Author Topic: One (small) good deed a day 2024  (Read 21759 times)

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #50 on: March 18, 2022, 11:35:42 PM »
I witnessed what I can only call a freak jazz accident tonight and my good deed was offering up a tube of high-alcohol-content hand sanitizer from my bag to help clean the surprising amount of blood off the piano so the next band could play without too much delay. Someone found a rag, someone else had some 'Wet Ones' wipes, and between all of those they managed to sanitize everything pretty well. Then the next pianist came on and she was like: well, this seems clean but it's absolutely soaking wet and my eyes are watering from the extreme amount of rubbing alcohol, but I guess the show must go on?? At which point I pulled out a nearly full travel pack of Kleenex and offered them up to dry off the piano. She also used the dregs of my hand sanitizer to clean her hands just in case. We're all prepared for airborne and surfaceborne pathogens these days but not so much bloodborne! :-S

I also received a good deed tonight, which is such a nice feeling. I was at this fundraising benefit concert, and it was kind of a marathon thing where a zillion jazz musicians performed in ensembles one after the other after the other, rapid fire with no intermissions for over five hours. Anyway, I was kind of flirting with a migraine on and off and I moved seats a couple of times because the lights were making my headache worse. Apparently word got around that I was struggling a bit, and at some point someone delivered a bottle of ice cold water to my seat out of the blue. Some person I barely know had gone across the street for a drinks run and since they'd heard I was feeling unwell they thought it might help if I cooled off and hydrated :-)

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #51 on: March 21, 2022, 10:21:23 AM »
I love your concert stories, @Dollar Slice !  It feels good to be prepared.

And also nice to be on the receiving end, showing that some of the community that we strive to build exists.


MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #52 on: March 21, 2022, 03:25:05 PM »
Returned two lost wallets while on vacation. I don't think I've previously ever found any, so two in a day was wild. Both were successfully returned (I was at a hotel, & they tracked down the owners) & I was really happy to save them the worry about their ID &/or other things. I didn't poke around, so don't know if they had cash.

Helped an elderly neighbor with a tech problem, and opening some items that are difficult for her.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #53 on: March 21, 2022, 05:13:29 PM »
Returned two lost wallets while on vacation. I don't think I've previously ever found any, so two in a day was wild.

Two in one day! Wow, that's crazy!

My dad had his wallet stolen when he was visiting Poland, and it was found (emptied of money) and returned and mailed back to him in the US. He'd canceled his credit cards and replaced his ID, but it still saved him a lot of time and hassle since he didn't have to replace all the other things - health insurance card, library card, grocery card discount club, etc. And he ended up with a duplicate of his driver's license which is kind of handy to have. So, even if someone else had already cleaned them out - hopefully not! - you were doing them a big favor by returning them :-)

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #54 on: March 21, 2022, 05:24:11 PM »
Returned two lost wallets while on vacation. I don't think I've previously ever found any, so two in a day was wild.

Two in one day! Wow, that's crazy!

My dad had his wallet stolen when he was visiting Poland, and it was found (emptied of money) and returned and mailed back to him in the US. He'd canceled his credit cards and replaced his ID, but it still saved him a lot of time and hassle since he didn't have to replace all the other things - health insurance card, library card, grocery card discount club, etc. And he ended up with a duplicate of his driver's license which is kind of handy to have. So, even if someone else had already cleaned them out - hopefully not! - you were doing them a big favor by returning them :-)

I was in a large hotel/casino in Las Vegas, so maybe that type of place tends to get you to put your wallet down? And/or people are drinking more than usual? :-) One was for an employee, and their wallet had a clip that had clearly broken off. The front desk guy (I'd turned in a wallet to him the day before) saw me again & let me know how grateful the employee with the lost wallet was. She was over the moon excited that she didn't have to replace all of her stuff! I turned the other wallet into a security guard on the casino floor, so not sure what happened there.

It's actually really interesting that someone went through the work of mailing the wallet back to your dad. I suppose maybe it wasn't the same person who took the money. Otherwise, I have questions on why they opted to do one kind deed, but not the other!

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #55 on: March 21, 2022, 06:23:22 PM »
It's actually really interesting that someone went through the work of mailing the wallet back to your dad. I suppose maybe it wasn't the same person who took the money. Otherwise, I have questions on why they opted to do one kind deed, but not the other!

I think someone pickpocketed him, took the money out and tossed the wallet on the ground, and then some nice person found it. I can't remember the whole story (it was a while ago) but I think the person who found it turned it in at a police station or the US Embassy in their city, and then it was mailed back to him. Luckily he had his passport stored separately and my mom was with him (with her wallet, credit cards, etc.) so it wasn't a real emergency while they were traveling.

I can't remember exactly what it was now, but maybe 10-15 years ago I found something like a checkbook - maybe someone's check register? Maybe an empty checkbook? Some kind of banking thing, anyway, in a little faux leather booklet, laying on the sidewalk. I did mail it back to them since their address was on it, and I called their bank, too, in case someone had stolen their info and tossed it and might be writing forged checks or otherwise trying to steal their money. They wrote me a thank you note :-)

Prairie Gal

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #56 on: March 28, 2022, 08:04:19 AM »
Last Friday I went to the Food Bank and picked up a food hamper for a disabled person with no transportation and delivered it to her home. This was quite an eye opener, and a sobering reminder of how blessed I am. I would like to find more opportunities to do this kind of service work. The lady was incredibly grateful.

pachnik

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #57 on: March 28, 2022, 01:14:21 PM »
Last Friday I went to the Food Bank and picked up a food hamper for a disabled person with no transportation and delivered it to her home. This was quite an eye opener, and a sobering reminder of how blessed I am. I would like to find more opportunities to do this kind of service work. The lady was incredibly grateful.

I love this!  I need reminders too of how good I have got it. 

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #58 on: March 29, 2022, 02:12:13 PM »
-I won a prize pack from a local business (that was doing a fundraising campaign for Ukraine) and was happy to be able to pass on a bunch of gift certificate prizes to people who could use them more than I could.

-connected a co-worker with a friend in order to help her secure housing--it's very hard to find homes in my town except through word of mouth.

-helped out with a photo shoot for someone who needed assistance
« Last Edit: March 29, 2022, 02:15:00 PM by Serendip »

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #59 on: April 03, 2022, 07:46:03 PM »
@Serendip You double dipped with the prize pack, nice!
And helping somebody find housing is a big deal. I've been trying to help a neighbor who's facing eviction to find affordable housing, but it is incredibly hard.

Lunasol

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #60 on: April 06, 2022, 04:30:04 PM »
I kinda owed a neighbor because she was tremendous help last year and I got her a coffee but it turned out she prefers tea so I still gave it to her cause I only drink decaf nowadays, pfft!
Really thought she liked coffee cause she saw me carrying a cup once and asked jokingly why I didn't bring her one.

Oh well I tried

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #61 on: April 06, 2022, 06:27:02 PM »
@Serendip You double dipped with the prize pack, nice!
And helping somebody find housing is a big deal. I've been trying to help a neighbor who's facing eviction to find affordable housing, but it is incredibly hard.

Housing is such an issue--Hope your neighbour finds something!

@Lunasol --a nice gesture, even if she couldn't enjoy it :)

I tried to help a friend by recommending a book they might enjoy (based on some issues they are having in a relationship) and moved some worms off the concrete into the direction they were heading (ridiculous I know, but seeing them try to 'cross the road' triggered something in me..ha)

SquashingDebt

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #62 on: April 06, 2022, 08:13:51 PM »
@Serendip , I've done that with worms before too :)

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #63 on: April 06, 2022, 08:20:40 PM »
I am a major early bird, but a friend sent out a frantic SOS for help with a soccer pickup, so I'm doing the 9 pm pickup with four sweaty teens. I normally will do almost anything to avoid the late pickup (must.be.in.bed), but I know how it is when you are juggling & have conflicts. She was so appreciative.

RedefinedHappiness

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #64 on: April 06, 2022, 10:25:03 PM »
This makes me feel good reading.  Joining to follow and give me ideas/motivation to do some small deeds as well.

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #65 on: April 11, 2022, 08:08:22 AM »
This makes me feel good reading.  Joining to follow and give me ideas/motivation to do some small deeds as well.

Yay!  That is the purpose of this thread.

Yesterday I received, and planted in pots, 5 nuts from the local chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation. I don't have room for more than 1 or 2 chestnut trees, but I am giving 3 to a friend.  A long time ago there were many beautiful chestnut trees in the Northeast, but they were almost all killed by Chestnut blight, a fungus.  The ACF has been gathering nuts from isolated survivors and is distributing the seeds to volunteers in the hopes that we can preserve genetic diversity, that they can use to cross with new blight-resistant strains that have been bred and engineered, once permission is gained to plant those.

A local mom is collecting Easter baskets for Ukrainian refugee children who are now in Poland, so I just found three pretty little baskets in my attic. My children and I will fill them and drop them off at her house. I generally think these collections of things are useless and burdensome when sent overseas, but she's Ukrainian and may know whom to send them to.  Hopefully they arrive in time for Orthodox Easter.


LaineyAZ

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #66 on: April 11, 2022, 08:34:50 AM »
I'm heading to our local community center this morning to drop off 3 grocery bags of non-perishable food and some hygiene items for the food pantry. 
It's small but well-run and includes a walk-in refrigerator and freezer for perishables which they get from 3 local supermarkets.  Distribution is twice a week.

I had been buying and keeping extra non-perishable food during the pandemic but I'm feeling good about letting some of that go to those in need.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #67 on: April 11, 2022, 09:04:31 PM »
Love reading everyone's updates!

In the continuing spirit of helping out my fellow parenting community, one of my 15 y.o.'s friends phone died on Saturday night. He didn't know his parents phone number! I got out of bed & gave him a ride, because he didn't have an alternate way home.

I also got up early the next day (6 am, on a Sunday :-(( ) to help another friend set up the goals and prep a soccer field for a tournament. Our kids play for a competitive club, but it's run exclusively by volunteers, so there are quite a few moments where they need help. Usually not so early.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #68 on: April 17, 2022, 05:45:06 PM »
Someone on the street asked me if I had an extra face mask, which I did, so I gave him one. I always used to carry foam earplugs in my bags for concerts, plus a small pharmacy of meds for minor emergencies, now I've added extra face masks and hand sanitizer during the pandemic.

I (once again) went early and held a spot in line for some disabled/elderly friends so they could go sit down around the corner instead of standing in line. It was sold out but we got front row center thanks to me. I hope someone does that for me when I'm 75 ;-)

I ordered and shipped some items for a friend in Australia to save him some money on shipping - I was going to ship him a little gift and because of the way shipping costs are from the US, it saves a lot of money to consolidate two packages into one. So I asked if there was anything he wanted from this indie music shop in NYC that I know he always goes to when he's in town, so he put in an order there and I was able to ship it all in one box. Plus the shop is owned by a good friend of mine, so I was able to steer some business his way instead of my friend getting it for a couple of bucks cheaper via Amazon. Win-win!

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #69 on: April 20, 2022, 10:44:49 AM »
-A friend said she was in a dinner rut so I sent her a bunch of easy but tasty recipes that kids might like too.

-drove down to a nearby town to go for a walk with a friend who is way more social than I am (but hasn't been able to see as many of her friends as she would like--she said it was the highlight of her week, which was really nice!)

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #70 on: April 29, 2022, 02:39:07 AM »
My friend who doesn't have internet is, as per usual, in need of internet favors - he used my email to order something and when the package wasn't delivered on time I looked up the tracking number for him (since I had the confirmation email) and found that it had a delivery exception due to someone leaving off part of his address and badly misspelling both his first and last names (geez...) when he ordered over the phone. I was able to log into the UPS website and fix the address and add his phone number. Hopefully that's enough to get it delivered!

I also looked up and printed out some info he needed for this weekend and got us a pair of free tickets to a show he wanted to see.

Dicey

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #71 on: May 09, 2022, 07:46:53 AM »
My friend who doesn't have internet is, as per usual, in need of internet favors - he used my email to order something and when the package wasn't delivered on time I looked up the tracking number for him (since I had the confirmation email) and found that it had a delivery exception due to someone leaving off part of his address and badly misspelling both his first and last names (geez...) when he ordered over the phone. I was able to log into the UPS website and fix the address and add his phone number. Hopefully that's enough to get it delivered!

I also looked up and printed out some info he needed for this weekend and got us a pair of free tickets to a show he wanted to see.
Did your friend receive their package?

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #72 on: May 09, 2022, 08:30:07 AM »
Did your friend receive their package?

NO! Ugh, UPS is such a mess. They sat on it for a week without delivering it with the website saying the address change was in progress, I finally sat down and contacted them again to try and sort it out (four days ago). Still not delivered. It's been in NYC for 12 days. It finally says "on the way / preparing for delivery" which sounds promising...

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #73 on: May 09, 2022, 08:40:20 AM »
Keep up the good work!! 

I gave away my hoard of vegetable and herb seeds through Buy Nothing. Hopefully this will encourage more local food growing.  If more people grow their food locally, there will be so many good results in terms of less driving, less demand for food at the store and thus lower prices for the poor, etc.

Prairie Gal

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #74 on: May 10, 2022, 04:46:00 AM »
I am giving away my old deep freeze to a person in need of one that can't afford it.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #75 on: May 10, 2022, 03:03:15 PM »
Did your friend receive their package?

Update: The Eagle has landed! :-) Finally got there.

I suspect my next good deed will be helping him set up his new toy and get an e-mail address and an online library account and all that. His package was an inexpensive smartphone!

Dicey

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #76 on: May 10, 2022, 10:16:20 PM »
Hooray!!

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #77 on: May 12, 2022, 08:42:36 AM »
Great to hear @Dollar Slice !

I showed a friend a new trail that I discovered..a very satisfying 'secret' trail which will be a great option this summer (I live in a busy tourist area, so it's always nice to have quieter options)

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #78 on: May 24, 2022, 10:44:52 AM »
Found some dollar bills on the ground while hiking at a nature preserve. It was at the end of the hike, and I was near the ranger station. Dropped it of, as I assume someone dropped it paying for parking. They can either return to owner (unlikely), or take it as a donation.

Through work, I signed up to participate in a tech mentorship program for young girls. My current age group is 12, and they are so very lovely & enthusiastic. I'm volunteering, but definitely the "winner", given how much I'm enjoying it.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #79 on: May 31, 2022, 06:58:25 PM »
A friend of mine who doesn't have health insurance remembered me as being 'that person' who was always sharing info about COVID stuff on Facebook, so when he got sick this week he messaged me to see if I knew where he could get a free PCR test without insurance. I was able to give him the info for a free public clinic that does same-day-result PCR tests that's within walking distance. I also gave him the number for the phone hotline where he can get a free telehealth appointment for people who test positive for COVID - they set it up to prescribe treatments for people without a primary care doctor, and they will deliver the medicines to your front door so you don't have to leave isolation.

I suspect my next good deed will be helping him set up his new toy and get an e-mail address and an online library account and all that. His package was an inexpensive smartphone!

Friend smartphone update: we haven't quite gotten to this advanced level yet, but I did help him with a few things like giving him some pointers on how to use the touchscreen keyboard. I'm learning some stuff about it myself in the process, he's trying to find features I never knew anyone would want because he's so used to the numeric keypad on the flip phone.

Prairie Gal

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #80 on: June 02, 2022, 06:23:28 PM »
A lady posted on a FB group I belong to that helps people in need that she needed children's Advil because her child was suffering and she couldn't get out to get it. Child and suffering in one sentence is something that gets me in the feels every time, so I went to Walmart and bought it and delivered it to her. Also got the little guy a Paw Patrol lollipop treat, because who doesn't need a lollipop when they are sick? Mom was super grateful.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #81 on: June 15, 2022, 10:04:06 AM »
It occurred to me this morning that some friends of mine might have forgotten to fill out a form that we all needed to turn in by today, no exceptions - so I sent a friendly reminder. Turns out they did forget, and were able to get it done with a few hours to spare after I mentioned it. Phew!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #82 on: June 15, 2022, 10:25:42 AM »
@Prairie Gal - love this.

A roundup of a few things, all of which are loosely connected:
-Picked up another kid when there was an emergency (two hour unexpected drive, as another friend's child had to be hospitalized during a sporting event)
-Brought treats to my son's injured friend (above), and stopped by to keep him company, after surgery.
-When we went to buy the treats above, there were maybe 30 carts in the parking lot of our small grocery store, and pretty much no available parking spots. Most of the shoppers are elderly in our neighborhood, & all of the handicapped spots were covered with carts.  The kids & I gathered all of carts & returned them to the corrals.
-Saw an ask for school supplies on my local Buy Nothing, and packaged up a bunch of stuff. There is a summer camp being run for low income students, so good to know the supplies will be useful.

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #83 on: June 15, 2022, 12:40:24 PM »
@Dollar Slice nice catch!
@MaybeBabyMustache Very well done indeed! Especially the carts... small things like that do much to decrease the amount of random frustration floating around the world.

I haven't done a whole lot of random good recently, though some weeks ago I participated in a community cleanup and brought some friends with me (and they won a raffle prize!)  I've been doing my usual thing being a pillar of church and school, hosting coffee hours, volunteering for the youth group fundraiser and field day.  These aren't all that altruistic since they directly help my own family, but still I'm probably putting in a bit more than I take out.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #84 on: June 15, 2022, 01:07:48 PM »
@Poundwise - contributing to the community around you is completely valuable & important, and not enough people do it. Don't discount that work, because it's what makes everything else "work" for others.

GardenBaker

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #85 on: June 15, 2022, 01:54:20 PM »
@MaybeBabyMustache great job on corralling the supermarket carts. It irks me when people don't put their carts away and makes everyone's life more difficult.

A few things I can think of off hand:
- Gave extra garden produce to 2 different coworkers
- Brought extra tomato seedlings to work for people to grow their own
- Donated to a gofundme for a young man in a car accident who does not have insurance

I need to make a effort to do more for others this year. I'm a work in progress.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #86 on: June 16, 2022, 11:20:17 PM »
Volunteered to walk my friend's boyfriend's elderly aunt to her bus stop since everyone else had a bunch of audio and video equipment to carry. She was afraid to walk alone so late at night and she refuses to take taxis "on principle" (elderly New Yorkers are an eccentric bunch...). She was a complete stranger to me, but after about five minutes of politely listening to three young people desperately try to figure out a way to get her there safely, I finally said "where exactly are you trying to go?" and convinced her that even though my subway stop was at the end of the block, I really needed to take a good long walk and it's a beautiful night and I would love to escort her there. "Oh well, then, if you need to take a walk, then I don't have to feel guilty! Good, now I can get to know you!" We had a nice time, she told me all about her osteoporosis, the protest she went to this afternoon, and showed me all her favorite houses along the way :-) 

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #87 on: June 17, 2022, 09:21:39 AM »
Ah..nice reminder to see this thread pop up--I love reading all of your efforts :)

-A friend had to work on her birthday so we planned a walk for the following day and I baked earl-grey cookies and made a bottle of lavender lemonade to have a surprise picnic. She was chuffed.

-went to a reading event last night as an acquaintance was participating

-picked up some trash on a walk

-made an effort to go say goodbye to a young co-worker who has decided to go back to school. I don't know why but I often shy away from these things and can be reluctant to engage..(I'm a sneak-quietly-out-the-back-door sort). She was so warm and happy to chat about her upcoming plans :)

jeninco

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #88 on: June 20, 2022, 02:49:18 PM »
@Poundwise - contributing to the community around you is completely valuable & important, and not enough people do it. Don't discount that work, because it's what makes everything else "work" for others.

I think of these things as "hold the community together." Not unimportant, in other words!

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #89 on: June 21, 2022, 07:39:50 AM »
Thanks for the encouragement, @jeninco and @MaybeBabyMustache! It's true, somebody has to do all this stuff. Likewise, I am thankful for the people who volunteer for the charities that I don't do, such as people who care for seniors and take care of stray animals, because I think they're important but I just don't have the bandwidth.

@Serendip Your little kindnesses spread happiness!
@GardenBaker Promoting vegetable gardens can be an important way to reduce carbon emissions and bring security to people, leading to more generosity.
@Dollar Slice Being kind to and listening to the elderly is one of the hardest tasks, and makes such a difference to their days.

I'm still chugging along. Another thing that I'm trying to do is be more consistent, on time, and have prompt communication with planning.  Nowadays it feels like people are frequently canceling and flaking out on things, and this just has a domino effect that churns our lives around and stresses people out (to mix metaphors).  I''m habitually overbooked, so it requires a special effort for me to be more reliable.

I recently volunteered to table at an event for a local organization that is new to me.  I don't really want to go; it's a pain; but they're good people and I support their mission to bridge ethnic divides so I will do this.

GardenBaker

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #90 on: June 23, 2022, 12:54:42 PM »
Called to check in on a friend under the weather yesterday. It was a quick chat, but I was glad to lift her spirits.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #91 on: June 23, 2022, 01:31:12 PM »
Without going into the slightly TMI details... I came across some info about a somewhat awkward (read: sex-related) medical thing that I thought could help a friend, and I managed to sort of casually drop it into conversation. He's now thinking about going to the clinic to do something proactive about it.

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #92 on: June 24, 2022, 01:52:54 PM »


I'm heading cross-country for 3 weeks so I just lent a friend my electric bike so she could try one out before purchasing one. She was reluctant but then was so excited when I assured her that I REALLY wanted her to borrow it :)

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #93 on: June 24, 2022, 07:27:38 PM »
Called to check in on a friend under the weather yesterday. It was a quick chat, but I was glad to lift her spirits.

That's a really important thing to do! 

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #94 on: July 11, 2022, 10:13:22 AM »
I'm completing a course that will then allow me to serve in an advisory role for a public university. I'm considering it a good deed, because it's unpaid. :-) In fact, I'm paying for 1/3 of the course (my employer will cover the other 2/3). So, I'm paying to volunteer, but am really liking the content, & am excited to try out this advisory role. The course is maybe 80 hours of time, so it's not a small commitment, and I'm chugging along, picking off modules one by one.

GardenBaker

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #95 on: July 11, 2022, 12:31:34 PM »
I'm a bit behind on posting:

6/30 Volunteered to sit in our receptionist's job for the afternoon so she could get out of the office to prepare for her only child's wedding on the weekend. I'm in a management role, so this isn't my typical job, but I didn't have plans for the July 4th weekend and was staying at the office until we closed anyway. She was grateful for the extra time off.

7/9 Brought extra peppers from my garden to share with co-workers.

7/10 Took a watermelon to my parents to share with their friends on vacation this week.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #96 on: July 11, 2022, 01:10:53 PM »
@GardenBaker - the 6/30 one - well done! I'm sure your receptionist greatly appreciated the time to prep for her child's wedding. How awesome you were able to help her in this way.

Prairie Gal

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #97 on: July 15, 2022, 05:08:05 PM »
I'm completing a course that will then allow me to serve in an advisory role for a public university. I'm considering it a good deed, because it's unpaid. :-) In fact, I'm paying for 1/3 of the course (my employer will cover the other 2/3). So, I'm paying to volunteer, but am really liking the content, & am excited to try out this advisory role. The course is maybe 80 hours of time, so it's not a small commitment, and I'm chugging along, picking off modules one by one.

That sounds interesting.

I've been thinking about "paying to volunteer" lately also. I've been considering Meals on Wheels, but you have to use your own vehicle and pay your own expenses. They do give you a donation receipt at the end of the year, but I'm not sure it would be all that helpful in my situation. Not sure how I feel about this, but it doesn't seem like it should cost me money to volunteer.

Thoughts?

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #98 on: July 15, 2022, 05:17:37 PM »
I'm completing a course that will then allow me to serve in an advisory role for a public university. I'm considering it a good deed, because it's unpaid. :-) In fact, I'm paying for 1/3 of the course (my employer will cover the other 2/3). So, I'm paying to volunteer, but am really liking the content, & am excited to try out this advisory role. The course is maybe 80 hours of time, so it's not a small commitment, and I'm chugging along, picking off modules one by one.

That sounds interesting.

I've been thinking about "paying to volunteer" lately also. I've been considering Meals on Wheels, but you have to use your own vehicle and pay your own expenses. They do give you a donation receipt at the end of the year, but I'm not sure it would be all that helpful in my situation. Not sure how I feel about this, but it doesn't seem like it should cost me money to volunteer.

Thoughts?

My $.02 - the content is highly related to my core job (class is about leadership) & I've gotten so much out of it so far. In my case, had I known how useful the content was, I would have paid without the volunteer option at the end. And in all of the normal caveats that we can financially afford it, professional development is a useful venture for me, etc.

I think paying to volunteer is fine. Most volunteer jobs require you to give up something (time), resources, your personal network, commuting costs/time (driving to/from), so I don't have an objection. If you fundamentally believe in the cause, you are keeping operating costs low, so that the as much money as possible can go to the folks who need it. But, that assumes you can afford it, of course.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #99 on: July 15, 2022, 05:51:14 PM »
I've been thinking about "paying to volunteer" lately also. I've been considering Meals on Wheels, but you have to use your own vehicle and pay your own expenses. They do give you a donation receipt at the end of the year, but I'm not sure it would be all that helpful in my situation. Not sure how I feel about this, but it doesn't seem like it should cost me money to volunteer.

Thoughts?

It wouldn't really bother me - it's essentially just donating money and time simultaneously. But with the car market being kind of crazy these days, I can understand not wanting to wear yours out.

If you only wanted to donate time, I'm sure you could volunteer in other ways - for example Meals on Wheels is also looking for people to make phone calls to seniors to have a friendly chat with them or do wellness checks. Or you could look for other similar charities that might have different roles to fill - some of my friends volunteer for God's Love We Deliver, which also delivers meals to homebound people, and none of their volunteer roles would cost you money (you work out of their delivery vans, plus they have kitchen prep and meal packing volunteer positions). I think that's local, but I'm sure there are charities like that all over the place.