Random act seventeen was to stop by my local plant nursery and leave a gift card for the next people to come into buy something. I like to think they’ll plant something pretty that will help them to remember this little act of kindness. This is in honor of Jack Pinto, a six-year-old boy who loved football so much that he was actually buried in his favorite Victor Cruz jersey.
Random act number sixteen was to buy two scratcher tickets and leave them in a random mailbox. Hopefully they win a little something! This is in honor of Emilie Parker, a sweet little six-year-old who loved to make people smile and draw pictures.
Random act number fifteen was a fun one that tested my willpower. I walked into a local donut shop, paid for a dozen donuts, and walked out without a single one. I’m very proud. This act is in honor of Anne Marie Murphy, a teacher who died shielding her children from the gunfire. She leaves behind a husband and four of her own children.
For act number fourteen, I left a SpaFinder gift certificate in someone’s mail box. It’s this great light pink box that I drive past every day and I figured with a pink mailbox, there had to be a woman in the house who would enjoy it! This act was in honor of Grace McDonnell, a seven-year-old who loved seashells, pink & purple, and gymnastics.
For random act of kindness number thirteen, I made a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, a cause near and dear to my heart. My Oma has this terrible disease which affects 26.6 million people around the world. There is no cure.
This act is in honor of James Mattioli, a six-year-old who loved basketball, swimming, arm wrestling, and being outside.
For random act number twelve, I donated to the Drive To End Hunger. This foundation seeks to end hunger in those 50+. A staggering nine million in that age group have to make the choice between medicine, heat, food, and other rising costs. My small donation helped provide three meals to a hungry senior. This is in honor of Jesse Lewis, a six-year-old with a radiant smile. He was incredibly brave – he ran into the hallway to try to help his friends and lead them to safety.
My eleventh random act was to buy In-N-Out for the guy behind me in the drive through today. Trust me, in my world, that’s the biggest gift to date! This was in honor of Chase Kowalski, a seven-year-old boy who loved to play outside. He recently competed in (and won!) his first mini-triathlon.
My tenth act was to leave a lunch card for the work cafe in a random spot on campus. This is in honor of Catherine Hubbard, a beautiful red-headed six-year-old little girl who loved animals and was always smiling. In an even odder twist, she shares both a first and middle name (Catherine Violet) with my niece (except my niece is Catherine with a K). I don’t know why, but that just makes this little girl hit a little closer to home.
Since there aren’t that many people at work, it’s easier to be sneaky in getting these anonymous acts done! My ninth act was to leave a Trader Joe’s gift card on someone’s desk who I happen to know is very health conscious. This act is in honor of Madeleine Hsu, a six-year-old little girl who was an avid reader, loved running and dancing.
My eighth random act of kindness was in honor of Dawn Hochsprung. She was the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School. She loved the children at her school and died trying to defend them – she lunged at the shooter in an attempt to stop him. Dawn was married with two daughters, three stepdaughters, and a poodle. For this random act, I left a Cheesecake Factory gift card for one of the janitors here at work. She’s a really nice lady who always says hi to me when she sees me. I saw her working today and slipped it under the door to the cleaning closet.
Down The Road I Go 