Last week, we at Random Acts celebrated our first ever Spark! Previously known as AMOK, Spark is a week-long opportunity to ignite kindness in our communities. We reached out to our staffers and supporters to participate, and are in awe at some of the kindness acts that we helped to Spark! In all, 839 people pledged to complete an act during Spark, 452 of whom listed GISH as their inspiration for pledging. By the end of Spark, 170 staff and supporters submitted participation forms documenting their kindness acts. Here are just a few of those acts.
Helping the Outdoors
Kindness extends to the natural world, as two of our supporters proved. Sharon Cameron decorated and shared two dozen kindness rocks around their hometown so strangers walking could come across a surprise kind word. Constanze Milbrand set up a bee-friendly garden, including a bee hotel, and bought reading resources on creating bee-friendly habitats for friends. Bees are necessary for food production and a balanced ecosystem, and Constanze’s work helps keep it in balance.
Serving the Underserved
When considering acts of kindness, sometimes it helps to think of the communities that are often served the least. Australia East Regional Representative Annabel Chan marched in Melbourne’s LGBTQ+ Pride Parade with the Australian Psychological Association. She also handed out #I’llGoWithYou pins to help trangender and gender-diverse people feel safe and welcomed while seeking mental health support. Annabel’s act also connects with our May and June Safety #GetKind theme, which has us doubly excited. Event Coordinator Jaden Brodie purchased 36 deodorants, chapsticks, and nail clippers and 48 mouthwashes for My Friend’s Place, a nonprofit organization that works with youth experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Projects Manager Miranda Debenham focused on serving new mothers in Sheffield, U.K., and donated supplies such as nursing supplies, maternity pads, and baby baths to Baby Basics, a local nonprofit that provides needed supplies to new mothers in need without questioning their need level. Miranda shared that she wanted to focus on items that are not often found secondhand.
Serving up a Helping of Kindness
For many of us, food signifies comfort and compassion, and these act doers know the importance of a special meal or snack. Creative Department Executive Assistant Holli DeWees has been undergoing radiation treatment for cancer. For Spark, she focused on helping those who have been so helpful and kind to her and brought doughnuts for the nurses and radiation techs. Donor Appreciation Coordinator Monique Lowe worked with Fresh Brewed Coffee House in Myrtle Beach, which connects people in need with community resources, safety, and coffee. Monique donated supplies to the coffee house as well as Suspend servings, which are pre-bought coffees for customers unable to purchase a coffee.
An Act a Day Keeps Unkindness Away
Sometimes it is hard to choose a single act, so you do several! Or at least that is what US Southwest Regional Representative Jus Chowdary did! Jus completed an act a day, totaling seven acts for Spark week! Jus’s acts included providing arts and crafts to a nursing home, providing food for a food distribution center, providing gift cards for a teacher, rounding up tabs for charity donations, donating clothing for a clothes drop box, paying for customer food in a drive-thru, and leaving positive reviews for employees.
Of course, kindness does not stop when Spark ends, and we can all keep on lighting a spark of kindness in our communities year round. If you would like to join in the fun and keep the fires going, reach out to your regional representative. And join us next year for Spark!