FILL THE PARKING METER!

"I am a kindergarten teacher in California. We are deeply involved in Service Learning and making a difference in our community. I am so proud of what our school has accomplished, and on a regular basis we look for opportunities to help others. Last year one of our parents came into the office with a full-sized, plastic parking meter bank. She asked if we could use it and we said yes. Each year we do at least one coin drive and I figured that it would come in very handy for the next one.

On the first day of school, a small story was printed in our local paper about a family with five children who lost their home and all of their belongings in a fire. I immediately thought about the parking meter. The next day I made and laminated a poster that said 'Fill the Meter for the Sandoval Family' along with some information about them; I taped the poster to a pillar outside the school office, and mounted the meter on a small luggage cart to move it in and out daily. Our school raised $1,100 (US) in a little over two weeks. People put checks, large and small bills, and coins in the meter daily. It was unbelievable! I purchased gift cards with the money gave them to the father of the family. He was so thankful.

The family who donated that plastic parking meter bank to our school made a huge difference in the lives of this man and his family and they don't even know it. Their random act of kindness in donating the parking meter served to make this coin drive (and future efforts) so much more successful due to the highly visibility and uniqueness of the parking meter. Who wouldn't want to fill it for a good cause!" – Submitted by Donna, California

STARBUCKS CHEER PASS

Starbucks is encouraging its customers to think kindness this holiday season. Inspired by its loyal patrons, Starbucks hopes to instigate half a million acts of holiday cheer by distributing Cheer Passes at various events throughout the season starting today. Starbucks asks only one thing in return: that the sentiment of cheer or kindness is passed on to friends, loved ones, and strangers.

Starbucks will track the ripple effect of these acts of cheer – anything from opening a door for a stranger to offering a colleague a stamp for that last piece of mail – via its holiday Web site, www.ItsRedAgain.com. A Cheer Pass is a small, individually numbered card that fits in the palm of your hand, and while the size of the card itself may not be big, the cheer it represents could be huge. Cheer Passes not only remind recipients to pass on an act of kindness or holiday cheer to another person, but will also allow them to track their “chain of cheer” to see just how far one thoughtful gesture really can travel. You can visit www.ItsRedAgain.com to start your own chain of cheer!

TAKING TOLL OF KINDNESS

Kindness comes in all shapes and sizes and it’s wonderful to see how one action can cause a series of actions. Yvonne shared the following example with us.

"One Saturday, my husband and I were traveling to celebrate our fifth anniversary. This was a rare getaway for us since we have two small children. As we were reached the first tollbooth, we realized we did not have much change in the car. We had enough for that one. Before we reached the second booth, we pulled over and dug through the car and my purse, but could not find enough change or cash. When we arrived at the booth, we were greeted with a big smile. My husband and I explained to the young lady, named Juanita, that we were short. She smiled even bigger and said 'I'll take care of it.' As if this was not enough, she handed my husband MORE change. Juanita said, 'This should be enough for your next toll.' My husband tried to give it back to her. Her reply? 'You guys are going to need this. The next booth may not be as nice. They may even make you exit.'  

This act of kindness touched our hearts so much. In fact, I wrote a letter to the toll authority expressing my appreciation for the kindness of Juanita. The toll authority wrote back, 'I cannot tell you how much we appreciate your letter of thanks for one of our toll collectors at Morgantown Plaza! Juanita was so touched that you would take the time to acknowledge her helpfulness to your family!'" – Submitted by Yvonne, Kentucky

CELEBRATE WORLD KINDNESS

World Kindness Week is next week - the 9th through 13th and World Kindness Day is Monday, November 13. This week provides a wonderful opportunity to implement kindness in your school, community or workplace. If you, or a group, school or organization you're in, does a World Kindness Week project, let us know! Send us an e-mail at info@actsofkindness.org or call 800/660-2811 and tell us about it. If you need ideas, check out our Kindness Week Activity Guide. We also have two different Pass It On cards that you can print and distribute for free. Visit www.actsofkindness.org/inspiration/graphics.asp to see the cards and our other graphics.

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

Teresa created her website to detail the activities of the new RASKALS club at Franklin Elementary. RASKALS stands for: Random Acts of Selfless Kindness And Little Surprises. Their mission is to practice kindness in order to create a community of caring. To read about RASKALS, click here.

FREE FBL POSTERS

RAK’s sister foundation, The Foundation for a Better Life, is offering a set of "value" posters. The set includes Albert Einstein, The Incredibles, Benjamin Franklin, a kindness poster, and more.

To receive the set of posters, e-mail info@forbetterlife.org with your name, school name, street address (no P.O. box) and phone number (for shipping purposes only). Incomplete requests will be deleted with no reply. FBL can send only one set of posters per school and there are no substitutions on the designs.

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