Day 305: Trick Or Treated For UNICEF

Sung in the tune of "Monster Mash"

 

I was sitting on my couch late one day,

And I got an idea while I watched Isla play.

It'd be a way to make kindness arise,

And suddenly, to my wife's surprise...

I did some acts.

I did some random acts.

(Some random acts.)

It was a kindness smash.

(Some random acts.)

It caught on in a flash.

(Some random acts.)

A year of random acts

Halloween is here!  I am a huge fan of this holiday, and always look forward to seeing awesomely creative costumes.  As I previously stated, I will be going as a cocoon to my wife's catepillar and Isla's butterfly, so if you are in Chicago, keep a look out for The Very Hungry Catepillar clan.  Isla only has a few teeth, so we aren't really planning on her eating a bunch of candy.  However, she still needs to trick or treat because...well it is Halloween and every kid should trick or treat.  We thought we should try to tie a random act into Halloween and my wife discovered a tremendous way to tie in kindness and trick or treating.  For over 60 years, UNICEF has run its' Trick or Treat for UNICEF program, that has children all over the country using Halloween as a way to raise funds for the less fortunate rather than raise the amount of cavities.  So today, for our random act of kindness, my family and I will be trick or treating for UNICEF.  The funds raised go to those in need all around the world in the forms of medicine, mosquito nets, food, and other things that help others survive.  In a way to get you all in the mood for Halloween festivities, I leave you with a classic...

Day 304: Read A Scary Story To Kids

Halloween is tomorrow and I can't wait because it is really the first Halloween that we can take Isla out Trick Or Treating (she was too small last year).  Lindsey, Isla, and I are going as characters from the seminal children's classic, The Very Hungry Catepillar.  I got stuck being the cocoon.  My costume makes it so I can't leave their side or else people will think I am a giant poop.  If I had it my way, we were going to be Kim (Isla), Kourtney (Lindsey), and Khloe (Me) Kardashian and call ourselves The Gar-dashians (I did however, gain creative freedom over our holiday cards this year by giving in).

It has become a Halloween time tradition for me to visit my wife's classroom early in the morning before class starts and read her students a story.  They usually get pretty excited when I show up, but it is probably because my being there gets them out of having to start class on time.  I really look forward to interacting with the kids, and sharing with them one of my favorite Halloween books, When A Monster Is Born.  So today, for my random act of kindness, I read a scary story to my wife's classroom.  Another tradition that I adhere to, as learned by the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, is to convince the students that I was one time bitten on the neck by a monster.  I then ask them if they would like to see the scars, and when they all gather around me, I scream "YAHHHH" and scare them.

I also want to say that my family's thoughts are with everyone in the east that has been affected by Hurricane Sandy.  If you would like to make a donation to the Red Cross Relief Efforts, you can do so here.

Day 303: Shared A Post

A few times over the past year and a half, my wife has utilized a tremendous website that helps her provide her students with the best education possible.  Donors Choose is an online charity website that allows teachers to raise funds for different classroom projects, supplies, or other educational materials.  Most recently, my wife had a donation project set up to provide the students in her classroom, many of whom are minorities, with books that relate directly to them.  Donors Choose has helped my wife a bunch, and it is an organization that I love to support.  While messing around on Facebook in a doctor's office this morning, I saw a friend who shared a post from DirecTV.  After reading a little further, I learned that between now and November 5th, if the post gets shared 100,000 times, DirecTV will donate $100,000 to Donors Choose.  I did a little research first to make sure it is legitimate (there are a ton of fake "Share This" posts out there), and I am happy to report that it is.  So today, for my random act of kindness, I shared a post to help raise money for Donors Choose.  It is something that is so easy, and can have a huge impact. Please join me in going to this site and sharing the post!