Random Acts of Kindness

Some of you may have heard about #26Acts of Kindness that started in December 2012 after the Newtown shooting when Ann Curry sent out the tweet, "“Imagine if all of us committed to 20 mitvahs/acts of kindness to honor each child lost in Newtown. I'm in. If you are RT #20Acts." It obviously started as #20Acts for the 20 young victims of the shooting, but quickly turned to #26Acts in honor of each of the children and adults that lost their lives on that Friday morning.

I thought it was an excellent idea and even committed some random acts of kindness of my own. I had originally planned to write about it when it happened to encourage you to do the same, but with everything going on around Christmas, I didn't have time, nor did I want it to seem like I was bragging. So, I decided to take a pass on ever mentioning it...until now.

Why now? Well, at Kenny's funeral last week, the minister encouraged us to conduct an act of kindness in the name of Kenny Qualls and I want to pass on the challenge to you as well. Kenny was one of the nicest, kindest, most loving and compassionate people I have ever known and doing a random act of kindness for a stranger is one of the best ways we can honor him and keep his memory alive.

Go out and make the world a better place this week. The next time you are at the drive thru, pay for the order of the car behind you, leave a big tip for your waiter, rake leaves for your neighbor, fill up someone's tank with gas, buy someone's groceries, order dessert for the table across the restaurant - there are so many things you could do and if anyone asks why, tell them you are doing it in memory of Kenny Qualls. Believe me when I tell you that it will make you feel just as good, if not better, than the recipient of the random act.