I haven't really had any specific themes to any of my random acts, or had a pattern that I have followed. This is due to the fact that I try to be as spur of the moment and random as possible in selecting these acts. However, with today being the start of Random Act of Kindness Week worldwide, I thought I would do something more specific. A goal of this journey is to bring a focus on people or groups that are trying to spread goodness and kindness. So this week, some of my random acts will double as a way for me to bring about awareness of those who are doing selfless work for other people.
I have probably used the phrase "I am dying of thirst" too many times to count. It is obviously an exaggeration, but I have never really thought of what it would be like to actually have that happen. There are over a billion people on this planet that don't have access to clean water. Diseases brought about by dirty water kills more people every year than "all forms of violence combined, including war." While those stats are alarming, even more eye-opening (and promising) is the ease by which we can help change this problem. I recently learned of the mission of Kyle Morrow and his website ThirstTees.com. Kyle is selling t-shirts on his site, with the proceeds from the purchases going towards providing clean water to those in need. For every shirt purchased, one person will gain access to clean drinking water for 25 YEARS!! So today's random act of kindness was to not just buy a t-shirt, but to also help another human being live a better life by having access to a better water source.
Hi Ryan, I love your blog and especially commend you for profiling people who are doing good. This inspired me to advertise Thirstees myself amongst my friends. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeletePS please check out my project at www.yourethebestpersoniknow.com. I am asking people to participate in acts of kindess through this project. Your support would mean a lot. Thanks! emina
Hi, I found your blog through Google Blogs of Note and found it interesting. Below were my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important to note that you have substantially more disposable income and disposable goods (items with monetary value you are not using such as the Wii) to spend on "good deeds" than the average Joe or Jane, who doesn't have unused cell phones originally worth $100 sitting around nor $100 in their pocket to spend on feel-good items. I do think you have a very good heart, yuppy as it may be, so I wanted to follow up with an example of what the rest of the world can do for good deeds. Our acts of kindness are things like helping a friend out of work by giving a job lead, or lending an ear to a stranger with a relationship problem, or having a sticker in my pocket (those free ones that come in the mail) and giving one to a little child in the store that waited patiently in the checkout line in front of me with his frazzled mom. All of these I did yesterday, for FREE, and didn't give one thought about tallying it up to a certain number of "good deeds" per day... Giving is something that just happens naturally when you're in the habit... And I am sure you are finding this to be the case yourself, I do not doubt your sincerity, just giving some real world encouragement to keep on the path from the other 99%.
A random act of kindness related to clean drinking water that a regular Mr or Ms No-munney-buxx could do is to become a volunteer water monitor. http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/index.cfm
Please do keep up the good deeds. By day 100 I will forecast that you will not have to go online to find charities to help as much. By day 366, I suspect you will find yourself surrounded by people to help in your everyday walk of life without having to seek them out. Enjoy the new friends you make - - there will be many - - and beware the moochers! - - there will be at least a few. :)
Please read through the rest of the blog prior to making assertions. More often than not, the random acts are free acts. I am no millionaire either. In fact, my yuppy heart gives away a lot more than is sometimes fiscally responsible. Also, I have given away things that were gifts in the past (Wii) or were given to me by someone else (phone). The reason I am "tallying up" my deeds is to be able to log it for my newborn daughter so that she can read it in the future. I want to set a positive example for her in hopes that she lives a life of giving back to others. I appreciate you reaching out, and I will definitely look to become a volunteer water monitor.
DeleteGardentina,
DeleteI find that your comment really misses the mark. The blogger is not doing this to be pretentious or seek some sort of recognition (blogs of note is chosen randomly and without solicitation). Calling him a yuppy and suggesting that your charities are somehow more authentic than his, it just undermines the entire goal here. Very sad.
I just wanted to point out that, while the thirsttees.com link points to the correct site, the text you have is missing a T. So if you try to go directly to it like that, it redirects you to somebody's Etsy shop (which is not charity-affiliated).
ReplyDelete