pulse

RAK #20: Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness , , , , ,

This is the twentieth of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!

Not all acts of kindness are random! I ran an errand at lunch today and grabbed lunch at La Bou on my way back. I can’t seem to leave that place with out a croissant and decided to bring one back for my sister!

This RAK is in honor of Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado. He was a father to a young son and a talented dancer. He danced at Disney Live and was known for his salsa moves. He died with his boyfriend Leroy Fernandez. Rest in peace, Xavier.

IMG_2314

RAK # 19: Mercedez Marisol Flores

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness , , , , ,

This is the nineteenth of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!

For this RAK, I bought lunch for the lady behind me in the drive through. It was simple, but her smile as I watched in my rear view mirror made my day!

This RAK is in honor of Mercedez Marisol Flores. She loved music and had a smile that could light up the room. She was a hardworking student who was interested in event planning. Rest in peace, Mercedez.

IMG_2310

RAK #18: Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness , , , , ,

This is the eighteenth of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!

I have decided that instead of giving something up for Lent this year, that I will do an act of kindness each day. This is #2. Yesterday, my work held a volunteer day (seriously, how cool is that?) in which we were encouraged to take time out of the work day to go do good in the community. I, of course, chose the horse rescue to work with. All About Equine is a local horse rescue that does amazing things. I chose to take some time afterward to provide a small monetary donation as well!

This RAK is in honor of Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon. He was known as a protector of his friends who never retaliated with hate. He died with his partner of eight years, Jean Carlos Mendez Perez and the two were inseparable. They were buried in a joint funeral. Rest in peace, Luis.

img_2301

RAK #17: Martin Benitez Torres

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness , , , , ,

This is the seventeenth of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!

I have decided that instead of giving something up for Lent this year, that I will do an act of kindness each day. I’m a bit behind on posted, but this is the first one. One of my Facebook friends posted a Go Fund Me for her husband’s grandson – little Calogero who was diagnosed with Burkitt Lymphoma, with several masses throughout his body. No child should have to face what this brave little boy is going through – he started chemo already.

This RAK is in honor of Martin Benitez Torres. He was a college student visiting family in Orlando (from Puerto Rico) when he was killed. He was an avid cook and described by friends and family as diligent and hardworking. He was always smiling and well loved. Rest in peace, Martin.

img_2300

RAK #16: Amanda Alvear

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness, Tragedies , , , , ,

This is the sixteenth of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!

I may have gone a little overboard on this one. Our church does something called the Giving Tree – you take a tag with someone’s name and wishes and buy them gifts. I chose a nine year old little boy named Malachai. I had so much fun shopping for the things he needed (some clothes) as well as a lot of games (what he wanted). I hope he has a wonderful Christmas!

This RAK is in honor of Amanda Alvear. She could have made it out of the club, but went back for her friend Mercedes (who also died). She worked as a pharmacy technician and was in school for nursing. She was known as a joyous and loving person. Rest in peace, Amanda.

img_1961

RAK #15: Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness, Tragedies , , , , ,

This is the fifteenth of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!

I had done my normal Sunday morning grocery shopping and was heading over to get gas when I noticed a homeless man near the grocery store. I popped back in, grabbed a gift card, and handed it to him as I left.

This RAK is in honor of Franky “Jimmy” Dejesus Velazquez. The oldest of the victims, he was known as someone who loved being with people and always helping them. Rest in peace, Jimmy.

img_1960

RAK #7: Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness, Tragedies , , , , ,

This is the seventh of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!
I did this RAK while out to dinner with my parents – we saw a family with five adorable little kids and I decided to pick up their tab. This RAK is in honor of Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, also known as “Ommy” and who was 22 years old. He was known for making people laugh and always bringing joy to the room. Rest in peace, Ommy.

RAK #6: Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness, Tragedies , , , ,

This is the sixth of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!
For this RAK I donated to one of our local Little Leagues – they were running a fireworks stand to raise money and someone broke in overnight and stole almost $12,000 worth of fireworks.

This RAK is in honor of Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, who was 36 years old and married. He was known as a goofball who loved to dance and was working two jobs to get by. Rest in peace, Eric!

img_0913

RAK #5: Luis S. Vielma

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness, Tragedies , , , ,

This is the fifth of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!

This was another fun one. I asked the cashier to load some money on the Safeway gift card and then for her to give it to someone who looked like they were truly having a terrible day. She and the bag boy were super excited about their “mission”.

This RAK is in honor of Luis S. Vielma, was 22 years old and worked at Disney World, specifically at the Harry Potter ride. In fact, J.K. Rowling herself tweeted about his death. He was in college studying to be a physical therapy assistant and his friends and family described him as one of the kindest people they had ever met. Rest in peace, Luis.

IMG_0860

RAK #4: Juan Ramon Guerrero

Anna Blankenheim Death, Random Acts of Kindness, Tragedies , , , , ,

This is the fourth of 49 random acts of kindness (RAKs) that I’m doing to honor the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Hopefully each small act puts a little bit of happiness back out in the world!

This was another fun one. If you don’t know, I’m a planner addict… in fact, right now I’m currently using TWO paper planners (stay tuned for an update on that)! I posted in one of the Facebook forums I belong to that for my 4th RAK I wanted to give away a planner system that didn’t work well for me. In order to enter, people had to comment with a random act of kindness they had performed. Kind of sneaky of me, right? I got lots of great ideas!

This RAK is in honor of Juan Ramon Guerrero, who was 22 years old and was a student at the University of Central Florida. He was at the club with his boyfriend Christopher Leinonen, who was also killed. They had planned to get married and instead, their families held a joint funeral. Rest in peace, Juan.

IMG_0872