The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: Poundwise on January 18, 2022, 11:32:21 AM
-
Fresh for 2022! Here's the link to last year's challenge:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/one-(small)-good-deed-a-day-in-2018/100/
In the words of @MaybeBabyMustache,
I've been trying to look for small opportunities to do good deeds every day. I'm not talking about saving a drowning child (although, you should definitely do that too!), but the really small stuff.
Some small things I did this year:
- gave blood
- donated good clothes to refugees
- thanked a hassled sounding administrator for the good job she is doing
Inspire us with ideas for the little things that can put a bit of unexpected sweetness into another person's life. Get and give some well deserved pats on the back!
-
Love it! Glad to see this thread again in 2022.
A few things from my side:
-Helped a neighbor get set up on Nextdoor (per her request), so she could list a few things to give away/sell
-Gave a kid a ride home from a soccer game. He wanted to bike, but it was quite dark, and he lives nearby.
-Donated to a school fundraiser
-Returned some carts at the grocery store, which freed up a couple of extra parking spots.
-
I'm in :-)
Nice job giving blood, there is a blood shortage where I live but I don't think I'm allowed to donate (plus I have apparently got the world's worst veins).
I'm not sure I have a lot to report from this year so far, we're just getting over the peak Omicron surge and I've mostly been isolating at home since I have an immune deficiency. I just got my booster (long after most folks, due to the way immune deficient people got their shots spaced out in the US) so hopefully will be out and about more with other humans soon. :-)
I did send another immune-deficient friend a little care package with some extra home COVID test kits and some other stuff he said he could use, he's having multiple surgeries this winter and also has a kid in school so it's a pretty rough time. It was a worrying experience since about a third of the people in the post office weren't bothering to wear masks...
-
Glad to see this thread again :)
A care package is a wonderful idea @Dollar Slice
I tried to offer helpful advice to visitors. I live somewhere that you frequently see tourists who are confused or lost..it’s easy enough to ignore/not see it as they will find their way eventually so I try to gauge the situation. Are they in exploration mode or do they look stressed? Sometimes it’s good to figure things out on your own but other times a point in the right direction can be a friendly gesture.
-
@Serendip - I love the idea of helping folks who look lost/need help. We skied this weekend, and helped out quite a few people who had crashed. I'm a moderate skier, and you definitely see "yard sales" on those type of runs. Always an opportunity to help someone get their gear back, or just make sure they are okay. I leave the more challenging gear retrieval to my teens, who are infinitely better skiers. :-)
-
@MaybeBabyMustache —ah yes, the yard sale is a very familiar term to me :)
It’s always nice to offer help on the mountain. One time my partner skied past a guy splayed out in a ditch/stream area and asked if he needed help—the man said no.
Then I came along and said “are you sure you’re ok?” And he admitted he wasn’t, but I think sometimes ego (or shock) prevents us from allowing someone to help in those situations.
-
Sent another COVID care package to another sick friend (COVID home tests, thermometer since she didn't have one, N95, a nice card).
Am sending out the nicest greeting card I could find and a gift card (for fancy food she likes) for a friend who just lost her husband, who was a close friend of mine. They live in Europe so I don't feel like I can go to the funeral, as much as I'd like to :-( He just died in the hospital with Omicron and I don't think he would have wanted me to take any risks to go (I'm immune deficient and he was always encouraging me to be careful). It feels entirely insufficient as a gesture, but I guess it's better than nothing when you're on another continent...
-
@Dollar Slice I'm sure your friend knows that you would be there if you could. I'm really sorry for your loss. It's tragic to have survived the past two years then to catch Omicron at the last moment.
-
Condolences @Dollar Slice —I think during grief, these gestures mean a lot. There’s never much that we can do but I think the effort, care and support we do offer are vital.
-
Helped push a minivan that was stuck in the middle of a hill blocking traffic. A wet snowstorm really took some people by surprise..I was thankfully walking.
-
@Serendip That was a good deed that probably prevented many drivers from getting blocked, frustrated, angry!
On the subject of reducing the ripple effects of traffic frustration and wasted time, I contacted Garmin a few weeks ago because their most recent map updates did not have the correct numbers for the Massachusetts interstate exit numbers and New York Hutchinson Parkway, which were renumbered many months ago. I just got an email saying that the next update would have corrected MA exits and the Hutch would be on the next update after that. I do busybody things like that in the hope that it helps.
-
Gave away lemons from our tree to the neighbors, and our gardener too (twice)
-
Oh, @Dollar Slice - I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. How terrible.
@Serendip - that's an awesome way to help.
Can I count the fact that someone pulled out in front of me (across my lane), requiring me to come to a sudden & complete stop. So much that my entire car shook, & my brakes squealed? I really, really wanted to honk (and/or gesture with one of my fingers), but reminded myself that we've all had careless days.
Recently:
-Still mentoring an Afghani refugee, who was recently relocated to a university, instead of the military base.
-Helping with a project at work, for someone who is swamped with something else
-Gave soccer players a ride home on a dark night (they bike, otherwise)
-Offered to help a neighbor with childcare
-Passed on some stuff via Buy Nothing & fulfilled a wish
-
Gave away lemons from our tree to the nieghbors, and our gardner too (twice)
Ooh, what a treat to be able to grow lemons * (says the person who is about the drive into a snowstorm!)
-
@MaybeBabyMustache —it can definitely be an act of Kindness to NOT do something too. I commend your ability to contain the urge :)
Attended a crash on the mountain recently and stayed with the person until all the details had been sorted and ski patrol was attending to them (likely a concussion, thankfully they had a helmet on).
So on that note, yesterday I saw a beginner who was skiing without their helmet strap done up so I stopped to let her know that she’d forgotten that detail.
-
Gave away lemons from our tree to the nieghbors, and our gardner too (twice)
Ooh, what a treat to be able to grow lemons * (says the person who is about the drive into a snowstorm!)
Thanks, we had way more than we could possible eat/drink without them going bad, and as a maximizer I hate to waste food :(
Good luck with the snow :(
-
Great thread! A couple things lately:
- Attempted to give blood (I failed because my iron level was too low, but I'll give myself credit anyway)
- Gave away oranges and kumquats from my trees
-
Every morning I collect 2 or 3 dogs whose owners are unable to walk them, and 3 or 4 people who have their own dogs or want to walk other people's dogs, and 1 or 2 people who can't walk by themselves, and we all go walking. We loop around and return the limited people, then go for a longer walk. We start every morning at 7:30 and by 8:30 we are done. At night I pick up 2 dogs and my own 1, and walk about 15 minutes. I've been doing this for over 2 years. At first they tried to pay me but I don't let them. If I got paid it would seem like work.
And I seem to take someone to a doctor visit 2 or 3 times a month.
Every Christmas season I decorate our courtyard of 12 apartments with lots of lights.
-
Nice job to everyone above!
- Attempted to give blood (I failed because my iron level was too low, but I'll give myself credit anyway)
Thank you for trying! There is a critical blood shortage where I live, I think because of COVID a lot of the type of civic-minded people who typically give blood are doing their civic best to stay home and away from other people and therefore are not going out to give blood. I unfortunately don't think I can give blood at this point. I looked into it last year after I got vaccinated.
My contribution this week: my recently-widowed friend asked if I could help her come up with a charity to donate to in lieu of flowers since she knows I'm charity-minded and knew her husband well and could hopefully think of something he would have liked. So I researched/vetted a bunch and narrowed it down to a couple of causes I thought would be important to him. I'm sure she knew him better than anyone but she's just in a complete fog right now :-( We settled on the Equal Justice Initiative (https://eji.org/). He did a short stint in a very harsh prison in Arizona decades ago, and he since fully cleaned himself up and changed himself for the better in a really admirable way, but having seen it first hand he was always really concerned with criminal justice reform.
More minor: I offered to print out some information and give it to a friend who doesn't have internet access, since we're planning to hang out on Sunday. (My first friend visit since before Omicron blew up. Exciting)!
-
Well done, @Dollar Slice . I've researched charities for a work cause, & was also really impressed with the Equal Justice Initiative. It also sounds like it's a good fit for what he would have wanted.
-
I picked about 65 oranges to give away on my Buy Nothing group. It's amazing how many oranges a single mature tree can produce - I think we must have started with close to 1000.
-
Nice to read all these updates :)
I saw someone waiting for a bus so went over to let them know that the transit drivers are striking so he needed to hitch-hike, walk or cab it..
-
@nessness - fresh fruit is probably the most popular thing on my local BN, and I live in a part of California where there are plenty of citrus trees! It's so fun to see people sharing the bounty.
-
-Very small gesture but picked up a sandwich board for a business after the wind knocked it over :)
-reached out to someone who is having a hard time--we are on differing sides of many things i.e :vaccinations, politics, religion, etc but it felt good to connect and make plans to do something neutral together like a mellow snowshoe outing.
-
@nessness - fresh fruit is probably the most popular thing on my local BN, and I live in a part of California where there are plenty of citrus trees! It's so fun to see people sharing the bounty.
This reminds me, I went to our neighbors to give them some of our lemons and I came back home with grapefruit lol!
-
A great thread.
I actually thought today about random acts of kindness ( like someone in my local FB community group mentioned paying for next person at McDonalds). To be honest , I don't know if I would be happy if someone paid for me or annoyed . Why annoyed? Because I would think that I am perfectly capable paying for myself and that person's money would better go to someone in need so it was " wasted" on me.
Last week I bought lunch for a homeless person. I was sitting eating my lunch and he approached us and asked for money and I said I didn't have cash and then he asked if I can buy him something to eat. At the bakery he also wanted a drink :) So once sales lady realised what I was doing she gave the food to him and asked him to leave .. she then looked at me with PITY and said " I am so so sorry" . Apparently this guy asks every day but I was like, no problem it's only $9. As a human being how can I say no , when another human being is hungry???
But I think my best good deed is replying to a complete stranger on Facebook that we could look after his dog while he was studying and settling in our city ( mature student). We looked after his dog for 8 months , walked every day , loved and cared for him , and only 2 days ago he went back to the owner .. and I am very sad :(
-
A great thread.
I actually thought today about random acts of kindness ( like someone in my local FB community group mentioned paying for next person at McDonalds). To be honest , I don't know if I would be happy if someone paid for me or annoyed . Why annoyed? Because I would think that I am perfectly capable paying for myself and that person's money would better go to someone in need so it was " wasted" on me.
Last week I bought lunch for a homeless person. I was sitting eating my lunch and he approached us and asked for money and I said I didn't have cash and then he asked if I can buy him something to eat. At the bakery he also wanted a drink :) So once sales lady realised what I was doing she gave the food to him and asked him to leave .. she then looked at me with PITY and said " I am so so sorry" . Apparently this guy asks every day but I was like, no problem it's only $9. As a human being how can I say no , when another human being is hungry???
But I think my best good deed is replying to a complete stranger on Facebook that we could look after his dog while he was studying and settling in our city ( mature student). We looked after his dog for 8 months , walked every day , loved and cared for him , and only 2 days ago he went back to the owner .. and I am very sad :(
Your first point reminded me of my FIL. He always looked unkempt and people frequently paid for his groceries. He passed out at a transit station (medical issue - he wasn't a drinker) and had to be transported by ambulance. Somehow, he dropped his wallet. Someone found it, tracked down my husband and returned it, cash intact. Of course my FIL was a Millionaire Next Door.
I love this thread. I typically read through it, thinking I don't have anything to add. Then I get to certain posts and think, "I do (or did) that." Thank you for the reminder to be vigilant in seeking opportunities and the reminder to occasionally give myself a little credit. In Catholic school, the nuns insisted if it wasn't difficult or didn't hurt, it didn't count. Um, no. So many things can be done with minimal effort. The fact that it's easy for me does not prevent it from being important or beneficial for someone else. Good begets good, and everything becomes easier with practice.
-
In Catholic school, the nuns insisted if it wasn't difficult or didn't hurt, it didn't count. Um, no. So many things can be with minimal effort. The fact that it's easy for me does not prevent it from being important or beneficial for someone else. Good begets good, and everything becomes easier with practice.
I love this.^^^
Thank you for feeding the homeless person, @life_travel! Of course he asks to eat every day, he needs food daily!
Today I didn't do anything especially good, except that I did keep my temper and was nice to my elderly mother, even when she was being annoying. And as a result, she was happy and we had a good day. And being patient with her is very hard for me, so that was actually more work than other good deeds.
Here's a potential good deed that I'm excited about. I've been so sick of things in this world getting worse, that I looked around and decided to see if I could fix something in the town. There's a railroad bridge in the center of town which keeps getting trucks stuck under it, which is stupid, causes traffic, damages the trucks, causes delivery delays, lost tempers, etc etc. I looked it up and a few trucks have been getting stuck there monthly for DECADES.
The bridge is rusty and an eyesore. I thought, could we get it repainted or get a hanging sign put in before the bridge so the trucks stop getting stuck? So I shot off some emails to our municipal government the other day, got referred to the MTA, got bounced back to the County. I also asked that it go onto the Traffic Commission agenda. This is a low priority item, but I'm determined to persist on it because it's a one-off, "ripple effect" type of deed that could take a bit of random negative out of people's lives. And heaven knows we all need that!
-
Today I didn't do anything especially good, except that I did keep my temper and was nice to my elderly mother, even when she was being annoying. And as a result, she was happy and we had a good day. And being patient with her is very hard for me, so that was actually more work than other good deeds.
I was a little cranky with my mom this weekend, so I appreciate this one...!
I used to commute to work through a railroad crossing, and occasionally the railroad crossing thingies (the little bars that come down to block the street with flashing lights) would get stuck in the down position and cause a MASSIVE traffic pileup because it was rush hour and one of the main streets of the town. The fix would end up being something like getting a tall traffic cop with a long stick to manually hold it up out of the way while people went through, until someone could fix it for real. Sounds like a similar "low priority" issue that causes a similar amount of pain to your bridge! Such a potentially simple thing to fix that causes so much trouble for so many people.
My extremely minor kind deed: I waited around an extra 20 minutes until my friends' access-a-ride turned up after the event we went to tonight. (Access-a-ride is sort of like a taxi service provided by the NYC public transit authority, for disabled people who can't take the subway. It's like an airport shuttle, you arrange a ride in advance, you share a big van with a bunch of other people, it takes forever, and it's always late.) I'm always worried if I leave them somewhere that their ride won't turn up and everyone will leave and they'll be there alone. I guess they would just take a taxi if it didn't show, but it would make me feel bad if they were waiting a long time out in the cold. Anyway, I really like them so it was nice having extra time to talk :-)
-
My aforementioned friend without internet access finally got his booster shot (hooray!) on the last day that the city was offering a $100 incentive to get it. I told him if it would help, he could use my email address to sign up for it and I would deal with the whole incentive thing and cash it out for him. I guess there is a way to do it through the mail, but most people do it digitally since it takes two days instead of a month. Anyway, my good deed is that I ended up spending way too much time figuring out this program and cashing it in, and then buying him something online that he asked me to get - as long as I was online with a hundred of his dollars - and now I just have to give him his $17 change. Anything to get my friends vaxed, really... :-) And I think he saved $20 buying online instead of locally so I feel good about that.
-
@Dollar Slice --that's a heap of effort to help a friend!
-went to an event to support a friend (ended up having a lovely time)
-made plans to connect with some folks who reached out. As an introvert, this counts as a good deed right?! ha
-
@Dollar Slice --that's a heap of effort to help a friend!
Before I had a chance to pay him his $17, we found out about a Ukraine benefit concert with some avant garde musicians and composers he really likes, so he asked me to just use the rest of it to buy him a ticket and he'll give me cash for the rest. The rare credit-card-less, internet-less technophobe who loves Philip Glass... the rainbow of humanity truly contains infinite shades of color. :-)
-
When I think about it.. even staying calm with someone cranky/difficult ( especially if it's a family or friend) is already a good deed and can be done daily!
-
Not done by me, but my next door neighbor: she has been helping an elderly woman in our neighborhood who was widowed last year. Neighbor puts the widows trash cans out on the curb on trash day and returns them after pickup. Also does small things like replacing the batteries in her beeping smoke alarm.
I'm admiring of her helping out but mostly her doing it as a matter-of-fact thing. Seems so many would only do these things resentfully or even ask to be paid.
A little help goes a long way not only for the recipient but in strengthening the whole community.
-
@Dollar Slice --that's a heap of effort to help a friend!🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
Before I had a chance to pay him his $17, we found out about a Ukraine benefit concert with some avant garde musicians and composers he really likes, so he asked me to just use the rest of it to buy him a ticket and he'll give me cash for the rest. The rare credit-card-less, internet-less technophobe who loves Philip Glass... the rainbow of humanity truly contains infinite shades of color. :-)
❤ ❤ ❤
-
I don't know if I have posted before, but I have been following along.
Today I donated some hats that were my late husband's to a rehab facility.
I also contacted the Senior Citizen's Society to see if they needed help with tax preparers. They do this for free for low income people. Since I just retired from a career in accounting, I figured I could help out.
-
Last week I was talking with an elderly friend who has been trying to wear N95s (she spent a month in the hospital with COVID in 2020) but was complaining that she can't find any that are comfortable because they dig into the thinner skin under her eyes and make her ears ache after a while. I saw her this weekend and brought her a mask which I thought would solve those problems (3M Aura 9205) and she said it was much more comfortable for her :-)
I also contacted the Senior Citizen's Society to see if they needed help with tax preparers. They do this for free for low income people. Since I just retired from a career in accounting, I figured I could help out.
What a great way to use your knowledge!
-
I don't know if I have posted before, but I have been following along.
Today I donated some hats that were my late husband's to a rehab facility.
I also contacted the Senior Citizen's Society to see if they needed help with tax preparers. They do this for free for low income people. Since I just retired from a career in accounting, I figured I could help out.
Welcome!
It's very hard to let go of a loved one's clothing, so thank you for having the strength to do this!
And also volunteering to do tax help is so important... for seniors, especially those who are beginning to have dementia, doing taxes can be such a source of anxiety! My mother has been obsessing about it for months (we have hired an accountant for her, but it's still her main focus now.)
-
-Made a donation to an organization helping in the Ukraine and supported a local fundraising initiative at the same time
-reached out to a struggling friend
-remained neutral and friendly when interacting with a coworker who has had falling outs with other coworkers/friends
-
Thanks everyone for contributing to this thread, I find it uplifting to read about the little things we can all do
-
When I think about it.. even staying calm with someone cranky/difficult ( especially if it's a family or friend) is already a good deed and can be done daily!
Right?! It’s such a good practice!
-
Love reading this thread as well! I need these mini wins right now:
-Made a donation to a Ukraine relief thread
-Picked up a friend's kid & drove him to soccer on a busy day
-Ran a carpool for a tennis match, & the kids had to skip lunch at school. Treated them to Subway. They were all so polite, offering to pay for their own meals. What a collection of nice kids.
-Treating my sister & BFF to a girls weekend with a bonus I unexpectedly earned a few weeks ago.
-
I attended a fundraising luncheon at a fancy country club to benefit our regional symphony. These things typically have Silent Auctions, which I rarely bid on, because I give via a Donor Advised Fund, and it gets complicated if you receive anything of monetary value. I usually do the Fund-A-Need type giving. They were asking for money for a program that teaches kids to play the strings at a school where the kids are very low income and English is not their primary language. There were about ten little kids. There was an older sister/younger sister combo there with their mom. The mom got up and spoke about how much it had helped her oldest and how happy the (much) younger one was to join the same group. The mom was extremely nervous, but did a great job. After that, the kids played "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Then they played it again, asking everyone to sing along, which was done very enthusiastically and was hilarious. I was gobsmacked at how much behind the scenes work it had taken to get these kids to this place just so they could play TTLS twice. When the paddle-raising started, I gave $1500 to the program. For context, my niece plays the viola and graduated from a fancy conservatory college program. Her parents have provided everything for her, including international travel and study. The disparity was not lost on me, hence the size of the gift.
Still more fun was that I have a 91-year-old friend who just moved into this same gated community. She downsized from her fabulous mountaintop home when her husband passed away last year. I hadn't seen her since his memorial, so it was nice to be able to visit her in her new home after the luncheon. We became friends when she agreed to host a library fundraiser for me at her home. I knew her slightly from an Arts group and I needed a place to host said event. She willingly agreed and a lovely friendship was born. Oh, and they designed and built the fabulous estate home themselves, on a shoestring. Turns out, they were mustachians before Pete's parents were born.
-
Small one yesterday - while walking into the grocery store, I saw an elderly woman in the handicapped parking space about to start walking her cart to the cart return. I offered to bring it into the store for her, and she happily accepted. A nice little interaction :)
-
I purchased an old jewelry box on FB Marketplace today with the intention of painting it and giving it a makeover. Anyway, when I got home and looked it over there were some necklaces in the drawers. I contacted to lady to see if she wanted them back. She came right over to get them and was very thankful.
-
Helped an acquaintance with her resume, and spent ~30 minutes on the phone helping her prep for an interview (at the company I work for)
-
Doing some graphic design work for my friend's event so he can have some cool-looking posts to put on social media to promote it. It's looking like he's going to lose money on it so I'm hoping to help out a little.
-
-Helped a somewhat-frazzled, new coworker figure out the invoicing system at our place of work. She was insistent that the employer had messed things up but it turned out that she had missed an email from accounting.
1) I was glad to help her 2) I was glad to save our already busy manager from an unnecessary task
-
@Dicey —the power of music! What a great cause to donate to..
-
Two days ago my neighbor who had surgery a few months ago stopped by for some lemons. She's using a cane to walk now so I walked back with her to her house with a bag full of lemons and oranges from our trees.
-
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 :-)
-
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.
-
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.
-
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 :-)
-
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!
-
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 :-)
-
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.
-
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.
-
-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
-
@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.
-
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 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)
-
@Serendip , I've done that with worms before too :)
-
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.
-
This makes me feel good reading. Joining to follow and give me ideas/motivation to do some small deeds as well.
-
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 (http://"https://acf.org"/). 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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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!
-
-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!)
-
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.
-
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?
-
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...
-
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.
-
I am giving away my old deep freeze to a person in need of one that can't afford it.
-
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!
-
Hooray!!
-
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)
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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!
-
@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.
-
@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.
-
@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.
-
@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.
-
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 :-)
-
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 :)
-
@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!
-
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.
-
Called to check in on a friend under the weather yesterday. It was a quick chat, but I was glad to lift her spirits.
-
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.
-
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 :)
-
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!
-
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.
-
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.
-
@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.
-
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?
-
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.
-
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.
-
SGDOTD: I went to an event tonight and the ladies' room beforehand was pretty busy... and, annoyingly, two of the three sinks had no soap in the dispenser. This caused quite a backup. There was also a hand sanitizer dispenser on the wall for people who didn't want to wash their hands with water (I guess?). Anyway, after I waited my turn for the only working soap and washed up, I noticed a lady with a broken foot who clearly didn't want to deal with the whole waiting-in-line-for-soap-in-a-crowded-bathroom situation, and was trying to use the sanitizer instead since it was off to the other side. She'd already had to come down to the basement to use the restroom on her broken foot, super annoying. And now? Sanitizer is also empty! She gave up and left in a huff without being able to clean her hands. I wasn't far behind her so I caught up to her and offered her the sanitizer I keep in my bag, which she seemed really thankful for. :-)
-
A woman left her watch on the dock after swimming, so I yelled after her to let her know (she had a bicycle).
-a small thing but stands out since I'm generally not a yeller and she was happy to not lose her watch :)
-
-I helped a lost hiker at the nature preserve (I was on a run, and she was going in circles).
-I picked up my first Too Good to Go order, and there was so much bread! More than we could ever eat. We kept one loaf (which was, triple the size of a normal loaf), & I dropped another loaf off at a friend's house, and gave another away on Buy Nothing. Very glad to keep food from waste, and for being realistic enough to know that we wouldn't get through it all quickly.
-
We ordered pizza tonight, and the pizza place pit the wrong toppings on our pizza, so they remade it and gave us both. My mom lives pretty close to the pizza place, so I called her and offered to drop off the extra pizza to her. She wasn't feeling well, so she was happy to not have to worry about dinner.
-
I have been traveling, and I encountered a nonfunctional charging station and a train locker with a broken lock. I used a bit of a receipt (did not have paper the first time) and a post-it note to mark each one BROKEN to prevent the frustration that I went through, and hopefully alert workers that they need fixing.
Nice work to everyone for the random bits of kindness you've been sharing! The world hits us with so much random badness so it's lovely to see the opposite happening.
-
Went to a quiet, somewhat secretive spot to read/set up a hammock and shortly after arriving a young couple came. I got the impression that it was an first date or something of the sort. So I decided to set up my hammock elsewhere and left them to enjoy the swimming spot :)
-
I'm in :-)
Nice job giving blood, there is a blood shortage where I live but I don't think I'm allowed to donate (plus I have apparently got the world's worst veins).
I'm not sure I have a lot to report from this year so far, we're just getting over the peak Omicron surge and I've mostly been isolating at home since I have an immune deficiency. I just got my booster (long after most folks, due to the way immune deficient people got their shots spaced out in the US) so hopefully will be out and about more with other humans soon. :-)
I did send another immune-deficient friend a little care package with some extra home COVID test kits and some other stuff he said he could use, he's having multiple surgeries this winter and also has a kid in school so it's a pretty rough time. It was a worrying experience since about a third of the people in the post office weren't bothering to wear masks...
lole kara
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
-
Helped assemble soccer goals, and then disassemble them at the end of the day. I would have done it anyway, but it does count toward my volunteer hours of our soccer club. Setting them up is quite an effort, and there are weighted sandbags that need to be carried quite a distance. I traded jobs with someone who was struggling with more of the manual labor portion.
-
Met someone new yesterday who turned out to be another passionate gardener. She obviously enjoyed the garden tour and I gave her a rare bi-colored tropical plant that she hadn't encountered before and fell in love with and a handful of seeds for a Moringa tree.
She also had a client that wanted a climbing vine that can take the Florida sun up on a rooftop gazebo and I was able to help with that as well.
(Red passionflower, easy, prolific and a butterfly magnet and host without destroying the plant.)
-
A really small one:
I spotted a football behind my shed and put it on top of the wall adjoining my neighbor's yard so her kids can retrieve it. They probably thought it was lost so I'm glad to let them see it and take it back.
-
Ordered curbside grocery pick up Friday evening and a sudden, hard rain shower started during my pick up time. The lady next to me and I both got out to help our delivery person put the groceries in our cars faster. None of the delivery people had rain gear as it was not expected that day. I noticed several other customers did not assist with their own groceries and it broke my heart a little for humanity.
-
-helped with some invasive plant removal from our local trails
-checked in on a friend who is going through a rough time
-sent a recipe to friends who had requested them (herbed salsa verde--yum!)
-
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/well/family/random-acts-of-kindness.html?campaign_id=18&emc=edit_hh_20220908&instance_id=71411&nl=well®i_id=94642761&segment_id=105764&te=1&user_id=445628d7bc8521fc3194b496ed28efc8
-
Nice article, thanks for sharing :-)
I've been short on good deeds lately since I haven't got much bandwidth right now, but someone did one for me yesterday: they reached out and asked if they could help out with some rides (since I don't have a car) for me or my parents after my mom's surgery. That was very thoughtful!
-
@Dollar Slice —it’s also so nice to be on the receiving end from a kind deed :)
-Yesterday I saw that someone had left a bag of garbage outside of the shed and animals had torn it apart and spread the food waste everywhere. I managed to find some gloves and clean it up.
-heard about someone having a very hard time with covid-anxiety and popped them a note just to connect and check in
-
Yesterday, I worked a shift at the Farmer's Market on behalf of a Community Board I'm on. I noticed the caricature artist was pretty slow, despite excellent overall traffic. However, as we were packing up to leave, I noticed he had a client.
Today, I was walking with my walking partner in the same area. We were on the other side of the street and noticed an odd-looking pile. On closer inspection, I recognized it as the artist's gear. His folding chair, easel, sketchbook, pastels, paints and other paraphernalia were strewn about. Some of it was in the gutter, which had a small amount of moisture in it, which, alas, sketchbook had soaked up. There was even a bag of food. I recognized it, because a few vendors had been passing out their leftovers among the other vendors at the end. I picked up the open chalk container and gathered all the strewn chalks into it. Then I picked up everything else and put it to rights as best I could. My friend called the people who operate the market, so hopefully, his things will be returned to him, assuming he's okay, which is not at all certain at this point. I hope he didn't get mugged. There's safety in numbers* and he was definitely not packing up when everyone else did.
*After a busy day, it's pretty obvious that a lot of vendors have piles of cash on them.
-
Oh no, I hope he's OK :-( Give us an update if you find out!
-
Shared the bounty of our Avocado tree with two of our neighbors.
Mr. R. harvested too and took a big brown paper grocery bag of Avocadoes to work to share. (always well received):)
Made my special (homemade - German) pancakes, with extra homemade whipping cream and cherries in Brandy for a friend who has too much to do and no time to cook. She's been stressing out a bit.
-
@Rosy —a bag of avocados..what a dream!
-
@Dicey - any updates on the artist? Fingers crossed everything was okay.
It was really rainy today (which, we desperately need, & I'm grateful for!), & I helped an elderly woman to the car with her groceries. It was a few trips, to and from the store covered area, and she was really appreciative.
-
@Dicey - any updates on the artist? Fingers crossed everything was okay.
It was really rainy today (which, we desperately need, & I'm grateful for!), & I helped an elderly woman to the car with her groceries. It was a few trips, to and from the store covered area, and she was really appreciative.
Oh, boy. He's okay. Apparently he is "on the spectrum"* and simply walked away from his stuff. The Farmer's Market staff is required to clean up everything before they leave, so they dismantled his stuff and piled it on the sidewalk. I'm guessing passers-by messed with it a bit. By the end of the day when I saw it, everything was gone. I'm going to guess that the city sent someone out to clean it up, because piling it on a corner does not satisfy their requirement that the Farmer's Market staff leave nothing behind. IMO, the FM crew dropped the ball, but apparently they're having trouble finding staff these days... To clarify, a couple of blocks of city streets are closed off for the market, hence the requirement for full clean-up.
I have to guess he's done similar before and that his things can be relatively easily replaced. I just hoped he was okay and hated to see the waste of his materials and food ruined.
*Not my words. That's an actual quote.
-
I gave up my seat on transit to a street person (or very close to a street person) who was holding her little dog and trying to manage a very large shopping bag. Way easier for me to stand than someone with a dog.
-
Saw some folks on bikes who were confused at a trail intersection so I stopped to offer directions as one of them was biking off in the wrong direction from their intended destination :)
-
We went on a river hike on this lovely fall day. I picked up trash on the way back (though I really wish people wouldn't litter in the first place).
-
There was no one helping at the welcome table at church, so I volunteered.
-
I was at a small event at my friend's art gallery... my friend was busy in the back office with a group of people, and I saw an older woman come in the front door using crutches. There were no seats left, and she just leaned on a windowsill rather than trying to ask someone for help. I went over to ask if she would like me to look for a chair for her, and she said that would be great. So I went back to the storage area and found one, carried it out and got it set up where she wanted to sit. (Backup plan was my friend who offered to give up his chair - but I was pretty sure there were more in the back.)
I also agreed to send out text message updates to all my mom's friends and selected favorite extended family members to let them know how she's doing post-op so they don't have to sit around wondering if she's OK or if it's too soon to text her/bother her in the hospital.
-
I have to guess he's done similar before and that his things can be relatively easily replaced. I just hoped he was okay and hated to see the waste of his materials and food ruined.
*Not my words. That's an actual quote.
Ouch! I hope so, too.
@Serendip, thank you for sharing the article! That's just what we on this thread feel too-- sometimes there are little things we can do that can make a big difference to somebody else's life.
@pachnik and @Dollar Slice, thank you for offering a seat to those who needed it-- sometimes that can add a "spoon" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_theory) back to a person who is low on reserves. @MaybeBabyMustache, same!
@Freedomin5 It's been so hard to find volunteers in the past year, so I'm sure that your help was well appreciated!
@elderflower100 in your honor, I'm going to remember to bring a bag to collect litter when I walk my daughter home from school today.
Hmm, for me... I've been helping a friend who has been taking an organic chemistry class for her nursing degree. She has been working hard, but sometimes the online software used for homework submission is cranky, so she needs a little reassurance and another head to help her figure out whether the problem is the software or her answers. I've seen her work her way up from a HS equivalency degree to this point, and I'm very proud of her!
-
Oh, @Poundwise - love the way you are helping! Not mine, but I'm loving it. My husband speaks a moderately unusual language, and has helped our school district translate last minute communication for a family who recently moved to the area. My two sons speak very little of the same language, but have been able to help a school mate in class. They are taking an art class together, and while the student knows a lot of English, art terms are more complicated. My husband made them a list of terms they might be able to use together, and they are helping him about with instructions & projects. Teamwork!
-
Managed to not cancel a previous commitment to help out at an event my friend was organizing tonight. Mom's surgery was yesterday and it was kind of up in the air whether I would have to cancel last minute. But the only helpers he had were elderly/infirm (they were doing things like selling tickets and merch), so he would have been doing 100% of the lifting and carrying and physical stuff himself if I didn't come. I managed to be there at the end for the cleaning up and getting everything broken down and put away by a curfew, which is probably the toughest part of the evening.
-
My friend’s sister has cancer and has just undergone her third surgery in 3 years to remove the tumor. I told my friend about the book entitled Anti-Cancer, and she borrowed it from her library.
Teachers from DD’s wealthy international school were throwing away tons of imported English books because they were old and they had newer books — we’re talking about Scholastic and other well-known educational leveled books. I asked if I could take them all. My sister works for a school for orphans in Cambodia, so she and I spent about 3 hours on a video call sorting through the books. Good thing we did that, because one of the books was about refugees and included a photo of an orphan child from the Khmer Rouge period which would have been extremely triggering for the kids as some of those kids lost their parents in that conflict.
This past week, I mailed two big boxes of books to Cambodia. Cost ~USD$250, but honestly, the shipping costs are less than what it would cost to purchase the books new from the US. Plus, we saved 32kg of books from the landfill.
-
Noticed a black purse in a shopping cart at the grocery store parking lot. No one else around. I took the purse back inside to the customer service desk and they thanked me. I hope it got reunited with its owner.
-
Helping my neighbor who runs a cat sanctuary this weekend. She'd planned on selling her passion fruit jam at a free to her, local event, to spread the word and benefit her charity but it never happened because of hurricane Ian.
She was talking about setting up a table streetside. We are in a high-traffic area so it should do well.
I volunteered to help with the setup, get some colorful balloons, and convinced her to add her glass bottle wind chimes she made for another event.
Plus I offered to add some baby plants for sale and donate the proceeds.
If we still have Avocadoes from our tree this Saturday I can add a big bowl of them into the mix.
Fingers crossed it will go well.
-
Love reading these updates!
-Helped an elderly neighbor repair her mop.
-Gave many rides to kids, to save parents time.
-Noticed folks looking for Halloween costumes on Buy Nothing, so went through all of ours, checked with the teens, and donated all of them. Double benefit of keeping things out of the trash. On a similar note, it's homecoming season here, so went through & found an old dressy clutch. Gave that away as well.
-
Shared my Lindt chocolate with a coworker who was having a tough day.
-
Spent the last week visiting my parents and doing some heavy firewood chopping/moving
-
Some updates:
Yesterday I received, and planted in pots, 5 nuts from the local chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation (http://"https://acf.org"/). I don't have room for more than 1 or 2 chestnut trees, but I am giving 3 to a friend.
Unfortunately the squirrels ate all of my chestnut seedlings, and my friends' seedlings too! We'll try again next spring, this time with wire cages around the pots.
Speaking of unintended good deeds to squirrels and deer, I got a bunch of pawpaw fruits this week and shared them with several other people in a native plants group I joined. Hopefully we'll see lots of pawpaw trees growing around town: locally grown food!
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.
Although I wasn't doing this for the feels, I did receive some amazing photos of the kids with the baskets! Unfortunately it looked like big kids were getting baskets with babyish toys and vice versa; if I have occasion to do something like this again I will label them with suggested ages.
Today I'm going to Costco to pick up supplies for the Midnight Run (https://midnightrun.org/) that my church is sponsoring soon. According to friends in Manhattan, the number of homeless is tremendous right now due to certain governors' irresponsible actions.
My goal this fall is to recruit volunteers. In every group I'm in, volunteering and donations are very down and need is up. I feel that in order to get through these rough times, we need more people coming together to contribute and build the pie, not people hunkering down and protecting their own slice.
-
Noticed my neighbor's sprinkler system was leaking, while she was out of town. The teens & I headed over to her yard, sorted it out, & contacted her. (We help her out a lot, as she's elderly & on her own.)
-
Helped someone get where they were going on the bus, she asked me a question about it and seemed extremely unfamiliar with the route so I made sure to point out the right stop when we got there.
I've been keeping an eye on vaccine news because I know two people who are allergic to mRNA vaccines who were hoping to get the Novavax booster when it was approved. It was approved today so I sent them notes as soon as it was announced. One of them wrote back immediately that they think they've found a place to get it tomorrow and are very relieved since they are going on a long flight in two weeks. (PSA in case anyone here knows someone in the same boat: Novavax is made in the same tried-and-true way as the previous generation of vaccines like shingles, hepatitis and HPV. So if someone reacted to mRNA vaccines or has a specific allergy to an ingredient in the Pfizer/Moderna vax, but has never reacted to a vaccine before - they can check with their doctor about getting Novavax instead.)
-
Picked up some garbage on a walk and made an effort to ask a coworker about a housing situation..I am an introvert but am working on social engagement.
Also tried to helped my SO with a project right when he asked about it rather than put it off.
Here is a commencement speak advocating for kindness..I think that it’s a good fit for this thread
https://archive.nytimes.com/6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/george-saunderss-advice-to-graduates/
-
I delivered a few groceries to a disabled person in need. With the cost of food skyrocketing, the number of people on disability that need a little help (especially toward the end of the month) is rising too.
-
Gifted kale from the garden (and a mint plant) to folks that I work with.
-
I was on a 2/3-full subway coming home from the doctor/errands today and when I saw a woman get on with a big armful of oversized flower arrangements and vases, I moved my bags off the seat next to me and offered her the extra space (two seats instead of just one) to put her things down. I figured she needed to put her flowers down more than my bags.
On the downside, she said something to me that I didn't catch 100% because of the train noise, but I heard something about "a celebration" so I gave her a big cheerful grin, and then my ears and brain caught up to each other and I realized she had told me she had just been to a celebration of life service and now she probably thinks I'm a psychopath. Whoops. I had a mask on, so maybe for the first time in my life I benefited from someone not seeing me smiling at them?
-
I was on a 2/3-full subway coming home from the doctor/errands today and when I saw a woman get on with a big armful of oversized flower arrangements and vases, I moved my bags off the seat next to me and offered her the extra space (two seats instead of just one) to put her things down. I figured she needed to put her flowers down more than my bags.
On the downside, she said something to me that I didn't catch 100% because of the train noise, but I heard something about "a celebration" so I gave her a big cheerful grin, and then my ears and brain caught up to each other and I realized she had told me she had just been to a celebration of life service and now she probably thinks I'm a psychopath. Whoops. I had a mask on, so maybe for the first time in my life I benefited from someone not seeing me smiling at them?
Ha, that type of thing happens to us all! Still it was nice to do, and maybe she was distracted enough that she didn't notice the inappropriate grin.
Small thing I did: brownie mix and pasta were on sale so I picked up extra and dropped off to food drive.
Small thing I tried to do: I've been trying to help an acquaintance, a single mother facing eviction; I reached out to someone I know who works for the Assemblyman of the district where the acquaintance needing help lives. So we got somebody to call her, and hopefully help her find housing and maybe a job. But problems of that magnitude are not so easy to solve; she has personality issues which make it hard to stay housed and employed.
-
Gave a bag of persimmons from my tree to a woman from my church. She loves persimmons and was thrilled.
-
I randomly ran into a friend tonight who was saying that due to supply chain issues, she hadn't been able to get a very specific small toiletry item in time for her trip out of town next week. She'd been looking everywhere. I happened to have bought a big pack of them a few weeks ago and was carrying some in my bag, unopened. So I gave it to her to take on her trip. :-)
Small thing I tried to do: I've been trying to help an acquaintance, a single mother facing eviction; I reached out to someone I know who works for the Assemblyman of the district where the acquaintance needing help lives. So we got somebody to call her, and hopefully help her find housing and maybe a job. But problems of that magnitude are not so easy to solve; she has personality issues which make it hard to stay housed and employed.
That's a tough nut to crack. I had an acquaintance in a similar situation - she was sort of childlike (emotionally) and could be difficult to deal with, but she was a good person at heart. I can't imagine her ever managing to hold down a job. But they make it so tough to get qualified as "disabled" for something like that.
-
Nice to read these updates, all attempts count 💚
Made a little care package for a distant relative who I heard was having some serious anxiety. There isn’t much I can do but figured it’s nice to be cared for, even from a distance.
-
On my Buy Nothing group, someone was looking for an old phone for a food pantry. Dug out an option, and volunteered for the food pantry, because I've serendipitously been looking for one who needs consistent volunteers.
-
Spent hours volunteering with the local conservation commission chopping down and removing invasive Phragmites, at a large brackish water pond. Three high school environmental science classes volunteered also. It was nice to see kids helping to keep the community lovely and learning why it was important to protect the ecosystem where they live. When science teachers give extra credit to motivate kids, it makes the community stronger. To top it off, a local environmental lawyer offered money to kids who stayed the longest, which kept 8 of them there till the invasive plants were eliminated.
-
I love reading these.
Here is mine. We went to check on my parents during a power outage to see if they needed help with anything.
-
Offered to help with directions today when I saw a woman and her elderly mother glancing around trying to figure out where they were. They actually were just out wandering and not completely lost but it felt nice to offer anyhow.
-
Offered to help with directions today when I saw a woman and her elderly mother glancing around trying to figure out where they were. They actually were just out wandering and not completely lost but it felt nice to offer anyhow.
It's the thought that counts :-) People often don't like to ask for directions so it's nice to offer.
I offered to move my seat on the subway tonight so that some parents could sit with their kids - they needed five seats together, which is often hard to do.
-
After I went to the farmer's market today, I went for a little walk around the neighborhood and happened to see an older woman by herself, looking around like she might be lost. I walked toward her to check and she asked me for directions. Her English wasn't great, but she said she was trying to get to the hospital to visit someone. There's this unfortunate thing where it looks really easy to cut through a park in my neighborhood to get to the hospital if you look at it on a map, but in reality you have to climb eight flights of rough stone stairs, and it's not obvious how to get across when you arrive at the park because it's kind of hidden in the trees. And we got all this rain last night and everything is covered in wet leaves, so I definitely didn't want to send an older woman up a million outdoor stairs. Anyway, I warned her about that and told her that she could also walk about 4-5 minutes south and catch a bus that would drop her one block from the hospital instead. So she did that. :-)
-
Nice example from your preceding post, @Dollar Slice!
I spent the morning helping my daughter finish up gifts to deliver to veterans. Then we delivered a few of them today, though she got a bit tired of it. I restrained myself from getting cross when she started to get sulky, since after all she had completed and delivered way more than her fair share. She and another girl ended up doing all the deliveries for the entire troop since nobody else was available this weekend.
The one veteran who was home today seemed pleased. Hopefully the gifts brightened the day of a few vets when they got home.
-
My friend and I are running a free parenting course through our church.
-
Helped my 16 y.o. get signed up to volunteer at a food pantry, which he did for 3 hours yesterday. Teaching teens how to manage core activities for the first time is a life skill. Hopefully he'll manage on his own next time. I also signed up for a four hour shift on Friday.
-
Nice job helping your kids do some volunteer work! I wish I'd had that sort of example as a kid. Although both of my parents had jobs that were "for the public good" type careers, it would have been good to see some kind of actual charitable works in my household.
I updated a flier in InDesign for a friend's non-profit project tonight.
-
@Dollar Slice - I grew up helping at a homeless shelter. Once a month, my parents (and a couple of friends) would buy groceries for a meal, prep & serve the meal + clean up at the shelter. We did it for 10 or so years when I was around, and they continued on for another 10 years. The homeless shelter no longer allows the process, due to liability, but it was such a worthwhile experience. My parents both worked in public schools, and it was unusual for us to go when one of them didn't see a student from their school. My mom worked in an elementary school, and the kids were generally excited to see her. My dad worked in a high school, and that was much more difficult for everyone.
-
Yesterday I went to spend the night in a nearby town with a friend who has a baby. Her partner left town for a week so she was hoping for company.
On the way back, as I was waiting for the bus a young man asked to borrow my phone..wifi wasn't working in the cafe & he had a phone from a different country so couldn't call his sister to come pick him up. Thankfully he finished his call just as my bus arrived :)
-
Yesterday I went to spend the night in a nearby town with a friend who has a baby. Her partner left town for a week so she was hoping for company.
On the way back, as I was waiting for the bus a young man asked to borrow my phone..wifi wasn't working in the cafe & he had a phone from a different country so couldn't call his sister to come pick him up. Thankfully he finished his call just as my bus arrived :)
I'd be wary of handing my phone to a stranger. There's been reports of people who are hacker-types who manage to access your personal info including bank info. Hasn't happened to me or anyone I know but if someone were to ask, I'd tell them to let me make the call and then stand there while they talk to them.
-
Dropped off a donation at the local resale shop that provides low cost vouchers to spay & neuter pets.
Purchased a calendar from a dog rescue organization.
Donated money to Big Dog Rescue which has been focused on helping homeless pets left at the border from migrants getting on buses and abandoning them. I didn't even realize that was a problem until I saw it on the news.
So in a nutshell all of my good deeds lately have been to benefit animals.
-
I'd be wary of handing my phone to a stranger. There's been reports of people who are hacker-types who manage to access your personal info including bank info. Hasn't happened to me or anyone I know but if someone were to ask, I'd tell them to let me make the call and then stand there while they talk to them.
Oh interesting--yes I'm naturally wary, even when friendly. I dialed the number and just handed it to him for the conversation. Good to know about the scams out there, I'm sure there are many!
-
We went to turn on the baseboards at our neighbours place. Temperatures have dropped and they aren't here to make sure pipes don't freeze.
-
I'm dropping off a new heavy-duty XL sweatshirt to the Kiwanis donation box. They sponsor a clothing and gift card drive every year for older teens in foster care.
Many charities are running toy drive for little kids but teens are often at the bottom of the gift list so I'm glad to help out at least one of them.
-
My 73-year-old mother called tonight and left a message saying she had some questions about buying things on eBay. Uh oh... haha. Turns out my brother did his usual Hanukkah "wish list" thing, which is that he gives out a list of things he's been unable to source for the last 12 months in the hopes someone else will be able to find them, and then my mom comes to me and is like "I can't find this anywhere!" Except in this case she was able to find it on eBay, but she didn't really know how eBay works.
Anyway, tldr, I just spent an hour hunting down a rare/sold-out-everywhere pair of blue Doc Martens in his size that can be here by next week at a reasonable price, and bought them with my mom's credit card and had them shipped to her house, and now she's finished her holiday shopping. They tell me it's for emergencies, like if they get in a car accident and I need to pay their bills or something, but in reality, my brother's Hanukkah list is why I am an authorized user on my parents' credit card.
-
Was visiting my 98-year old friend yesterday for our usual Sunday-NYT-Crossword-on-Monday date. Over our usual grilled cheese sandwich and popcorn lunch, she said she wanted to show me something.
It seems she received a credit card in the mail that she thought was a scam. Turns out it's a "CA Middle Class Rebate" and apparently legit, but she wanted a paper check, not a booby-trapped debit card. A Google search led to an article which said it could be converted to a paper check I called the number on the paperwork multiple times, but no option lead to a human voice. She got the idea to call our State Assemblyperson. I did and a nice person actually picked up the phone. She verified my friend's info, then emailed us a form to be filled out and returned. We went upstairs (!) to my friend's desktop to complete the forms and noticed her lovely white Apple keyboard was grimy with smudges. I unplugged it, took it downstairs and cleaned it until it looked brand-new.
I don't know if our efforts will result in the desired check, but I'm counting the keyboard clean-up as a good deed.
Afterwards, we both climbed into her garage attic (yes, she's 98!) and brought down her Christmas tree and a box of decorations. We moved her dining room table together to make room for the tree. I noticed the legs were wobbly, so I crawled under the table. As she lifted each corner, I tightened the wing nuts. From that vantage point, I could see a burned out bulb in the DR light fixture. She knew exactly where in the garage she had another, so she got it and I replaced it.
Finally, we completed our puzzles.
I felt really useful today.
-
@Dicey I can only hope to be that spry and “with it” at 98!
My friend’s son is in the same class as DD. Both my friend and his son were deemed close contacts and put in 5 days mandatory home quarantine (even though their NATs are negative). Son was very very sad to miss the class Christmas party. My DD was also deemed a close contact and forced to stay home. I stopped by her school and picked up a goodie bag for DD and friend’s son, then biked over to their place to drop it off to give the poor kid a bit of joy this holiday season.
-
I donated some multipack toothpastes and a detergent to a church’s food bank box.
I got new addresses for 2 folks who moved away this year so we can exchange Christmas cards. Old fashioned, I know. :)
-
I got new addresses for 2 folks who moved away this year so we can exchange Christmas cards. Old fashioned, I know. :)
Not too old-fashioned! :-) I wasn't going to bother this year because I've been having health issues this month and am just exhausted... but I had already bought some cards and scrounged up a few ounces of energy to send to just a few people who I thought could use a pick-me-up: two semi-recent widows; a friend who just started chemo after they discovered cancer while he was undergoing unrelated surgery; a friend who had major surgery recently after many months of serious pain; and a friend struggling with serious mental health issues. A card isn't much, but it's something, and it always brightens your day to get something pretty and handwritten in the mail.
-
I agree. Getting cards in the mail is a bit of a pick me up. This year I seem to have sent a few more than usual
-
I'm doing twelve days of Christmas gifts for my 98 year old friend. Except for a few edibles, everything has been sourced very economically because. I look for things all year long and stash them away. She doesn't mind if the treasures are thrifted. I drop a wrapped package at her doorstep every day and dash off so she can find it later. I'm having a blast doing it.
It occurs to me some background is in order here. Every year I make her a giant, shrink wrapped gift basket, which she waits until Christmas to open. This year her family did Christmas very early, so I decided to switch it up. She still has the empty basket, so I asked her to put it under the tree and fill it up as she open her gifts (Holiday-themed gifts are given first, so she can enjoy them now.) This meant I had to wrap everything individually, but I have plenty of supplies on hand.
-
I donated a new toy to a little six year old girl whose mother recently passed away and she is being raised by her Aunt. I don't know for sure, but it almost sounded like the family of an indigenous woman that was murdered in our city recently. Anyway, I hope it brightens the little girl's Christmas a tiny bit.
-
This morning I walked a handicapped neighbor's dog, later I helped another neighbor find her phone. In the afternoon I put together a different neighbor's new heater that she had just about given up on. Now it's time to walk that dog again.
A few days ago I got a call from yet another neighbor that she had fallen and gone to emergency and they were letting her go home but no taxi would come for her. So I picked her up.
-
This morning I walked a handicapped neighbor's dog, later I helped another neighbor find her phone. In the afternoon I put together a different neighbor's new heater that she had just about given up on. Now it's time to walk that dog again.
A few days ago I got a call from yet another neighbor that she had fallen and gone to emergency and they were letting her go home but no taxi would come for her. So I picked her up.
❤️
-
My 73-year-old mother called tonight and left a message saying she had some questions about buying things on eBay. Uh oh... haha. Turns out my brother did his usual Hanukkah "wish list" thing, which is that he gives out a list of things he's been unable to source for the last 12 months in the hopes someone else will be able to find them, and then my mom comes to me and is like "I can't find this anywhere!" Except in this case she was able to find it on eBay, but she didn't really know how eBay works.
Anyway, tldr, I just spent an hour hunting down a rare/sold-out-everywhere pair of blue Doc Martens in his size that can be here by next week at a reasonable price, and bought them with my mom's credit card and had them shipped to her house, and now she's finished her holiday shopping. They tell me it's for emergencies, like if they get in a car accident and I need to pay their bills or something, but in reality, my brother's Hanukkah list is why I am an authorized user on my parents' credit card.
This really made me lauch. And, Doc Martens are really having a resurgence! I should have kept my green ones, from my college in Seattle phase. ;-)
I attended a meeting for the advisory board I serve on, and helped out with some food bank admin work. Also gave rides to a far away school soccer game, saving other parents time.
-
Helped someone learn how to carry their skis properly.
I live in a ski town so often see people who look likely to hurt themselves or others. Normally I let people do what they choose but occasionally it seems like a helping hand (and micro-lesson) might be appreciated.
-
Dropped off 2 large containers of laundry pods to the animal rescue organization. They seemed so happy and said everything helps. I can't adopt a pet, but hopefully, this helped their cause a bit.
-
I helped an elderly neighbor on the ice today. She had taken her recycling bin down to the end of her driveway but couldn't make it back up. Because of the ice and the slight incline her cane was slipping. Recipe for disaster. Anyway, I just happened to be taking my bin out at the same time, so I called to her to wait and I would help her. The street is glare ice, but I managed to cross it and help her up her driveway to where it was clear of ice.
-
@Prairie Gal --that could've been a hip-saver! Falls on ice can be so dangerous for elderly folks.
Tried to make friendly chat with a fellow who was (perhaps inadvertently) showing bad-form by breaking line protocols at the ski hill. He was a visitor and it can be easy to get annoyed but I took a few breaths and worked on being relaxed about it.
-
I picked up a fallen receipt from the floor of a public hallway.
Giving my gatos 🐱 some catnip for their enjoyment. We’ve gone treatfree due to bellies that wobble to and fro.
-
Held the door for multiple people multiple times while waiting at the post office. Baby strollers, people with walkers, it was a great good-deed gig while it lasted :)
-
I encouraged my formerly-internetless, now has-a-smartphone-but-still-isn't-good-at-the-internet friend to go to the library and get a new card with a PIN number on it - he had an account from a million years ago with no e-mail address or PIN associated with it, which meant he couldn't sign up for any of their online services, which give you a ton of great freebies in NYC. He did that this week and I was able to get him signed up for the online Culture Pass and get him a free ticket to a play he's been really excited to see (I'm not really into theater, but apparently it won a Pulitzer and is a pretty hot ticket). The cheapest of the cheap seats are $70, so he was thrilled to get it for free. :-)
-
@Dicey, you must bring so much light to the life of your 98 year old friend!!
@oldladystache, you are the MVP of your neighborhood!
Too many updates to recognize all individually, but thank you to everyone here for weaving the fabric of a more loving, giving, society!
-
I helped a friend with a novel shopping idea!
My friend invited me out for dinner before she is traveling overseas this week. She’s had a terrible lingering cough since Christmas and has visited every CVS in town for a certain OTC drug to take on this trip. I suggested she try the Walgreens down the street after dinner and lo and behold, success! In our town CVS has a stronghold but Walgreens came through!
-
I've been trying to do more frequent small calls and check-ins. Asked if my nephew (he is 5yrs) was able to FaceTime and he was delighted with the chance for an impromptu 'play'.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/well/phone-call-happiness-challenge.html
-
I've been trying to do more frequent small calls and check-ins. Asked if my nephew (he is 5yrs) was able to FaceTime and he was delighted with the chance for an impromptu 'play'.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/well/phone-call-happiness-challenge.html
Love this! Thanks for the link.
-
Found an item obviously forgotten by it's owner in a bit of distraction - made sure it got to the appropriate lost & found location where they'd be most likely to check.
-
Got some great coupons in the mail for Dunkin Donuts, somehow they gave us two - so I saved them for my busy young friend who loves their coffee.
Gave a friend a brand new top that I'd ordered online but did not fit me. Looked great on her and she was thrilled with it.
Made sure to meet the deadline for a local donation so the funds would be doubled by a generous donor.
-
Dropped off some groceries to a single Mom with three little kids. It was all extra stuff I had on hand from a visit from DS and his family, so I was happy it could go to use.
-
Tomorrow I'll be gifting a lamp I don't need to a younger person getting their first apartment. Last weekend I volunteered with a hiking organization where sighted people like me help blind people go hiking by talking them through any upcoming obstacles or changes in elevation.
-
Two online friends recently lost their spouse. I find it always a little awkward to know the proper etiquette, as I don't have their addresses, and we've never met iRL. But, tracked down addresses & sent sympathy cards & a small gift for a meal.
-
I noticed my 98 year old friend didn't have a lot of fresh vege in her fridge. Sam's Club sells small-ish* bagged salad kits s for under $2.50. I bought three different kinds and dropped them off to her yesterday. She eats like a bird, so she will be eating two salads a day for the next week.
*They're still generously sized, just small compared to the Costco behemoths, which she could never consume before it spoiled.
-
That's lovely, @Dicey
Yesterday, I was able to fulfill two "In Search Of - ISO" asks on Buy Nothing. For just a few minutes of my time, searching around for things we had but hadn't used in a while, I was able to save some folks some money. I give away a lot on BN, but being able to fulfill an ISO is my favorite. Two in a day is a big win!
-
That's lovely, @Dicey
Yesterday, I was able to fulfill two "In Search Of - ISO" asks on Buy Nothing. For just a few minutes of my time, searching around for things we had but hadn't used in a while, I was able to save some folks some money. I give away a lot on BN, but being able to fulfill an ISO is my favorite. Two in a day is a big win!
Do you follow @Tami1982's journal? Her BN giveaways are inspirational. Kindred spirits...
-
Love reading these thoughtful gestures.
Nothing big happening here
-helped some folks find their destination (they were glancing around in obvious confusion)
-hit the door-opening button at the library for a mom with her arms full of children
&
-reached out to a friend with a knee injury to try to arrange something outdoors which won't require walking
-
Great work everyone!
I saw an elderly friend last night at a concert who is always in a hurry to get home, but likes having someone to go home with (walk to the subway/ride on the train) and we live on the same train line. I ran into another friend leaving the show and stopped to say a quick hello - and she left without me. So my good deed was speed-walking as fast as I could to catch up to her (she is quite slow due to her hip pain). And I really thought I had done it - I saw her on the other side of the street, passed her, crossed the street ahead of her to wait for her to catch up - and then she was gone?? I waited and she never came. I thought maybe she decided to take a different train, so I gave up and went to our usual subway. And then two minutes later she showed up and said "How did you get here before me??" Not exactly sure what happened! But we were able to ride most of the way home together and had a nice talk. I have to take a different train in order to ride with her instead of the one that is most convenient for me, but it's not that far of a walk so I don't mind when the weather is nice.
-
My pet peeve is when people leave grocery carts strewn around the lot, particularly when they are blocking spots. I managed to return two today, including one that was blocking not one, but two parking spots. It's the little things. :-)
-
I helped a lady navigate the DIY parking kiosk in a DC suburb this morning in the rain.
-
My pet peeve is when people leave grocery carts strewn around the lot, particularly when they are blocking spots. I managed to return two today, including one that was blocking not one, but two parking spots. It's the little things. :-)
That’s annoying when people do that. A few years ago I did a landscaping job in the parking lot islands around the parking lot of a grocery store and I’d be working on a two-parking-space sized island wheelbarrowing in and out material, planting shrubs and installing irrigation and literally while I was working in that space people would walk over and push their empty cart right into the middle of the landscaping I’m redoing and leave it there right in my way instead of walking it 10 more steps to return it to the cart area. Nearly lost the last shreds of hope I have for humanity doing that job.
Anyway, came here to post that the other day I found a company credit card in a store parking lot, looked up the name of the guy on the card and found the business he owned was a few min away so I drove it over to him
-
@JAYSLOL - that is super disappointing that people would do that. But, I see it all the time. I remember my mom sighing under her breath when I was little, and muttering about people thinking they are better than other folks, when not returning their carts. It's stuck with me, and I likewise make sure the kids know to not only return our carts, but offer to take others, or pick up an extra stray on their way to the cart return.
That is awesome that you tracked down the missing credit card owner. I'm sure they were relieved.
-
I was at a big grocery store yesterday, and it was one of these urban stores that has most of the store in the basement for real estate reasons... the down escalator was working but after you did all your shopping and had a full basket of food it turned out that both the elevator and up escalator were broken. Which is maddening for a lot of reasons (can't you reverse the down escalator?). Several of us less-abled folks were gathered by the elevator waiting when someone came by to tell us it wasn't working, and instead of offering to help schlep groceries up the double-floor-height escalator, they left us to our own devices. So I flagged down an employee to at least help the elderly lady with a cane who was trying to haul her groceries up by herself. I also wrote a note to the store with some suggestions as to handle this situation better next time, e.g., try stationing someone at the bottom offering to help instead of having a small group of 20-something-year-old employees standing at the bottom watching while little old ladies struggle, which is what they were doing >:-[
-
A friend of mine has been trying to fill a container to send to refugees in Idlib, Syria. I drove a car full of old medical equipment (like walkers, wheelchair, blood pressure monitors, etc.) to her and also corralled a bunch of Girl Scouts to help her pack toiletry bags. There are 2.8 million refugees there, so it's a drop in the bucket, but it's not nothing. Plus, the Scouts learned something and they had a great discussion about refugees afterwards.
Yesterday, I was recycling my old toner and ink cartridges when I overheard an older lady in Staples was horrified at the cost of ink cartridges. I offered her my recycling reward, but alas, I didn't realize that there was a wait so I didn't have a reward to give. However, she hadn't heard of this program so she thought she would recycle a bunch of her old cartridges and get the rewards later.
-
@Poundwise wow—2.8 million refugees in Syria? The mind boggles.. wonderful that you are helping with any amount.
Picked up some plastic while walking home—I’m always concerned that wild animals will try to eat wrappers/etc..
-
Sent a donation equal to one month's expenses to help Syrian earthquake victims. Granted, our expenses aren't really that high here in China, so it's not as impressive as if I were a spendypants non-Mustachian.
Also will be dropping off a bag of clothing and medical supplies for earthquake victims in Turkey. Our compound has started a collection.
-
Still impressively generous, @Freedomin5 !!
@Serendip yes, I had to check up on the 2.8 million refugee figure but that seems to be the number in Idlib alone (https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2021/05/13/the-coming-crisis-in-idlib/), not just Syria.
My good deeds for the week...
-Day before yesterday, I told social media friends that I was collecting supplies for earthquake victims (10 minutes, small and easy)
- Yesterday, I answered the door whilst friends dropped off new socks, diapers, feminine products, etc. that they had bought (easier yet for me, the friends are the ones who did the good deeds)
- Today, I picked up a sack of blankets and sleeping bags that someone else collected (5 minutes on my part) and went to a decluttering forum I belong to, and posted info about collections happening in several states (10 minutes of my time, and I feel very pleased with myself for this brainwave)
Tomorrow is the hard part: I'm driving a van full of supplies up to the Boston area to a collection point for Syrian refugees, since my usual contact has Covid and can't drive it herself. I'm beginning to feel anxious... what if the dropoff point is not open? I guess I had better make sure before I drive 3 hours.
-
Wow. I'm inspired by these efforts @Poundwise & @Freedomin5 and will find somewhere to make a donation--I heard about the White Helmets but need to read up on that organization.
Recent, if totally facile good deed compared to the earthquake/refugee crisis, was to take a visitor up into the mountains. It can be a bit overwhelming when people are new to the area so I took an aquaintance for a ski day in a blustery storm and he was over-the-moon to get some local knowledge of the area.
-
@Serendip don't belittle your good deed! It was a kind and unlooked-for deed that made another person very happy.
To be honest, my driving the stuff up to the dropoff point took me only about a half hour or so out of my way, which is why I volunteered to do it. I had to drive up to Boston anyway with a big empty van to pick up stuff, so I thought I may as well take a load up with me and be efficient. So for about an hour of effort on my part (not counting all the effort by my friends to collect and buy stuff), I was able to bring supplies to people who really need them. Or at least hopefully they will arrive a month sooner than they would have if they waited for my friend to get better and bring them up.
-
I agree - @Serendip, you did great! Also, I had an extra-self-serving good deed this weekend of buying homemade cupcakes to support my local community association. They are trying to build up their financial reserves after so long of getting no community hall booking fees during the height of the pandemic, and were hosting a Valentine's Day cupcake fundraiser. I was happy to help with that one!
-
Nice job everyone!
This week I helped a friend research something for a trip he's taking - he asked me since he thought I might have some access to info that he didn't due to my social circle/social media reach.
I also stuck around for a few extra minutes waiting with an elderly friend who was going to take the city bus home, just to keep him company and make sure the bus came in a reasonable amount of time and didn't leave him standing on the street for half an hour. We got to catch up a little. I found out his wife and I are having the exact same set of MRIs done this month, two weeks apart - what are the odds. I just had mine done so I gave some advice in case she's anxious about them like I was.
-
Wow. I'm inspired by these efforts @Poundwise & @Freedomin5 and will find somewhere to make a donation--I heard about the White Helmets but need to read up on that organization.
I have two great links from people I trust: One says,
"As a starting place, I would encourage donors to look at groups that are not working with the Syrian government. It isn't that anyone would wish Syrians trapped in Assad-controlled areas (most of the country) to be without aid. Rather, it is the unfortunate reality that your donation may not (likely will not) reach the intended vulnerable people. There are articles and reports dating back more than a decade documenting Assad's theft of foreign aid. Also, the earthquake struck near Idlib, which holds 3 million Syrian refugees who are not under Assad's control. Aid organizations are already in this area and the money donated to them can be deployed and monitored with greater transparency. The American Coalition for Syria has circulated a list of 15 organizations they recommend for these reasons: "
https://www.sacouncil.com/how_to_help_earthquake_victims
Here's another list of trusted orgs and individuals that have worked around the barriers to aid in northern Syria for years and know how to navigate them now:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MzBlziy7Ejy5Lp_WJ55MdTSpY_q2qMuFww4FBHma9Wk/htmlview
-
thanks for that @Poundwise --I read through it and made a donation :)
Someone gave me two caramel apples (individually wrapped) from a fancy chocolate place so I took one to work and left it in the staff-room with a note saying anyone who was in need of a Valentines Day treat could help themselves -- it was gone by the end of my shift so hoping it gave a little boost to someone.
-
Someone did an unexpected good deed for me today :)
I was skiing, riding the chairlift with some young guys--they were heading down early for work and asked me if I wanted their food vouchers. They each had one for $17, so $34 altogether.
I never eat on the mountain. So I went and had coffee & a chocolate croissant and picked up a bag of gummy bears for my touring bag and then found out I could save the other voucher for another day.
An unexpected treat and good mountain karma to those kids!
-
Someone on the ski-hill had a doozy of a crash (lost a ski and both poles) and was sliding downhill head-first. I was coming from the uphill direction so I managed to fetch all the belongings and ski them down to him. Thankfully no injuries ("only his pride" he said) but it would've been really difficult for him to get back up the slope to get his things.
-
I was at a big midtown Manhattan grocery store today with a very elaborate line system at the cashiers (I think it was designed by someone who got fired from the DMV - there are like ten lines and you have to wait to get called up by numbers flashing on monitors over the line you're in, and go to the cashier corresponding to that number). There was a couple near me who were clearly confused about how it worked - they went to a cashier and had to return to the line because they had gone to the wrong place. So I kept an eye on them and when they got called up I noticed that they were just standing there not moving and hadn't seen their number coming up, so I flagged them down and pointed them at the correct cashier. Successful grocery check-out for them, and their (long) line didn't get delayed by them missing a cycle.
I also went to a museum exhibit with a friend that, for whatever reason, was very crowded with an exceptionally high average age... tons of canes and wheelchairs and generally way too many people. So I did my absolute best to be very considerate of where any people with disability were, letting people using wheelchairs in front so they had a better viewing angle, making sure we weren't getting in the way of anyone with a mobility aid, and making sure my somewhat-hard-of-seeing companion wasn't about to bump into anyone, since he has very bad peripheral vision. A little exhausting, I was happy when we finished that exhibit and went into one that wasn't so crowded. Sometimes I think there are too many people in this city :-P
-
I picked up some formula for a single Mom of a newborn and delivered it to her. Something more to that story, I think, as she said she had begged her Mom to help, but she was too busy, and now wasn't answering her phone. Whatever. Not my circus, not my monkeys. At least the baby has formula for a few days.
-
brought my neighbor's trash and recycling cans in today. It's supposed to be a *small* act of kindness, right?
Also riding along to a doctor's appointment with a good friend today. She has a lot going on and is overwhelmed, so just using the time in the car to lend a supportive ear.
-
Went out skiing with someone who is learning. She asked for tips and it was a bit slow-going but otherwise kindof fun :)
I only learned myself within the last decade (was a snowboarder before)--so it feels good to pass on the help that others generously gave me.
-
-Found a debit card under a car in the parking lot. I got down on the ground & pulled it out. Dropped it off at the lost & found
-I continue my practice of returning my own cart, and whenever possible, another cart nearby, at the grocery store
-
Coming home tonight on the subway, I noticed the guy sitting across from me had a very grumpy face on - not your usual "don't talk to me, I'm a New Yorker" thing, but like "WHOA, look out! Major grump incoming!" Then he started blowing on the back of his hand and I saw he was bleeding pretty good from what looked like a gouged knuckle. His hand was kind of red, I guess he'd fallen or had some kind of accident and whacked it on something.
I always have half a pharmacy in my bag - lots of OTC meds, masks, sanitizer, and of course band-aids. He had noise-canceling headphones on, so I didn't try to talk to him, but just leaned over and wordlessly offered a band-aid to him. He accepted and thanked me and put it on (and it stopped bleeding everywhere). I actually saw a little smile on his face afterwards. Glad I could make his night a little easier :-)
-
@Dollar Slice THAT was a great small good deed! That man needed to know that there is kindness in the world!
I've been home sick for a couple of weeks and not interacting much with people, so not much chance to do anything. Well, yesterday I was walking home from dropping off my daughter at school, when I saw a loose grocery bag blowing around. I didn't want to touch anything dirty and was going to let it blow, but then I changed my mind, walked back for it, and picked up some loose litter. Then washed my hands.
-
@Dollar Slice - what a lovely & small moment, that likely brightened his day a bit. Love it!
Offered to bring home the lost & found gym clothes, wash them & give them away on BN, vs letting them get tossed (after 12 months in the lost & found). The people picking up the random workout clothes (now clean, of course), are thrilled. There were some nice items. I'm happy perfectly good clothes didn't get tossed out.
I also offer a lot of carpool rides, particularly on Fridays, when my schedule is most flexible. I know how hard it is to be a parent, and juggle kid activities & pickups, so whenever I already have to be at the school early (a tennis match, today), I sign up to pick up additional kids.
-
Today I gave a tourist in my town directions to where they needed to go. It felt good to help!
-
I was on a bus route today that seemed to be populated by about 60% older ladies, and I noticed that for some reason the disability/elderly seating on one side was in the 'up' position (usually only done when there is a wheelchair passenger there, but in this case there was just some middle-aged guy standing there holding some bags). I didn't know if a wheelchair passenger had just gotten off, and this guy was standing in the way and people were too polite to tell him to move - or if the seat was stuck - or what... but it was stressing me out more and more as one after the other all these tottering elderly folks were getting on the bus and all the available seating was taken up at the front of the bus. Finally the bag-holding guy left and there was not a single seat available in the front third of the bus, and the bus stopped and this wobbly elderly woman was getting on the bus and I thought "I have to at least try, I can't believe all these people are just sitting here watching."
So I dashed up to the front and yanked on the lever - of course it was stuck. Figures - everyone else wasn't being a jerk after all. But after a few seconds of wrestling with it, I got it to work and got the seats folded down in time for the nice lady to sit down. Hilariously and unexpectedly, several people cheered - I guess they, like me, had been sitting there silently stressing about it the whole time, too. "Yay, you got it!!" "How did you get it to work??" etc. I think someone else must have tried before I got on and couldn't get it to work, so the bus passengers had given up as a collective.
-
@draco44 --it's an easy and satisfying thing to do. And everyone can use directions from time to time :)
@Dollar Slice You probably inspired that entire bus to try to be helpful in the future! Or in this case..try harder!
I saw some young guys discussing what to do about a broken binding (on a snowboard) and they were obviously choose to ignore it since I ended up going up the lift with them. But the one pulled a gigantic screw out of his pocket (which has come from the binding) so it was obviously very unstable. He mentioned a repair place that might help him fix it so I interjected and told them about a place which was significantly closer. They were very appreciative.
-
I went to a jazz club tonight with some friends, and the three of us were at the front of the line to get in when doors opened. I noticed that the fourth person in line was a young woman who I don't know, but I had sat next to her at a concert earlier this week, so I recognized her (we hadn't talked but did the "is this seat next to you available?" thing).
When the doors opened and we all went inside I realized that she had disappeared somehow and wasn't in the room - there's a glass wall next to the door where you pay to get in, and when I looked over I could see she was sitting on a bench outside, reading a book. Weird. I went back out and asked her if everything was OK, and it turned out that she had wanted to pay with cash and they didn't have change for her fifty dollar bill, so they were going to make her wait outside until some other customer happened to come along and pay with the exact bills they needed to give her in return (which was not guaranteed, tickets are $20 and everyone just pays with a $20). I happened to have some small bills in my wallet, so I made the change necessary and got her into the club without her having to sit outside and wait. She got a front row seat next to me instead of losing her spot in line :-) It turns out she's a music fan visiting from almost 10,000 miles away, so I'm glad I could avoid her having a bad experience at a NYC jazz club! She won't have many chances to be here.
-
Awww, Slicey, you're killing it! Love these stories.
-
Awww, Slicey, you're killing it! Love these stories.
Update: saw jazz club traveler again tonight, introduced her to my friends, linked on social media, told her to let me know next time she visits New York. 👍
-
Gave a potted plant of tulips and a birthday card to a widowed neighbor who turned 80. We don't usually interact much but she gave me a big hug.
It's a milestone birthday and I'm glad I was able to help her make it more fun.
-
Awww, Slicey, you're killing it! Love these stories.
Update: saw jazz club traveler again tonight, introduced her to my friends, linked on social media, told her to let me know next time she visits New York. 👍
Such a great connection—I bet you made her trip!
-
@LaineyAZ —it’s so nice to feel celebrated and seen. I bet she really appreciated the gesture!
Last week I was speaking with a somewhat anxious coworker and told her some of the things I do to make paying taxes less stressful (how I have my banking setup to make it seamless & easy to do instalments throughout the year, etc..also sub accounts and other things for saving).
Today she told me she has already switched hers over to do the same & was also telling others about it. Some said they would love to start a financial club (similar to a bookclub) since they feel overwhelmed. It was nice to start the conversation since they are all young women trying to set themselves up for success in a HCOL area on modest incomes.
-
That's great, Serendip. I've often wished I could do some friend-level financial advising/discussions but it can be really difficult to get into that with people. I see people I know making really bad choices sometimes, and it hurts! I make helpful comments when it feels appropriate, but there's only so much you can do unless they really want help and are motivated to change.
Today's good deed: there was a young man (looked about 16 but I hope he wasn't that young!) carrying a really heavy box, like a microwave or something, down the subway escalator. It seemed really precarious and unsafe, like he was barely managing it. He rested it on the handrail and it lurched a couple of times. He had some paperwork that was taped to it - I wasn't sure if he was supposed to be delivering it somewhere or if he'd just purchased it (it was in midtown Manhattan and it was in kind of an underground complex where there's both shops and a subway station right below a big shopping mall).
In the process of resting it on the handrail, the taped paperwork somehow transferred itself into being taped to the moving handrail on the escalator... which I noticed just in time, and managed to grab about 15 inches before it got sucked under the escalator mechanism. I was carrying groceries but managed to get it with my other hand and catch up to him (not hard, he was really huffing and puffing with that heavy box) to give it back. Not sure if it was important or not, but if nothing else, at least it didn't jam up the escalator.
-
@Serendip I DREAM of being able to give financial advice that is actually taken! Good work and I hope that the women go through with setting up the club!
@Dollar Slice, I love your subway deeds! Sometimes I feel that peak misanthropy happens on public transit so anything we can do to bring kindness there is good.
This week I participated in an invasive weeds cleanup, led another Girl Scouts meeting, and gave some nice furniture and housewares (high end, and with sentimental value, so that it slightly hurt to give it away) to a family whose home had burned. I also gave cookies and hot dogs to my slow-learning-disability friend, who stopped by.
I've been feeling very blah and unproductive, but now that I look at what I did in a week, I don't feel so bad!
I had a fail in trying to bring an Easter basket and plate of Easter dinner to a single (very low income) mom and her son. I tried to get in contact with them in the morning but no answer, and by the time she responded on Tuesday it was too late for the food and she also didn't want us to bring the candy because of her son's ADHD. I guess I'll try to bring her some dinner this weekend, since it was also her birthday this week.
I don't think it's a pride thing, but she's a very hard person to help. I don't know her very well, but she lives in a single rented room with her 12 year old son, subsisting on less than $1000/month that her son's father sends her (the dad is also very low income.) Her landlord has been trying to evict her for over a year. I tried to put her in contact with social services but she somehow cannot avail herself of them; she seems to have mental illness that prevents her from holding down a job or effectively advocating for herself. This is not an easy fix. I feel bad because I know several people who all have trouble taking care of themselves, but caring for them would take substantial money and time, like adopting a special needs child. So sometimes I give them cookies or food, because that's all I can commit to.
-
I'm sure those people appreciate your efforts, Poundwise, even if you aren't totally fixing their problems 100%. (I don't think anyone would really expect that of you!) It's often the case that people who struggle the most are struggling for very good reasons, their life is messed up because they are a mess (mentally and/or physically) and it's hard to help them because they are hard people to help.
My good deed this week: my parents got a new refrigerator which they mostly really like, but it is very modern with a brightly lit touch screen with a little too much information and excitement every time you get a glass of water out of the water filter - including playing a cheery little song. So I figured out how to turn off the jaunty digital musical accompaniment every time you pour yourself some water. Peace reigns again in the Senior Slicey house.
-
@Dollar Slice, that is a huge service!!! I hate the noise pollution of the musical tones from microwaves, washing machines, dishwasher, cell phones.....you name it. Those jingles drive me nuts.
-
I volunteered at an Earth Day event today teaching kids about stream monitoring and macroinvertebrate sampling. They liked learning about bugs.
-
@Dollar Slice, that is a huge service!!! I hate the noise pollution of the musical tones from microwaves, washing machines, dishwasher, cell phones.....you name it. Those jingles drive me nuts.
Lol, me, too! Also on my list is keyboard clatter. Why do they have to be noisy?
ETA: Hmmm, I'd better add a good deed to stay on topic: At the thrift shop where I volunteer, someone periodically makes a meal for everyone to enjoy. I ate the last of it, so returned the clean* dishes to their house on my way home.
* I fully intended to clean them myself, but when I went to the kitchen to do so, someone else was just finishing it up. Nice.
-
@Dollar Slice, that is a huge service!!! I hate the noise pollution of the musical tones from microwaves, washing machines, dishwasher, cell phones.....you name it. Those jingles drive me nuts.
Lol, me, too! Also on my list is keyboard clatter. Why do they have to be noisy?
ETA: Hmmm, I'd better add a good deed to stay on topic: At the thrift shop where I volunteer, someone periodically makes a meal for everyone to enjoy. I ate the last of it, so returned the clean* dishes to their house on my way home.
* I fully intended to clean them myself, but when I went to the kitchen to do so, someone else was just finishing it up. Nice.
@Dicey and Slicey (LOL), when my son was about 13months old, my father came to stay with him so I could attend a conference. When I returned home, he filled me in on their adventures and let me know he fixed all of his toys. I asked what he meant and he told me that he put batteries in all of them. I almost cried. I had deliberately left them out so he would use his imagination and not have annoying jingles and "fake" truck sounds! My dad was so proud of himself for taking such good care of his grandson!
Anyway, on topic:
Had a phone conversation with a friend of a friend regarding an upcoming medical procedure with which I unfortunately have personal and professional experience. Spent about an hour offering personalized advice for recovery, etc. Hopefully made a new friend.
-
I was standing in line at a busy Subway and a mom with two toddlers was in front of me. The kids were bouncing off the walls literally, grabbing cups, etc. They ran off toward the bathroom out mom's sight and she yells toward them don't make me lose my place in line. I told her go ahead and go find them, I'll save your spot. I could tell she appeared to be a stay at home mom and I was on my lunch break, but I told her go ahead I'll hold your spot. Poor woman was ordering food for the kids, herself and her husband, but she thanked me profusely for being kind and I could tell she was just worn out. It's the little things that can make a difference in someone's day. Although, I will say I'm thankful we're DINK....I don't think I could handle toddlers of my own.
-
...I don't think I could handle toddlers of my own.
Same! Sometimes standing back and letting the toddler people sweep through is the best thing you can do. ;-)
Today I wrote a really heartfelt note of thanks to an organization that helped me out this year when I was feeling really low. I hope it makes them realize how much their work is appreciated.
-
Picked up some litter while walking home, including a nail that was in the middle of a road.
-
I saw a woman with a big suitcase and two kids under 5 y.o. in the train concourse standing and sort of turning in a circle looking around like she couldn't figure out where she was supposed to go. (Poor signage strikes again.) So I stopped and asked if she needed help. She was looking for a specific elevator, something I'm a subject-matter expert in after I had foot surgery a few years ago, so it was no problem giving her directions.
-
I was able to help my (elderly) neighbor with some tech challenges. Loaned her a new mouse, and sent her a recommendation for a replacement. I've also been trying to make more time for casual chats with her, as I know she really appreciates it. I'm often busy, but slowing down and taking a few minutes is also good for me. Connections & community are valuable, and sometimes I have to work to remember that.
-
I went to a free concert tonight, and it's at a place that has a complicated system where you can sign up in advance for "fast pass" entry... it's still free, but you get to be in the priority line and it guarantees that you'll get in.
So I had two fast-pass entries and my friend decided not to go (we did something another night this week instead). Instead of just going in without him, I went to the end of the regular non-fast-pass line and found a woman who was also attending alone, and asked if she wanted to go in with me on the fast-pass line. She was very pleased to skip 30 minutes of line waiting and get a better seat and everything :-)
-
I found the cutest little lost Shih Tzu dog and worked hard to get her returned to her owner. It took a visit to a vet to scan for a microchip (there wasn't one), but someone working at the vet recognized the pup and called the owner. I was glad to help a little pup in need; we have had over 100 degree days so outside and lost as no place for the little girl.
-
I found the cutest little lost Shih Tzu dog and worked hard to get her returned to her owner. It took a visit to a vet to scan for a microchip (there wasn't one), but someone working at the vet recognized the pup and called the owner. I was glad to help a little pup in need; we have had over 100 degree days so outside and lost as no place for the little girl.
Well done GardenBaker! Especially with the heat, that was a dangerous situation for the dog.
-
Helped a fellow bus passenger, who had asked our bus driver which stop to get off at. I gathered that last time Passenger went waaaaaaay past their stop and ended up on the other side of town.
Passenger had limited English, but knew their apartment building's address. Helping someone just by mapping an address on my phone feels like cheating, so I guess I was just in the right spot at the right time to be "the one". Surely another passenger would have helped if I wasn't there.
-
...I guess I was just in the right spot at the right time to be "the one". Surely another passenger would have helped if I wasn't there.
You never know! My easy and obvious good deed opportunity today was fully ignored by everyone else nearby.
Our road is closed on summer weekends from 12-10PM with big metal barriers, which are supposed to be placed so emergency vehicles can get through, but they weren't. As I was walking past, I could see an ambulance coming up the next block and stop at a set of barriers - the EMT had to get out and move them. There was a second set of barriers on our block that needed to be moved as well, and there was literally a big buff dude who looked like he spent every day lifting at the gym LEANING ON THE BARRIERS, and he just stood there looking at his phone the entire time. Plus a bunch of other people around. No one did anything. So I walked over and dragged a barrier out of the way for them to go through. (With, it's worth mentioning, one functioning arm, as I have a major shoulder problem right now.) Pointedly staring at Mr. Muscles as I did so. I had to move the barrier he wasn't leaning on, LOL.
Anyway, good job oneday, 'cause you never know when you're the only one around who isn't totally useless!
-
Thanks, Slicey! You aren't totally useless either! ❤️😆 Surely you made a difference in the speed of emergency response today.
Does putting clothes back on the proper rack after trying them on in the store count? Because I mostly did that (only 3 pieces out of dozens left for the attendant to put away). I do it because the stores I shop in are discount emporiums and surely the staff are underpaid and overworked.
-
Thanks, Slicey! You aren't totally useless either! ❤️😆
That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me all day... 😉
-
Thanks, Slicey! You aren't totally useless either! ❤️😆
That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me all day... 😉
I was wondering where your story was going to go. You moved a barrier? You moved a barrier!!! You're a peach, Slicey.
-
I love how everyone here is doing the thoughtful little things that make the world kinder!
This week, I got up at 5am on Tuesday so I could give my elderly, disabled neighbor a ride to the primary polls. She makes a small amount of money as an election worker. Then I left a meeting early so I would have time to pick her up at 9pm. She's petite and obese, so it's somewhat difficult to hoist her into the car, which is too high for her; also I had to put her wheelchair in the car. It's a long hard day for her and her legs were grossly swollen, so I was worried about her. But she made it through okay.
Yesterday I bought N95 masks for my learning disabled friend and dropped them off to him, so that he could make it through the smoky days here in NY.
-
Wow!!! Somebody did ME a random good deed today!
I was in the grocery store... was wearing my ragged, stained work clothes with holes in them... had a pretty full cart as the whole family is home and we're going to cook out for July 4... the total was over $212. To my embarrassment, my credit card was in my small purse at home, so I tried my ATM cards, which supposedly could be used as debit cards though I had never done so before. But one after the other failed. The man behind me in line kindly offered to pay because "it's not a large amount" but I found my checkbook so I tried to pay that way. For some reason THAT was not accepted, so I was prepared to go home for my card and come back. But the guy behind in line again insisted to pay, so I sheepishly accepted his offer, vowing to make a donation to the food bank.
I asked for his number so I could pay him back but he was reluctant, nor would he take my check, so I foolishly gave him my number because I didn't know what to do. I think if I had been less flustered I would have been better able to manage. But I've been a little off recently what with dizziness from sinus infection from smoke, and also lost my glasses so was wearing an old prescription. So I wasn't been able to think well and don't even remember if I thanked him!
It felt weird to have a random kind thing like that done for me. But it saved me an hour and having to drive another trip when I haven't been feeling well. I made a $250 donation to the food bank. Anonymous nice guy, thank you!!
-
That's pretty amazing, Poundwise :-)
I did a few little kindnesses on public transit this weekend... I gave up my seat for an older person (I have chronic pain/disability but I was almost at my destination). I also narrowly stopped someone from sitting in - well, it was sticky and had chocolate chips in it? Probably something that cost $6 from Starbucks. She had white shorts on, so that was a good save.
-
oh wow @Poundwise --that's a great story even if you felt a bit flustered about it.
I was recently reading a story about forest monks and so the concept of 'giving someone the opportunity to be generous' pops into my head when I read this.
Hopefully the person who helped you felt the positive repercussions of helping someone out!
-
Talked to an elderly person today who mentioned that they got a 23 & me kit, mainly for the medical stuff, and they asked me about it because they were having trouble getting it set up (couldn't get the e-mail to go through, etc.). I happen to know that they have some complicated family history (relatives they never met for potentially upsetting reasons/circumstances) and I cautiously asked if they knew that 23 & me could potentially put long-lost relatives in touch with them through DNA matching. They'd had no idea that was a part of it, and definitely didn't want any part of that. So I suggested they make sure they can opt out of that part, and knew how to do it, before they sent it in.
-
Was at a small jazz club tonight and saw a woman with a full beer get collided with by some guy who wasn't looking where he was going, and got beer sloshed all over her hand and arm (luckily not her dress). I had my purse-pack of Kleenex so I offered her some to wipe up, which she accepted, and I also wiped up the little splash on the floor because it was in a place where people walked a lot and I didn't want anyone to slip on the hardwood floor. There was only one employee there and they were really slammed.
-
DH found a Hong Kong ID card on the ground in the departure lounge at the airport. Losing your HKID card is on par with losing your passport while you are overseas. It is your ID for EVERYTHING in HK and in China. DH turned it in to the airport police. Hopefully, the owner will get his card back soon, once he returns to Hong Kong from his trip.
-
Another grocery store line save at the big midtown Manhattan store I go to sometimes... it was almost closing time and all the lines were closed except two. But instead of roping off the lines, they had little video screens at the ceiling saying "line closed." An older lady got in the closed line next to me and was patiently waiting for a number that would never get called. I told her what was wrong and let her get in line in front of me so she wouldn't have to walk around to the back.
-
It was my dad's birthday today, and he mentioned several times that he hadn't heard from his son or grandson (my brother & nephew) and was bummed out about it. After hearing this several times I decided to surreptitiously text my brother at 9:30PM, who claimed he hadn't forgotten and was totally going to call, which he did about 5 minutes later - and then my nephew called a little while later as well. I think it made my parents happy :-) And got my brother out of the doghouse slightly.
-
Nice Bday save @Dollar Slice !
-I picked up a sharp object that was in someone's driveway
-did some problem-solving with a coworker who was having friend-issues
-did wordsmithing with another co-worker who is having roommate hygiene concerns
-
This is tiny, but I'd like to stay motivated, so I'll post it. I was hanging banners around town to promote an upcoming community event. A fence we'd been given permission to use was covered with an expensive scrim. We found a temporary section of fence without scrim and hung our banner there. Then I used zip ties to replace some that were missing on the rest of the fence, so everything looks better than before i got there. Did the same thing at a couple of schools. If the existing banners were flapping, I added new zip ties.
-
I’m not really a kid person but I had a FBM buyer and her daughter in my living room and successfully introduced the daughter to my very friendly and very soft cat, George! It was adorable 🥰.
-
-volunteered to deliver the church flowers to some homebound elderly members, took me only 5 minutes out of my way and the bouquets would have been discarded otherwise
-cooked extra dinner and dropped off some to the poor friend whom I couldn't help before
-another friend just had a kidney transplant; I drove her and her sister to another state for treatment (this wasn't a small deed actually, it took all day)
-dropped off the unsold Girl Scout cookies to food pantry, so glad to have my laundry room back!
-gave away our old bunk bed on craigslist, and also offloaded a child's bike and some other toys to the nice family that picked up
- dispensed personal finance advice to some young people who seemed ready to hear it
OK, that's a wrap for the last couple of weeks! I was happy that my young daughter dropped one of her own dollars in a collection for Maui, a good sign that she is developing compassion.
Good work everyone!! I found @Dicey's good deed with the banners especially satisfying, BTW! And I enjoy @Dollar Slice's good deeds because I also get to live vicariously in Manhattan through her anecdotes!
-
bringing dinner to a dear friend's mother today who just had surgery - soup and homemade soft bread because she has sutures on her lip and wanted it to be easy to eat.
-
There's a mosque near me that participates in a government food distribution program. Once a month, they give away bags of food, no questions asked. I bring them bags to pack the food in, which I get from another volunteer gig.
We have a friend who built and stocks a little free food pantry in front of her house. On distribution days, 4 or 5 of us collect a bag at the mosque and give it to her to help keep the pantry stocked.
Somehow, the mosque is connected to Door Dash. I believe the DD drivers deliver to people without transportation. The DD drivers typically pick up ten orders at a time. Today, there was only one person handling the operation and seven DD drivers, so my friend and I started filling the driver's trunks so the person in charge could pull the next order. It made it easier for him and cut down the waits for the other drivers. Then we each got our bag and passed them on to our pantry friend. Helping out made the wait time pass more quickly.
One of the DD drivers had a new 33# bag of premium dog food in his trunk that he did not need. He gave it to me as I helped him load his trunk, and I passed it on to my food pantry friend. Some dog owner is going to get really lucky.
Best if all, we learned that they do a similar distribution of food from a different source every Friday. We will all start doing the same thing on Fridays.
Of course, I will keep providing bags.
-
Had one of those "only in New York" good deed opportunities tonight - long story short, I went to a concert tonight and I was talking to a musician who has done really big name sideman work (has played with a lot of Grammy winners etc.) and has a substantial solo career. And he was asking me about a certain type of smaller venue in NYC because he has a hard time finding venues to play solo acoustic jazz shows for his indie career. Acoustic shows are tough because not a lot of places have a quiet enough vibe (unless you're playing fancy-pants upscale venues, which he's not). So I told him about my good friend's art gallery where she also books a couple of dozen jazz and classical concerts a year, it's just what he's looking for - no bar, fantastic location on a fairly quiet street in central Manhattan, a built-in audience that she's maintained over a number of years. He even has friends who have played there (who I could name off the top of my head, because I'm an obsessive music fan). And it's about the right size for him to sell out. He was really interested in doing a gig there. My friend is PSYCHED. Potentially a big win for both of them. :-)
-
It's been cold and windy the last couple of days (sub-freezing wind chills) and tonight I was out waiting for the bus when I looked at my phone and discovered that the "every ten minutes" bus wasn't coming for 25 minutes. Ugh. An elderly woman using a cane walked up just as I was deciding whether I would do my errand a different day or just walk there. I started chatting with her to make sure she wasn't about to spend 25 minutes waiting in the cold for the same bus as me - she was. :-(
I asked where she was going, and looked at my bus route app, and it turned out there was a more efficient route that she could take - one bus instead of two, if she didn't mind walking two extra blocks when she got there. And it was coming in 10 minutes instead of 25, so she wouldn't have to wait outside as long. I walked her around the corner to the other bus stop to make sure she found it, since it was dark out and she wasn't familiar with the neighborhood. Hopefully everything went smoothly for her on the rest of her trip!
I ended up waiting for my bus since talking to her and taking a short walk proved to be a pretty effective time-killer - my bus was only 8 minutes away when I got back to my stop...
-
DD’s school throws out boxes and boxes and boxes of imported English books every year when new teachers decide they don’t want certain books or they change reading programs. I know the teachers and reading coaches at the school and always ask if I can have the books that they are tossing. These last few weekends, I’ve been mailing boxes of books to Cambodia, where my sister works at a school in an impoverished area of town. I saved two giant ikea bags of books from the dumpster, and the Cambodian school has basically a small library of books now, all selected by well-trained and knowledgeable educators at a top international school.
-
@Freedomin5 - is there a service that accepts text books for these schools? I have a few books from my son's high school classes that are not being used any more and would like to contribute them.
-
@Freedomin5 - is there a service that accepts text books for these schools? I have a few books from my son's high school classes that are not being used any more and would like to contribute them.
Thanks for asking! That's so kind and generous of you! I'm sure they exist, but I'm not personally aware of organizations that take high school books. The level of the students at the school my sister works at is so low that they're more interested in kindergarten to middle elementary books at this time.
-
@Freedomin5 - No problem...I did a little research and found this:
https://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/donate-books.html
you can mail text books here and they will distribute them to students in Africa. Seems like a good idea.
-
@Freedomin5 - No problem...I did a little research and found this:
https://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/donate-books.html
you can mail text books here and they will distribute them to students in Africa. Seems like a good idea.
Looks like an amazing organization. I love how simple they keep the whole process.
Hmm…I wonder if they have something similar in Canada. I’ll be living in a college town (literally in the middle of a neighborhood populated with student housing, in fact the previous owner of our house is a college student who graduated). Come April, when students are moving out, I wonder how many gently used textbooks will be trashed. I’d happily walk around on move out day to pick up textbooks. Something to explore when I retire in a couple years.
-
I posted about LasagnaLove on our neighborhood page on NextDoor.com. I got thanked from people who weren't aware of it but wanted to do something from their home to help the hungry.
https:/lasagnalove.org
-
@Freedomin5 - it looks like you can reach out to the organization and get a drop box. It may make sense for you if your are living around a bunch of students. Here in the US, it seems like more and more classes are using online subscriptions for textbooks--get to charge slightly less, but only get the license to use it for a year. While I am in favor of less waste, I think this is a profit driven approach from the book manufacturers. And there will be fewer books to ship to charities in underserved regions.
-
@Freedomin5 - it looks like you can reach out to the organization and get a drop box. It may make sense for you if your are living around a bunch of students. Here in the US, it seems like more and more classes are using online subscriptions for textbooks--get to charge slightly less, but only get the license to use it for a year. While I am in favor of less waste, I think this is a profit driven approach from the book manufacturers. And there will be fewer books to ship to charities in underserved regions.
That reminds me, DD’s school has already started sending their old iPads to needy schools. Some of the textbook publishers offer free subscription services to needy schools who can’t afford the subscription fee. One of my neighbors is an academic coordinator for DD’s school and she was telling me about it. The iPads are preloaded with a program with lots of downloaded books, encyclopedias, and other info, so they don’t need stable internet, just intermittent internet so they can update the system and add more material. She recently brought a bunch to a school in the middle of the jungle in the Philippines and spent a few days down there training teachers on how to use the program. This is for elementary school though. High school would still have the same problem, but I wonder if textbook publishers might offer free subscriptions.
-
A friend of mine asked me for help setting up an Amazon wishlist for her support group of low income people living with mental illness. So I did, and am trying to whip up my set of high income friends to donate things. If we can make this happen, my friend will feel so empowered!
-
We did it! At first, nobody donated even though I primed the pump by buying some items. Later, since nobody was buying the $25 bulk packs, I divided them up into less cost effective but overall cheaper $7 items and then people bought a lot, and even ended up buying the bulk packs so we ended up with twice as much! We put together the gift packages yesterday, took photos, and I'll send thanks to the donors soon. I hope my friend, who suffers from depression herself, feels good about what we accomplished.
Other good deeds: gave a Christmas wreath to a disabled senior who lives nearby; took a refugee grocery shopping. But it's always fun to take refugees around because it's so easy to help them. The woman I took out on Tuesday was concerned because the packaged herbs were so wilted but she was very chuffed when I went into the florist section and found the potted herbs for her! Made me feel like a genius.
-
I visited my traveling friend’s cats for some food/water/litter scooping. My friend has had a challenging time lately with her job and family and I wanted to do something helpful for her household while she was away. So I took out a bunch of cardboard boxes and plastic bottle recycling to help her out. The cats hid the entire time me. Free and saved my friend a pet sitting fee?
-
Picked up some garbage on my walk and then organized the recycling shed a bit (moved a few armloads of cardboard and around 10 pizza boxes to the cardboard location).
-
It's been awhile! In no particular order:
-Made a donation, when I looked over our list of good deeds & came up with nothing for the week. (I include this in my blog, and I love the forcing function of writing it down, because it often inspires me to be more creative, or look for those small moments.)
-Offered to help coordinate a project for the school soccer team. This is impressive almost entirely because I loathe things like this. But, someone has to do it, so why not me sometimes?
-I returned shopping carts at the grocery store. I try to make it a point to collect a few, when I return my own.
-Was able to fulfill a bunch of asks on BN, especially for ski clothes. Which, are expensive, and we have teens who outgrown things regularly, so it's awesome to help out & pass things along.
-Swept my neighbor's leaves, when I was doing my own.
-
- Helped a friend get disability accommodations
- Helped a friend save $55 on something he wanted to buy
- A friend wanted to go to a late-night music festival but felt bad leaving his partner home alone before a big work trip where they would be alone again, so I invited his partner to have a girls' night out with me that night. Triple win since I think all three of us had a good time and I got us $10 concert tickets so it was very frugal :-)
-
Someone else left a baggie of dog poop at a trailhead I visited today. I threw it away properly before starting my walk.
-
- Helped a friend get disability accommodations
...
Holy heck, that's a big good deed, not a small one - good for you!
I've read that there are so many services available to people but they just don't know how to access them or that they even exist. I hope that friend can continue the chain and help someone else.
-
- Helped a friend get disability accommodations
...
Holy heck, that's a big good deed, not a small one - good for you!
It was just for a one-time event. But they were not answering their emails and didn't provide a phone number, so it was a bit of a Thing. You would be horrified at how poorly so many places respond to minor accommodation requests.
-
Tried to help a couple of friends who are having major anxiety issues with some of their life admin stuff. Both are planning trips and one is looking for a therapist, so there was a lot of online searching I could do and just helping whittle down options, helping with decision-making, etc. One of them I think I really helped (he got his hotel and plane all booked). The other is still working on stuff but I think she at least feels like someone's got her back? And I said I was available for more help if she was feeling indecisive/overwhelmed.
-
Slicey, you are a good egg.
-
Was hiking with my dog in a remote area. There is an older man who lives in his van, he doesn't talk or acknowledge me much but I've given small waves in the past few weeks. Today we walked by on a road and chatted a bit. When he saw me returning he asked if I would jump start his van. I had to drive to a sketchy, icy area to access it and was a bit concerned I'd get stuck but it worked out fine (even though it seems his van is quickly on the way out of commission)
-
Snippet from earlier post:
-Offered to help coordinate a project for the school soccer team. This is impressive almost entirely because I loathe things like this. But, someone has to do it, so why not me sometimes?
Well, apparently, this is normally a job for a committee. We are in a super weird position this year, as the junior parents plan and run this event, but there are 17 seniors, and only 4 juniors. One of the junior parents is totally MIA, hasn't replied to emails and I've never seen them at a game. The other parent begrudgingly agreed to my requests that he pick up one of the tasks (take photos, as he's a photographer & has an awesome camera). The last parent is hosting the end of the year banquet & is the team manager, so she's helped be a person I can bounce ideas off of, but I've done 90% of the work myself & feel she's contributing plenty on her own projects. I've probably invested 20+ hours so far, and we're not even close to done yet. I keep telling myself that I'm making up for lost time, because this isn't something I typically lead. Making up for lost time :-)
I'm really excited to wrap this project - I'll be done by end of February!
-
Cleared the snow-ice-water mess from a bus stop bench today after the storm ended, so that it would dry off for future people to sit there.
Still helping my friend try to find a therapist. She's contacted two people I found for her that supposedly take her insurance which is a really big step. She's been struggling for months to get over that hump. Hopefully one of them will work out.
-
Snippet from earlier post:
-Offered to help coordinate a project for the school soccer team. This is impressive almost entirely because I loathe things like this. But, someone has to do it, so why not me sometimes?
Well, apparently, this is normally a job for a committee. We are in a super weird position this year, as the junior parents plan and run this event, but there are 17 seniors, and only 4 juniors. One of the junior parents is totally MIA, hasn't replied to emails and I've never seen them at a game. The other parent begrudgingly agreed to my requests that he pick up one of the tasks (take photos, as he's a photographer & has an awesome camera). The last parent is hosting the end of the year banquet & is the team manager, so she's helped be a person I can bounce ideas off of, but I've done 90% of the work myself & feel she's contributing plenty on her own projects. I've probably invested 20+ hours so far, and we're not even close to done yet. I keep telling myself that I'm making up for lost time, because this isn't something I typically lead. Making up for lost time :-)
I'm really excited to wrap this project - I'll be done by end of February!
-Hosted & finished this very time intensive project. Grateful it's done, it went well. Was at least 50+ hours, so lesson learned.
-Made several donations
-Embarking on a very large & ongoing project with my sister, to take over tasks from my parents to support my mentally disabled aunt. This is a lot, and I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to manage this effectively, but my parents absolutely have to tap out.
-
Snippet from earlier post:
-Offered to help coordinate a project for the school soccer team. This is impressive almost entirely because I loathe things like this. But, someone has to do it, so why not me sometimes?
Well, apparently, this is normally a job for a committee. We are in a super weird position this year, as the junior parents plan and run this event, but there are 17 seniors, and only 4 juniors. One of the junior parents is totally MIA, hasn't replied to emails and I've never seen them at a game. The other parent begrudgingly agreed to my requests that he pick up one of the tasks (take photos, as he's a photographer & has an awesome camera). The last parent is hosting the end of the year banquet & is the team manager, so she's helped be a person I can bounce ideas off of, but I've done 90% of the work myself & feel she's contributing plenty on her own projects. I've probably invested 20+ hours so far, and we're not even close to done yet. I keep telling myself that I'm making up for lost time, because this isn't something I typically lead. Making up for lost time :-)
I'm really excited to wrap this project - I'll be done by end of February!
-Hosted & finished this very time intensive project. Grateful it's done, it went well. Was at least 50+ hours, so lesson learned.
-Made several donations
-Embarking on a very large & ongoing project with my sister, to take over tasks from my parents to support my mentally disabled aunt. This is a lot, and I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to manage this effectively, but my parents absolutely have to tap out.
As another soccer parent, thank you for taking this on and making it happen! I wound up managing teams for a number of years, because I felt the options were me (who is reasonable) or some parent who was kinda insane (there are a lot of those around here). But I really, really appreciated it when people would take on separable tasks, and I'm not sure I really thanked them enough -- so let me do so now! (And if it was a senior-night-type thing, extra thanks, because that is a real PITA -- but the seniors and their parents generally really enjoy it!)
-
@jeninco - it was senior night! And, bonus, after a not great season, we tied a team that's rated in the top ten in California, in a complete shocker game. :) Thanks for all of your volunteering! Our club team is volunteer led, so we're supposed to do 4 hours/season per kid, and many of the positions cover full cost for your kid to play, which I like, because it broadens the opportunities.
-
I've been helping a widowed neighbor who is under hospice care. She has daytime help but in the evening or night she needs a few minutes assistance to transfer from sofa to wheelchair or from wheelchair to bed.
My good deeds are typically donations to food drives or volunteering with an association but this is the first time I've helped with physical assistance. I'm glad to help but it's a sobering experience. Memento mori.
-
An acquaintance commented on an artwork I shared on social media.
I said I could send her a small print of it if I had her address and she was very appreciative..only a few days later did I see that she is struggling with a mental health crisis. Small act but I have to hope that it transmits some care.
-
I sincerely love reading these updates by everyone!
I've invested a bunch of time in helping my aunt lately, and so far have saved her about $70/month off of her bills. I've also found that she's eligible for reduced utilities, and my dad is going go to help her with that (needs to be in person). And, she's authorizing me to deal with her insurance, so I'm going to tackle that, hopefully tomorrow. Her income is under $1k/month, so these change will be really meaningful to her.
-
I sincerely love reading these updates by everyone!
I've invested a bunch of time in helping my aunt lately, and so far have saved her about $70/month off of her bills. I've also found that she's eligible for reduced utilities, and my dad is going go to help her with that (needs to be in person). And, she's authorizing me to deal with her insurance, so I'm going to tackle that, hopefully tomorrow. Her income is under $1k/month, so these change will be really meaningful to her.
That's very kind of you, she's lucky to have such caring relatives. Have you looked at the www.benefits.gov? It's a great source to start researching and you can filter it by location.
-
Lovely work, everyone! with a special shoutout to @LaineyAZ. The endgame for the elderly in this country is very rough and it's scary to be dependent on others in our last days. Just having the peace of mind that she'll be able to get into her bed at night is such a gift to your neighbor.
Hrm, I can't say that I've been particularly good to man or beast lately. I've continued on my usual volunteer work but this month it's been mainly planning meetings, postponing them, and sending emails saying that the meetings were postponed. I did initiate a craft circle at a building of low income seniors... have secured funding promises, made the flyers and am collecting yarn etc., and I'm hoping that bringing the seniors together will become a regular thing that they can sustain themselves, to reduce isolation in this community. It's scheduled for next month and I'm looking forward to it. It's kind of a maverick event that I threw together out of frustration with everything else that I'm having to do by committee.
-
Lovely work, everyone! with a special shoutout to @LaineyAZ. The endgame for the elderly in this country is very rough and it's scary to be dependent on others in our last days. Just having the peace of mind that she'll be able to get into her bed at night is such a gift to your neighbor.
Hrm, I can't say that I've been particularly good to man or beast lately. I've continued on my usual volunteer work but this month it's been mainly planning meetings, postponing them, and sending emails saying that the meetings were postponed. I did initiate a craft circle at a building of low income seniors... have secured funding promises, made the flyers and am collecting yarn etc., and I'm hoping that bringing the seniors together will become a regular thing that they can sustain themselves, to reduce isolation in this community. It's scheduled for next month and I'm looking forward to it. It's kind of a maverick event that I threw together out of frustration with everything else that I'm having to do by committee.
Good on you! I've recently learned that there's a group of ladies who meet in the community room at our library. The first part of the meeting is kind of a materials swap. Then they settle in for another couple of hours of needlework of all types, and conversation. It was delightful to see.
Dicey: "Ooh, we had a lot of knitting books donated before the last book sale. There were more than we had room for, so we kept some of them for the next book sale. They're in my garage, would you like them?"
Group: "We donated them."
Later, at the Thrift Shop, a conversation with a fellow thrift shop/library volunteer: "Dicey, the shop is low on cookbooks and craft books. Do you have anything?" And that's how my groaning bookshelves have fewer cookbooks and the crate of knitting books is out of my garage, yay!
To stay sort of on topic, we were at the library multiple times so DH could do extensive repairs on the storage shed where The Friends accumulate used books. It's the former trash enclosure, in the alley behind the library. It has no power, so we have to mooch it from the community room. Bonus: DH scavenged most of the materials. In the course of scavenging, someone had some unused, brand-new windows along with the materials we were picking up, so we took them and dropped them off at ReStore. The Friends had the money to buy new materials, but that's not how Mr. Dicey rolls. Now The Friends have extra money to spend on library needs. In the Spring, he will repaint the building with material he's already sourced. Free, of course.
-
I came across this post this morning and it inspired me to do a good deed. When I went out to shovel snow this morning I noticed my neighbor's sidewalk hadn't been shoveled and shes usually the first one to do it, so I decided to shovel it for her. Not sure if shes sick or had errands to run, but either way hopefully made her day a touch easier.
-
I came across this post this morning and it inspired me to do a good deed. When I went out to shovel snow this morning I noticed my neighbor's sidewalk hadn't been shoveled and shes usually the first one to do it, so I decided to shovel it for her. Not sure if shes sick or had errands to run, but either way hopefully made her day a touch easier.
This makes me really happy. That's why we have this thread. Thank you for making the world a little better, @dangbe!
-
I've updated the year on this. Wish it could become one of those really long threads, hopefully corresponding to an increase in good deeds in the world!
-
I've updated the year on this. Wish it could become one of those really long threads, hopefully corresponding to an increase in good deeds in the world!
Thank you. I love this thread!
-
Oh my, how have I not seen this thread before? I love this idea (akin to the movie Pay it Forward) and will look for future opportunities to give kindness.
-
My friend said he wanted to go see a museum exhibit before it closes on March 3rd at the one museum I have a membership to, so I'm bringing him as my +1. Free admission and skip the lines. Plus there's another big exhibit in previews right now that we can get exclusive member access to during the same visit.
-
Today is the Friends of the Library's book sale day. The pre-sale last night was huge. I spent an hour this morning moving all the books up off the bottom shelves. More books will be sold and hundreds of knees and scores of backs will be saved. I'm counting it as a win.
-
Just found this thread. Thanks for the reboot!
Today we got things done at home, so we weren't out doing favors for others. Previously this week:
- Lent my folding table to a Buy Nothing neighbor.
- Lent my patch kit to someone with a punctured bike tire. (He had the levers, pump, and know-how, so I handed it off with contact info and went on my slightly-late way.)
- Reported a scary pothole I spotted on the freeway the one day last week I drove. It was big enough to do some damage and to prompt drivers to swerve. They say they'll take care of it. Who knows when, but at least they know it's there.
- Picked up a couple pieces of plastic trash that I found blowing around when I walked and biked.
-
As always, this thread makes me happy.
We were skiing during the week, so outside of our normal routine. A few things:
-We helped reunite two lost kids with parents & ski patrol. One kid was five, and very, very lost, so we were happy to help him out. The second kid was seven, and only briefly separated, but we helped get him back up on his skis, and were able to get him reunited quickly.
-We treated DS16's BFF to some arcade & ice cream time, in advance of his birthday the next day. The boys are die hard ski buddies, and his birthday happens to regularly fall during ski week.
-
On our way home from taking down the Friend's Book Sale (free leftover books!), just before we turned down the last road to home, a friend called and asked if I could pick up three things from the grocery store just down the road. Instead of turning for home, we grabbed the groceries. Once home, we put them in a cooler and set out on our planned afternoon activities. We were near their house when we finished, so we dropped them off then. I also added a lovely jar of jam from my pantry. One more thing out of the pantry, hooray! These friends are recovering from injuries and surgeries, so I am happy to help. I just couldn't believe how easy it was to help them as we went about our day. Happy.
-
This evening I'm putting together a summer vegetable and herb seed "care package" for a neighbor who also gardens, with a selection of seeds I've saved and seeds I bought for this year's garden but don't need a whole packet. Mr. Neighbor was laid off late last year and, last I checked, hadn't found his new thing yet.
-
Oh my, how have I not seen this thread before? I love this idea (akin to the movie Pay it Forward) and will look for future opportunities to give kindness.
I think this was @MaybeBabyMustache's idea, I just updated the thread title for this year. Thank you for helping those lost children!
@crocheted_stache, that's a cool good deed! I bet your neighbor will enjoy starting seeds and they will provide comfort during the soul crushing process of job searching.
@Dicey Nice work as always on the book sale/grocery run! Love it when errands fit together so smoothly too... that's the ideal small good deed, something that requires only minor sacrifice but is a big help to someone else.
-
I volunteered to help a friend set up for the team soccer banquet on Thursday. She's done a lot to help the team, and I booked out my work schedule & can make it happen.
-
Gave a young man in a wheelchair directions to a horribly convoluted detour (you wouldn't believe how bad) due to an elevator being under construction in the subway. There was no sign posted (!), just a boarded up elevator, but I had heard an audio announcement about it so I knew where to go.
Unfortunately I later received a good deed demerit for confusing a Latino man by answering "C" when he asked me a question about the trains - he thought I said yes in Spanish, but I meant it was the C train :-/ By the time we realized what happened, the train doors had closed!
-
Treated my team to Starbucks and chocolate. It was one of those days when everyone just needed a bit of kindness and a pick-me-up.
-
Gave a young man in a wheelchair directions to a horribly convoluted detour (you wouldn't believe how bad) due to an elevator being under construction in the subway. There was no sign posted (!), just a boarded up elevator, but I had heard an audio announcement about it so I knew where to go.
Unfortunately I later received a good deed demerit for confusing a Latino man by answering "C" when he asked me a question about the trains - he thought I said yes in Spanish, but I meant it was the C train :-/ By the time we realized what happened, the train doors had closed!
I move to assign the demerit to the transit company for operating a system that's difficult to navigate.
One of my favorite litmus tests for transportation system ease of use is this generalized but not at all hypothetical scenario: you have just gotten off a plane from (whatever other country). English is your second or third language, and it's enough for routine stuff in restaurants and airports. Your phone is out of juice/not yet connected to service here. Can you easily find the correct train or bus and pay the fare?
If you'd like to actually do something about the first problem, figure out where to complain, and tell someone in charge what happened when they boarded up an elevator with no sign for the detour.
-
This evening I'm putting together a summer vegetable and herb seed "care package" for a neighbor who also gardens, with a selection of seeds I've saved and seeds I bought for this year's garden but don't need a whole packet. Mr. Neighbor was laid off late last year and, last I checked, hadn't found his new thing yet.
@crocheted_stache, that's a cool good deed! I bet your neighbor will enjoy starting seeds and they will provide comfort during the soul crushing process of job searching.
Update: I delivered the seed selection and the neighbors were home, so I got to say hi.
I'm happy to report that Mr. Neighbor's job search was successful. Yay for them!
-
Babysat for a friend so she could go to choir practice in peace.
-
Removed a sharp object from the bike lane.
Requested repairs for a rough patch of roadway.
Requested repairs for a damaged bike rack on the bus.
-
I spoke before the City Council last night. There is bond money available and one elite group Iis trying to hog all of it. I reminded the CC that we library folk had campaigned hard to pass the bond and that it was designed to enhance the entire community. I only had to wait 3.5 hours for my turn to speak. Oh, and it was my birthday. That's how important our libraries are to me.
-
I spoke before the City Council last night. There is bond money available and one elite group Iis trying to hog all of it. I reminded the CC that we library folk had campaigned hard to pass thet bond and that it was designed to enhance the entire community. I only had to wait 3.5 hours for my turn to speak. Oh, and it was my birthday. That's how important our libraries are to me.
Wow, that's a big good deed! I have an older friend whose mother started the library district in their Mountain west town many decades ago. But her mother did something genius: she got it set up so there was a separate tax line for the library district. (not sure of the exact tax verbiage but that's the gist of it).
Point is that the local legislators could not change the library budget on a whim because it had a dedicated tax stream.
-
Love the commitment to libraries, @Dicey !
I ran a half marathon this weekend, and took the time to thank all of the volunteers (they were out in the rain, early on a Sunday, so props to them), & helped a special needs teen out along the way. He was a sweetie & super excited for his first half. So excited, he got separated from his family, & his hands were shaking enough he couldn't get his phone into his running belt. We hung with him for a bit, and sorted his equipment, until he was calm & found his group.
-
Another day, another sharp object removed from the bike lane.
A few days back, I reported the six shopping carts I could see in a local waterway. I pick up small litter that I can easily reach and carry, but shopping carts in the water are going to need someone better qualified and equipped. Someone from the water district followed up and said they found at least 14 large items, including the shopping carts. They're not gone yet, but there's a maintenance ticket.
-
I sent a package of craft supplies to a lady that recently lost a loved one and is hurting and doesn't have extra money. She wants to make a faith/remembrance journal.
-
I went to the store & noticed someone had super helpfully left a cart blocking not one, but two of the parking sports. This is a small lot to begin with. Parked my car a bit of a jaunt away, and returned the cart, freeing up the spots for folks.
-
I took my 99-year-old friend to the grocery store earlier this week. There were several things on her list that I had in my pantry, so I had her skip those things. Yesterday, I packed them up and delivered them. A couple of things were expired, but she cares even less about expiration dates than I do.
-
My mom's favorite singer is in town this weekend, and somehow tickets sold out before we even knew about it. I follow him on social media but for some reason they didn't post about it until tickets were already sold out (WTF?). They decided to play at a small intimate venue of 350 instead of the usual multi-thousand-seat venue, and it probably sold out really quick. They also sold out a couple of small venues in the suburbs.
Anyway... I've been checking several websites twice a day. Every day. For weeks. Waitlists. Stubhub. Last minute ticket releases. There are ways... you never know.
And guess who just scored tickets to Monday's show at the intimate 350-capacity venue for her mother? :-)
-
@Dollar Slice - woot!
-
Someone in my Buy Nothing group asked for a particular book, which is about a niche topic and a little older. I don't have it, and apparently, neither does the local library, but the Internet Archive does, so I suggested that.
I also heard back from the city. I reported an automatic soap dispenser that was squirting soap onto the floor of a park restroom, and they've fixed it.
-
I also heard back from the city. I reported an automatic soap dispenser that was squirting soap onto the floor of a park restroom, and they've fixed it.
The world needs more heroes like you!
Lately I've been helping out a bipolar friend who was in a depressive state. We've been spending a lot of time talking and I was able to inspire him to make an app. Ever since he started on it he's been asking me for help and his mood has really turned around.
-
A coworker was laid off at the same time as me. I've been sending him lots of open job listings. I'm not particularly looking, but a lot have come my way anyway, & he definitely needs to have a job (five kids in college!)
-
I also heard back from the city. I reported an automatic soap dispenser that was squirting soap onto the floor of a park restroom, and they've fixed it.
The world needs more heroes like you!
Lately I've been helping out a bipolar friend who was in a depressive state. We've been spending a lot of time talking and I was able to inspire him to make an app. Ever since he started on it he's been asking me for help and his mood has really turned around.
Ongoing emotional support for a friend is not such a small good deed! Even helping your friend find something to do besides spiral further into their depression is emotional support, and it may save a life or restore quality of life to someone who is suffering.
Reporting things that I find out of order in public places is partly self-serving. While some of the things I spot are merely unsightly or annoying, others are outright hazardous. Cracked pavement can trap a bike wheel, and uneven sidewalks are a tripping hazard. I once noticed a cover missing from a foot-deep (30cm) utility box in a sidewalk where people were walking. For that one, I went back to check and poked again when I found nothing had happened the first time. It got fixed soon after my second try prompted an escalation, with half a dozen city staff on the email chain. The cities around are usually pretty responsive, especially when it comes to obvious hazards, so I suspect they just missed the first report in that case.
I often walk or bike, which means I see more of our streets and sidewalks close up than most of my neighbors probably do, and I can safely and easily stop to take a photo of the problem. I've reported stuff before, so I know where to report to get the city's attention. It's nice to see potholes filled, leaks stopped, drains opened, and street lights working again. It's a small investment on my part for sometimes big results.
Anyone can do this kind of thing. Find out how to report things where you live (often an email address, app, or web form) and then keep your eyes open when you're out and about. Pro tip: potholes don't look like much, so try to frame your photo to include some of the surroundings, such as a building nearby, to help crews locate the problem when they arrive.
-
A coworker was laid off at the same time as me. I've been sending him lots of open job listings. I'm not particularly looking, but a lot have come my way anyway, & he definitely needs to have a job (five kids in college!)
I've done this, and also put people who are looking in touch with recruiters who contact me. I am trying to remember if I ever got a job by sending an application based on a listing I found, though. I've gotten a few interviews that way, but every job or nearly every job I've ever gotten was because I knew someone, however roundabout the connection.
-
I saw an electrician company service van with a dangerously low rear tire. I called the number on the van to let them know. Unfortunately I didn’t get the license plate or van ID number, but the lady on the phone thought she could figure it out based on location.
-
I saw an electrician company service van with a dangerously low rear tire. I called the number on the van to let them know. Unfortunately I didn’t get the license plate or van ID number, but the lady on the phone thought she could figure it out based on location.
Bravo! You might have saved a life or at least spared them some expensive damage to the van.
-
Picked up trash at the park during DS17's soccer game. Bonus, there was a dime sitting near the trash.
This one is more for DH, but our elderly neighbor got her car wedged against her garage door. It damaged one of the side panels, and she couldn't get the car out. DH spent some time maneuvering the car back & forth to avoid further damage, while I helped from the back. He somehow managed it. He then spent a few hours yesterday buffing out the paint transfer from the garage door, and it looks fantastic. Definitely saved her a bunch of money on body work. Yesterday, i provided no assistance other than keeping his company while I drank a glass of wine & cheered him on.
-
Picked up trash at the park during DS17's soccer game. Bonus, there was a dime sitting near the trash.
I wish those who frequent our neighborhood athletic field would clean up a bit better. Thanks for taking the initiative with yours.
Today's good deed: lent my spare "beater" bike (with lights, lock, and helmet) to someone who is without other transportation. Helping him get back on his feet otherwise will take more than one small good deed, however.
-
Because I'm a glutton for punishment, I've signed up to run senior night for our soccer club (I also ran it for our high school). I will get volunteer hours (I get credit for 3 that goes against our billing), but this project is easily 5x that as a commitment. I also know that a friend does a lot of the heavy lifting if no one else volunteers, and we worked together successfully on the high school senior night, so I'm considering it a good turn for her as well.
-
Removed a few pieces of loose plastic trash near a local waterway.
-
-Picked up trash at two HS tennis matches
-Started working on my volunteer soccer project
-Returned carts at the grocery store, particularly when they were blocking spots
-
Reported a bike-wheel-sized crack that's growing in the asphalt in a bike lane along my route and some graffiti.
-
I had a surprise delivery of fresh flowers from a friend this week.
I tipped the delivery driver generously because I remember when a family member had a similar delivery job and tips were very welcome and a big part of their income. I know we all get crabby with the aggressive tipping culture but the driver was surprised and grateful.
-
-Picked up trash at two HS tennis matches
-Started working on my volunteer soccer project
-Returned carts at the grocery store, particularly when they were blocking spots
I really think this (from the "boring busy-work" thread) counts here, too:
-Got all of special needs aunt's bills set up for auto pay, & called her insurance agent & sorted out a bunch of stuff to save her money
-
I had a surprise delivery of fresh flowers from a friend this week.
I tipped the delivery driver generously because I remember when a family member had a similar delivery job and tips were very welcome and a big part of their income. I know we all get crabby with the aggressive tipping culture but the driver was surprised and grateful.
I squirm when the payment terminal tablet asks me for a tip, especially somewhere I don't expect. I do not like the lingering cultural implication of keeping the servant class subservient and dependent upon humoring the whims of the moneyed. I do not at all miss the imperative of tipping when I visit any of the civilized countries that did away with tipping or never had it, and where appropriate pay is simply built into the price of the meal or other service.
That said, tipping a little extra is an effortless and inexpensive way to make someone's day.
-
@crocheted_stache - thank you! It's ultimately for my aunt, but really to help my parents offload some of the burden of taking care of her. I know it's been weighing on them as they age as well.
And, I went to another HS tennis match & picked up trash today. It was windy & while the school is actually pretty clean, there was definitely plenty to pick up.
-
This thread reassures my faith in humanity.
Today I spent an hour showing a friend how to learn a specific software application for free and set him up and walked him through it. He's been out of work for a while now (his industry never recovered after covid) and this will make him upskill to qualify for a job, if he persists with this.
-
Asked friend if there was anything to add to today's grocery run. Got the thing. Well, DH got the thing. I just made sure it was on the list.
We are planning to have lost the receipt if the friend tries to pay us back. (Friend is low-income and has had a heck of a week. We expect the excuse to make the favor easier to accept. We "accidentally" bought an extra of something we knew the friend needed once before.)
-
Was picking up takeout tonight* and the people in front of me were struggling with the ordering terminal, so I showed them the one thing they were literally throwing their hands up and going "what number? WHAT NUMBER!??!" about.
I bought a 10-pack of eclipse viewing glasses and I've been giving them away to all of my friends and family who didn't really know how or where to get them. We're in the 90% partial eclipse zone and the weather forecast is great so far, so it should be fun for everyone. I've given five of them away so far. If I end up with some extras I'll just go to the park and see if any people want to use them.
* Not Mustachian, but I'm on day four of a migraine and sometimes you just give up.
-
Was picking up takeout tonight* .......
* Not Mustachian, but I'm on day four of a migraine and sometimes you just give up.
Money well spent!! this is what we save for, right? to use when in situatiosn like this.
-
Was picking up takeout tonight* .......
* Not Mustachian, but I'm on day four of a migraine and sometimes you just give up.
Money well spent!! this is what we save for, right? to use when in situatiosn like this.
+1 and why we need a "like" button.
@DollarSlice, you are one of the most prolific doers of good deeds on this thread. I'm so sorry your have had a multiday migraine. I hope some takeout at least lightened your load.
-
I bought a 10-pack of eclipse viewing glasses ... I've given five of them away so far. If I end up with some extras I'll just go to the park and see if any people want to use them.
I had fun with this and ended up wishing I bought more. I gave two to my parents, three to friends, two to people in the lobby of my building (staff members) and then as I stepped outside there were three school children (teens) griping about how no one had given them any glasses, so I handed them one and asked if they could share it (one girl immediately put them on and exclaimed "this is literally so cool") and then my last spare pair was snagged by a woman who saw me giving one to the kids and asked if I had two more (I assume for her kids). I only had one left for her but they can share!
Imagine being a teenager and being with your friends on the sidewalk and complaining that none of the adults in your life had seen fit to provide you with (Thing) and at that moment a stranger steps out of a door and just hands you one. 😂
-
I love that, @Dollar Slice ! I'm sure they were thrilled. Well done.
-
A multi-day project in the works, but my 85-year old neighbor is writing a memoir about his life, mostly for his family to have a written history in the future. He had it mostly written, and it's very entertaining, but he's got some vision issues so there were numerous minor punctuation, grammatical, formatting, etc. items that needed correcting in the manuscript. I offered to read and edit, which I have been doing for the past month, and now his work will be free of those issues so his family can enjoy without those distractions.
-
A multi-day project in the works, but my 85-year old neighbor is writing a memoir about his life, mostly for his family to have a written history in the future. He had it mostly written, and it's very entertaining, but he's got some vision issues so there were numerous minor punctuation, grammatical, formatting, etc. items that needed correcting in the manuscript. I offered to read and edit, which I have been doing for the past month, and now his work will be free of those issues so his family can enjoy without those distractions.
Badass!
-
I was working in our yard today, and a guy approached & wanted to ask questions about our neighborhood. He's making an offer on a house a block or so away. We chatted for about 15 minutes, and I answered all of his questions. He also has kids who will be attending the high school my teens attend, so I was also able to help him with info about the school.
-
Imagine being a teenager and being with your friends on the sidewalk and complaining that none of the adults in your life had seen fit to provide you with (Thing) and at that moment a stranger steps out of a door and just hands you one. 😂
Well done indeed!! You spread happiness, Dollar Slice!
I sent an email thanking our school superintendent and principals for having the foresight to provide eclipse glasses to ALL the students! This meant that kids whose parents were working or whose parents hadn't heard of the eclipse were able to enjoy the eclipse. We have a lot of low income families who don't seem to get much news outside of what their kids tell them; the mom of one of my scouts didn't know about the eclipse.
There's often a lot of complaining so I figure that the school administration should get some appreciation when they do things right. I don't spend enough time complimenting people for doing things well so this is a change I'm trying to make in myself.
On other fronts, I have been showing up to traffic meetings with requests and it sounds like we'll be getting some safer walking routes for the students, as well as some other traffic improvements that should have positive ripple effects.
crocheted_stache-- love your good deed... so easy for you but saves your friend time.
Newday, I hope your friend gets a job! That would be a big big deal.
-
I found someone’s phone and a bunch of credit/debit cards on a bench in a shopping mall. I took into the closest store for the shop clerk to do whatever they do inthat situation.
Then, a few minutes later as I was leaving the washroom I saw a young dad checking thru his baby’s stroller. He was also patting his pockets so I figured that was his phone I found.
I said “Excuse me, sir, are you missing your phone?” He said yes so I took home to the store where I had left it. The guy was very happy.
-
I opened the door for someone exiting the coffee shop holding their order in one hand and a dog on a leash in the other hand. Twice in two weeks! Different people and different dogs.
-
Not today, but a while ago… DD and I were on the beach photographing the sunset when we found a phone on the wet sand. It hadn’t been washed over yet, and it worked fine (but was locked) when we picked it up. We looked for someone who might have lost a cell phone, but there were no likely candidates, and it was time to go home. We took it home (we live 20 minutes or so) from the beach, washed it in fresh water, put it on the charger, and we waited. Eventually, it rang. “Lost iPhone,” I answered. Needless to say, they were delighted!
-
In waiting for the elevator from the ground floor parking garage, I noticed a package on the floor in the corner of the waiting area (huge risk of theft). It was for a different apartment in my building. The building is locked and the delivery people are supposed to check in at the leasing office to gain access, but I guess this driver didn't have the time or something. Picked up the package and delivered it to the doorway of the correct apartment. Should be at much less risk of theft now.
-
I made a care package for someone going through a really rough time right now.
-
People on our plane waited in their seats while a couple of people from the back of the plane dashed out to make a tight connection.
-
Started work on my volunteer project for our soccer club (senior night) & bought my friend a coffee when we met to discuss. She's helping me with a lot of it.
-
Started work on my volunteer project for our soccer club (senior night) & bought my friend a coffee when we met to discuss. She's helping me with a lot of it.
It's awesome of you to take this on! Thank you, from all the parents of senior players!
-
Thanks, @jeninco ! I'm apparently a pro, after running the high school version this year. ;-)
For my good deeds of the day:
1) Worked with my sister on some cash flow stuff for special needs aunt, and once that was resolved, paid her property taxes. We've been in charge of her finances for about two months. She's gone from cash flow negative to having a balance of about $1k. We've done a bunch to optimize, including signing her up for low income discounts, negotiating services, canceling things she wasn't using, etc. It's nice to see things finally paying off a bit. Before, she could have never paid her property taxes from her checking account, and would have needed to pull from her very small savings. But, this year we made it work!
2) DS17 bought a gift for someone online, and signed up for "free" shipping via the purchase flow. The "free" shipping site (free shipping.com - avoid, as it's a total scam) then went on to charge him $19/month for months & months before I happened to notice the charge. He has his own debit card where he can spend some of his job earnings. I helped him get a hold of the site, cancel the "subscription", get a refund for the one month they would allow, and we talked through how to avoid this in the future, including checking your charges at least weekly, to stay on top of any potential problems.
-
Thanks, @jeninco ! I'm apparently a pro, after running the high school version this year. ;-)
For my good deeds of the day:
1) Worked with my sister on some cash flow stuff for special needs aunt, and once that was resolved, paid her property taxes. We've been in charge of her finances for about two months. She's gone from cash flow negative to having a balance of about $1k. We've done a bunch to optimize, including signing her up for low income discounts, negotiating services, canceling things she wasn't using, etc. It's nice to see things finally paying off a bit. Before, she could have never paid her property taxes from her checking account, and would have needed to pull from her very small savings. But, this year we made it work!
2) DS17 bought a gift for someone online, and signed up for "free" shipping via the purchase flow. The "free" shipping site (free shipping.com - avoid, as it's a total scam) then went on to charge him $19/month for months & months before I happened to notice the charge. He has his own debit card where he can spend some of his job earnings. I helped him get a hold of the site, cancel the "subscription", get a refund for the one month they would allow, and we talked through how to avoid this in the future, including checking your charges at least weekly, to stay on top of any potential problems.
That's fascinating -- I just ordered checks, and "Free shipping.com" offered me a free! $10 for using Free Shopping.com! Fortunately, it rang my scam-meter pretty quickly, and I noted out of that webpage before entering any information. (Side note: I'd looked at the checks a few days ago, and decided the total $ was too high. Logged into my email this morning, and -- hey, lookie there, they're half off. Don't mind if I do!) (Side-side note: I know, most things can be paid via the inter webs, but I'm old, and we have a system that works. I just bought several years worth of getting to continue using our existing system, and having the ability to write occasional checks to older people who prefer that.)
Great job helping out your aunt!
-
A very small good deed: Gave a pen to a petition signature-gatherer because hers was running out of ink.
Gathering signatures on petitions to get on the ballot is a job that doesn't pay much so most of those people are pretty cash-strapped. I hope that replacing her pen meant she was able to continue working and making a few more dollars.
-
@jeninco - I looked on their website, and they are actually connected with some decent retailers, which is sad. Those retailers are contributing to the problem, because they are a total scam. I'm glad you were able to notice they were scammy. DS17 is still learning all of those things!
-
My friend needed to get some community feedback for her arts-related senior thesis and put out a call to get some people to submit some comments on her work, so I spent some time with the work and wrote up a few lines that she could submit to her teacher. Not sure how many she needs, but that's one down :-)
-
Today I took one of my local elected officials and some volunteers out bike riding on a street that's slated for improvements. I don't think the official has done much bicycling. We all hope his having this firsthand experience and hearing the direct feedback from volunteers will inform his decisions regarding the improvements.
-
@crocheted_stache - that is a fantastic idea! Well done.
-
I started a FIRE club at work. Hopefully, this can help inspire a few more people towards good personal finance and FIRE.
-
Pushed to organize three couples (so far) from the immediate neighborhood to rotate Porch happy hours on Friday evenings. We hosted the first one, and the second one was this evening (I know it's not Friday, but this week's hosts wisely checked the weather forecast, and this was the nicest evening: it's supposed to be mixed rain and snow the rest of the week). Everyone (including us) has been delighted with the activity: it's a lovely social hour and a half or so -- so far food has also been present, in quantities that mean we really don't need to eat dinner after. (This is partly on me: I have a thing about cooking yummy food, so I try to make sure no one is going hungry.)
I'm pleased it's working so well, and everyone else seems pretty tickeled with the plan, too! As the weather gets nicer, we'll probably expand to include more neighbors, and I fully intend to have one or two (maybe in July and August) be full-on neighborhood versions.
-
@jeninco That's a great idea. I miss hosting people. Maybe outdoors is the solution to lingering pandemic fears and lingering pandemic messy house.
Today:
Attempted to help a coworker to do another coworker's job while she's on vacation. My role in this was a long call that was equal parts technical troubleshooting and moral support.
Sent a few bucks to an online friend's GoFundMe and sent him a Linkedin invitation. He's determined to get a job again after some health issues. His field is related to mine, but he doesn't live near me. I'll offer to connect him to people, but the greater service may be in the form of encouragement to carry on job-hunting and a little help with the rent in the meantime.