in Hand on a Stormy Night

The train was not working that night as I was heading home.  I had to catch a bus and 2 hours later was dropped off in the middle of the town I was staying in.  The ice storm froze the ground and it was very difficult to walk.  I asked three people for directions, but they were too hurried to help.

Then I saw an old lady holding onto the corner post with her packages, afraid to move.  I asked her where she was going and it was at least 3  miles away.  I tried to find a cab or police car but I was told they do not stop in this neighborhood.

So, we proceeded to walk along, holding onto each other for dear life.  The roads were layered with a sheet of ice.  Then and there I decided that I could not leave this old lady alone like this.  So, I decided to walk her home, hand in hand, for a good 2 hours.  Later that evening, I finally reached my destination  wet and exhausted but filled with joy and love for life.

"You Raised A Wonderful Child, Mom."

I feel like I am always either at school, sports practice or a game, so I have to find different ways to do little acts of kindness.     My good friend and co-worker has a mom dealing with cancer who is living with her during treatment. I decided to send this mom - whom I've never met - a card thanking her for raising such a wonderful person. I told how her daughter was such being a good listener, someone who I can share my troubles with, and someone who makes me laugh.   I was a little uneasy about it afterwards and wondered if my friend would think it strange.     Tonight while sitting at basketball practice I received a text from my friend. She wanted to tell me that the card I sent her mom was one of the most beautiful things she had ever read and how lucky she was to ... Read Full Story >>

Helping each other find our way through the day

I was taking my fifteen-minute walk break at work today when a sweet elderly gentleman asked me for directions. He was going to his physiotherapy appointment. I pointed him towards what I thought was the right direction but he seemed hesitant so I walked with him up the stairs and down the hall to be sure. He was right! He was not in the right place! We were directed down another hallway and still couldn't find the right place. Finally, we decided to call his wife and found out that he was in the wrong complex altogether. The poor man looked so sad and lost but tried to keep positive and kept thanking me. He was so disoriented that we couldn't even find his car right away. When we finally did, I gave him directions on how to find the other complex which was down the road. I hope with all my heart ... Read Full Story >>

Door Notes

About a month ago, one morning, I awoke to find a note on my door. It read, "Don't worry. You were born awesome, not perfect."

I was going through a bit of a transition at that time and those words meant, and still do mean, a tremendous amount to me on so many levels.

To this day, I have been unable to find out who posted that for me. So, today, I thought I'd return the favor.

Stocked with little notes reading, "Be yourself," "You belong," "You're special," and "You are loved," I drove around various neighborhoods, posting them on random doors.

I trust that the Universe had me place them exactly where they needed to be.

Red Velvet Cake and Birthday Surprise!

I had never made a Red Velvet Cake until recently! 
 
A friend at work said it was her favorite so I told her I would try to make one for her birthday. I made it in a bundt pan and it turned out delicious. 
 
She loved it! She hugged me and said thank you with tears in her eyes! I told her that I loved seeing other people happy and it was my pleasure to be able to make her favorite dessert for her.
 
And you know what ... it's a win-win situation. I made her day special and I also learned how to make a new dessert! Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese frosting is now going to be one of my favorite cakes to make!
 

A Sprinkle of Love, by Mail

I have come up with an idea that i thought i would share. I am going to start to sending letters, post cards and small things through the mail to my grandmother. One each day. She has not been feeling well lately and I thought this would cheer her up a bit. I am thinking of doing it with other people as well so each week I will pick a new person to shower with encouraging word, thoughts, and love!

Just wanted to share it! You are all an inspiration to me thanks!!

I See You

She sat in my class. A teenage girl. All the girls had grouped their desks but hers sat in isolation. I reformed groups and ensured that she never sat alone. I encouraged group ethos and it worked well. In this country, girls love to bring flowers and gifts for each other. Not Amani though. She had no friends to either give to or receive from. She has special needs and her communication level is low especially in English (I am teaching in the Middle East). Watching her face and it's lack of emotion pulled so hard at my heartstrings. Seeing her walk about alone during recreation was painful for me. What could I do? I couldn't be her classmate, I was her teacher. Despite this, I had to reach out. On the last day before school broke up at the end of term I brought a gift for Amani. It was a very generous gift ... Read Full Story >>

The Invisible Woman

When I had breast cancer I had to have a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation (the works). The hardest part of that entire experience was losing my hair. I have strawberry blonde wavy hair down to the middle of my back which I have always considered one of my most attractive features. What was hard about losing my hair, though, was that I lost my anonymity with it. After I lost my hair it was like having a tattoo across my forehead that said "chemo patient." I am a very active, athletic person so to have people looking at me with pity as if I was an invalid or a leper was very hard to take. Of course they never said anything, but if I got in an elevator everyone looked away because they didn't know what to say. I didn't blame them, God knows I've done the same thing myself, but ... Read Full Story >>

Giving a Stranger Some Hope

My ex-husband gives me money to help me pay-off a joint credit card we had when we were married. Since he doesn't have good enough credit to have a bank account, he gives me $500 in cash every month. 

Once when I was returning from his place with the cash, a woman at the corner held up a sign that simply said HUNGRY.  Where I work, there are the same few panhandlers every day, but this was in a residential part of town and it was starting to snow.  I rolled my window down and passed her a bill.  She started to mumble thanks, but then smiels as she noticed it was a twenty.  I said she could get a nice hot breakfast a block away at the pancake house.

Twenty bucks isn't going to pay off my debt any sooner and maybe it will give a stranger strength and hope to go on.

A Blanket of Sisterhood

I have been doing what I can to look out for someone who lives close inside my heart though the daily lives we experience are quite far apart .  In my home, I wake up to a fresh morning, experiencing the luxury and warmth of the comfort of my own bed laden with a floral quilt that my grandmother once made for me. On the opposite coast of the country, within the confines of the lonely hospital walls, my sister rests often unpeacefully and in pain on a cold and firm plaster white sterilized bed. A cancer inside her is spreading despite a recent mastectomy and three months of intense chemotherapy. Radiation was not a possibility for her and now this condition has seeped into her skull and spine. The comforter which I grip so tightly begins to unravel in my hand and the texture of the fabric begins to soil, as I feel a piece of me lying there with her in the hospital room.  In order to keep myself from crumbling, I began to send blessing blankets, little toy angels, and a book of ... Read Full Story >>

The Original Warm Fuzzy Tale

Once upon a time, a long time ago there lived two very happy people called Tim and Maggi with their two children, John and Lucy. To understand how happy they were you have to understand how things were in those days. You see, in those happy days everyone was given, at birth, a small soft Fuzzy Bag. Anytime a person reached into this bag he was able to pull out a Warm Fuzzy. Warm Fuzzies were very much in demand because whenever somebody was given a Warm Fuzzy it made him feel warm and fuzzy all over. People who didn't get Warm Fuzzies regularly were in danger of developing a sickness in their backs which caused them to shrivel up and die. In those days it was very easy to get Warm Fuzzies. Anytime that somebody felt like it, he might walk up ... Read Full Story >>

Pay-It-Forward Ice Cream Coupons

A long while back, my son and I were having ice-cream at a Baskin Robbins near our home and we decided to "pay it forward" by anonymously treating a dad and his kids to ice-cream.  We left the store before they knew what was going to happen and my son and I smiled to ourselves as we walked home. Well, the other night, as I was reading Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle", a coupon for a free of pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream fell out of the library book!  Talk about what goes around, comes around.  I didn't say a word to anyone at home, and went about my daily errands.  That day, my son had been particularly helpful (doing things without being asked), so I decided to surprise him with his favorite flavor of ice-cream.  Now, ice-cream is not normally found in our freezer so this is a ... Read Full Story >>

Expired Meters And A Pockeful Of Change

Just another simple one.  I noticed that I was walking with a slight list the other day due to a large amount of change in my right pocket. Now, I know that I could have shifted my ballast just a bit and evened things out, but there were cars parked there on expired meters :-)  Oh Darn!  It was a weekday too!  So I engaged in a paperwork reduction act of my own.  I figured that the metermaid wouldn't have to write so many tickets if I fed some meters.  Welp, I made a couple of blocks and was walking on a more even trim, and didn't have to shift ballast at all :-)

Sunshine Smiles in the Rain

Today it is 39 degrees and supposed to be raining. It would have been the perfect day for me to act upon my Kindness Idea.   I was the lucky winner of the December Kindness Idea's Contest on Helpothers.org - where they give you $100 to carry out your kindness idea.   My idea was to purchase umbrellas for shelter on a rainy day and small towels to wife your face and hopefully bring a little smile into your day and hand them out to folks who find themselves caught out in the weather unprepared.    Once I received the check for $100 I ran right out and purchased umbrellas and towels. I laundered the towels and wrapped them around the umbrellas and banded them with a smile card.  I placed them them in plastic bags to protect them from moisture, dirt and grime! Then I waited on the rain!!!  Lately we’ve had plenty snow…but no rain. Yesterday the rains came! Where were the ... Read Full Story >>

Suckered? I Don't Think So!

One morning a week I volunteer as cashier at a Habitat for Humanity Restore. 

Meet Them Where They Live

It was a bad time for me. I was low emotionally and tired physically. Probably because of this I hadn't shaved for a few days. Also, because I had been doing some repairs at my daughter's house, I was dressed quite scruffily. Boarding the bus to go home I saw it was almost full so I found a rail to lean against. That's when a young woman, sitting with her child, stood up and offered me her seat. 'Wow!' I thought. Out loud I said, "Do I look that old and tired?" She replied, "You look like you've had a tough day." I thanked her sincerely and stayed standing. A moment later a man rose from his seat at the back of the bus and made his way towards me, squeezing past several people on the way. Then he told me about his addiction problems, asked my advice, and just chatted about ... Read Full Story >>

The Healing Toddler

A month ago,  I stepped through the revolving door  into my physician's office, feeling both afraid of being there because of what I could find out about my health, but also knowing that I would feel afraid if I didn't come there precisely to find out. So, I felt stuck. As I scurried over to a wooden chair with a plush cushion and a Home & Garden magazine lying on top of it, I noticed there were many other patients who were carefully seated on the chairs surrounding me with frightened faces buried in magazines. Amidst, these nervous readers, I spotted a little two-year old girl who was propped up on one of these seats with her short little legs sticking horizontally out into the air.  Just a moment after I sat down, I heard this little doll-like child's voice as she suddenly and fearlessly, began to sing. She was making up her own song. It was something about Santa Claus. Everyone was listening but I don't think she even was aware of how all of ... Read Full Story >>

Celebrate Pay It Forward Day, April 26th

Pay It Forward Day is coming up on Thursday April 26th and we invite you to celebrate with us by doing an act of kindness!   Below are some kindness ideas, based on some of our favorite real-life HelpOthers' pay-it-forward stories.  And we invite you to share how you celebrated by leaving a comment on this story! 1.  The tried and tested - pay for the coffee for the person in the line behind you.   Andrew was a bit anxious when he tried to do this for the first time and wasn’t sure it would work - a week later, the coffee shop tags him with a free cup of coffee for being cheerful and friendly!  [more]   2.  Anonymously pay for someone’s meal at a restaurant.   A grandmother is sharing pancakes with her family when she decides to pay for the meal of a man eating alone, so she has the waitress deliver him ... Read Full Story >>

Scouts Honor on a Full Flight

My 9-year-old daughter and I were flying from our home in Charlotte, North Carolina, to spend a week with my husband in Miami, Florida. Mike had been in Florida for five months working for an internet start-up company. We were excited about the trip because we had seen him only five times in five months, and Kallie missed her Dad terribly. As usual on the Charlotte-to-Miami flight, the plane was totally full. I had noticed a troop of Boy Scouts at the gate and commented to my daughter that if anything happened, we would be OK with all those Scouts on our flight! Little did I know.... Because we did not get our boarding passes until we arrived at the gate, Kallie and I could not get seats together and were separated by the aisle. That wasn't such a big deal, except that Kallie was nervous about the trip and had counted ... Read Full Story >>