As a member of the Yahoo! MotherBoard, I was provided with $100 to start ripples of kindness as part of Yahoo’s How Good Grows program by surprising strangers and inspiring them to do nice things for others too. I thought for a long time about how I might want to use the money and decided to surprise early morning travelers by buying them breakfast at the airport while en route to my brother’s wedding.
Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer served as my co-conspirators and were fabulous helpers. Here are some of the reactions we got from the people we surprised.
It was a joy to surprise unsuspecting people waiting in line to buy food and certainly brightened the day of weary travelers. One of the most rewarding interactions we had from the experience was while waiting in the San Diego airport for our flight home. Little Miss Techie and I wandered by a Starbucks line and spied a man in an Army uniform.
“How about that man?” she whispered. I nodded and stayed behind her as she approached him.
“Excuse me,” she said as she gently tapped his arm. The man turned and looked at her, bending down to hear as she said, “This is for you from Yahoo. Thank you for serving our country. I hope you will use it to buy your lunch.”
The man, bewildered at first, looked at me and then back at her before breaking into a smile and thanking her.
The uniformed man later approached us as we sat on the floor waiting for the flight and introduced himself. He thanked us again and told our children that he spends part of every day doing something nice for others. He said that sometimes he doesn’t get a chance to do it until 8 pm but it is a regular part of his day. What an inspiration!
Hearing the daily acts of goodwill done by one individual reinforced the fact that the ripples of kindness we started over the holiday season can easily be continued throughout the year. While Yahoo provided me with $100 in seed money to start our ripples, there are many things that we can do all year long that don’t cost a lot of money or are free gestures that can easily make someone’s day.
What are some ways that you might bestow an act of kindness on a stranger this year? I’d love to hear what you already do and plans for 2011!
Happy New Year!
As a Yahoo MotherBoard member, Yahoo provided me with $100 for the How Good Grows: Ripples of Kindness program to use at my discretion. I was not required to share my experience by participating but was truly inspired!
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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012
That is wonderful! I love that Yahoo sponsored this and that you involved your kids.
I have been volunteering with my kids this year and on January 15th we will help set up a dinner that a local charity holds for MLK day. The kids can set the table, wrap silverware etc. They get a kick out of helping and it’s also good family time for us too! Win-win.
Per usual you will see me tweeting for toys 🙂 Even though I ramp it up in October, I do collect them all year long for Toys for Tots.
TfT has a special place in my heart- it always will…….
I LOVE IT! Seriously that brought tears to my eyes with LMT and the soldier.
I just got chills watching your video!
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Wow, what a touching story. I love the video and the fact that your kids were so confident about walking up to strangers to make their day. Thanks for creating a wonderful ripple of kindness!
Such an amazing story!