Author Topic: One (small) good deed a day 2024  (Read 21756 times)

Poundwise

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One (small) good deed a day 2024
« 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,
Quote
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!
« Last Edit: February 21, 2024, 09:03:10 PM by Poundwise »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2022, 11:55:42 AM »
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.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2022, 12:18:44 PM »
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...

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2022, 12:38:05 PM »
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.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2022, 03:49:42 PM »
@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. :-)

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2022, 08:42:37 AM »
@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.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2022, 01:29:43 PM »
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...

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2022, 03:27:41 PM »
@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.

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #8 on: January 27, 2022, 03:27:52 PM »
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.

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2022, 07:56:20 PM »
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.

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #10 on: February 01, 2022, 06:17:42 PM »
@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.

Lunasol

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #11 on: February 02, 2022, 04:16:01 PM »
Gave away lemons from our tree to the neighbors, and our gardener too (twice)
« Last Edit: February 03, 2022, 10:05:01 AM by Lunasol »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #12 on: February 02, 2022, 08:18:31 PM »
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

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #13 on: February 03, 2022, 08:30:33 AM »
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!)

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #14 on: February 03, 2022, 08:34:52 AM »
@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.

Lunasol

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #15 on: February 03, 2022, 10:07:37 AM »
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 :(

nessness

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #16 on: February 03, 2022, 10:34:59 AM »
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

oldladystache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #17 on: February 03, 2022, 10:49:56 AM »
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.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #18 on: February 03, 2022, 06:04:23 PM »
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. 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)!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #19 on: February 03, 2022, 07:50:17 PM »
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.

nessness

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #20 on: February 04, 2022, 09:36:51 AM »
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.

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #21 on: February 04, 2022, 01:51:38 PM »
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..

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #22 on: February 04, 2022, 01:53:07 PM »
@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.

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #23 on: February 24, 2022, 09:58:56 AM »
-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.
« Last Edit: February 24, 2022, 10:00:53 AM by Serendip »

Lunasol

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #24 on: February 25, 2022, 09:36:03 AM »
@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!

life_travel

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #25 on: February 26, 2022, 04:58:25 AM »
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 :(

Dicey

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #26 on: February 26, 2022, 06:46:49 AM »
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.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2022, 05:03:55 AM by Dicey »

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #27 on: February 26, 2022, 10:34:38 PM »
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!
« Last Edit: February 26, 2022, 10:36:53 PM by Poundwise »

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #28 on: February 26, 2022, 11:25:49 PM »
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 :-)

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #29 on: March 02, 2022, 12:54:07 PM »
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.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2022, 12:55:41 PM by Dollar Slice »

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #30 on: March 03, 2022, 08:31:07 AM »
@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

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #31 on: March 03, 2022, 06:23:52 PM »
@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. :-)

life_travel

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #32 on: March 03, 2022, 06:49:39 PM »
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!

LaineyAZ

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #33 on: March 04, 2022, 07:26:00 AM »
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.

Dicey

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #34 on: March 04, 2022, 08:16:20 AM »
@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. :-)
❤ ❤ ❤

Prairie Gal

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #35 on: March 04, 2022, 04:43:10 PM »
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.

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #36 on: March 05, 2022, 09:45:56 PM »
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!

Poundwise

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #37 on: March 06, 2022, 05:57:16 AM »
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.)

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #38 on: March 06, 2022, 08:36:09 AM »
-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

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #39 on: March 06, 2022, 08:37:30 AM »
Thanks everyone for contributing to this thread, I find it uplifting to read about the little things we can all do
« Last Edit: March 06, 2022, 08:39:04 AM by Serendip »

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #40 on: March 06, 2022, 08:38:38 AM »
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!

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #41 on: March 06, 2022, 08:44:11 AM »
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.

Dicey

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #42 on: March 06, 2022, 09:22:08 AM »
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.

« Last Edit: March 06, 2022, 05:58:59 PM by Dicey »

SquashingDebt

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #43 on: March 06, 2022, 02:21:26 PM »
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 :)

Prairie Gal

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #44 on: March 06, 2022, 05:21:45 PM »
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.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #45 on: March 06, 2022, 06:03:42 PM »
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)

Dollar Slice

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #46 on: March 07, 2022, 08:31:12 PM »
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.

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #47 on: March 08, 2022, 08:05:50 AM »
-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
« Last Edit: March 08, 2022, 08:15:57 AM by Serendip »

Serendip

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #48 on: March 08, 2022, 08:16:57 AM »
@Dicey —the power of music! What a great cause to donate to..

Lunasol

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Re: One (small) good deed a day 2022
« Reply #49 on: March 10, 2022, 12:59:11 PM »
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.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!