30 Days of Thanks-GIVE-ing

Come November every year, my FB feed is saturated with people posting their 30 days of Thanks…where they post one thing each day that they are thankful for.  I’ve participated in previous years, and it’s a fun process because you are forced to take the time to really recognize and acknowledge all the things and people that make your life better.

This year, my good friend, Melinda Bailey, and I decided to go a slightly different route.  This year, we decided to do one good deed per day for the entire month of November…and we dubbed it “30 Days of Thanks-GIVE-ing”.

Melinda and I chose to keep it to ourselves during the process instead of posting each daily deed.  We would PM every day about what we had done or new ideas about what we were going to do.  It was challenging in the beginning to come up with new, fun ways to surprise people…but by the end of the process…we were sometimes doing 3 or 4 things at a time because we had so many ideas.

Our “good deeds” were not life changing for the recipients…they were small things intended to brighten someone’s day or help someone in need.  We did them for friends, acquaintances and strangers alike.

Here are a few of my favorite examples:

• I left a Starbucks gift card in a bathroom stall at work.  It was taped to this sign:

 

• Melinda surprised the janitor at her workplace with 2 of his favorite candy bars.

• I donated 4 bags of clothes to a local organization that helps the homeless get back on their feet.

• Melinda surprised another co-worker with an elephant figurine from her mom’s collection.

• I purchased a full Thanksgiving dinner for a local organization that provides Thanksgiving for families that cannot afford it.  Plus, my co-workers gave me money to help out…so I did the shopping/delivery of 5 more dinners on their behalf. 

• Melinda wrote a nice note to a friend thanking them for always helping other people and mailed it with a cat candle…because the gal loves cats!

• While Christmas shopping, I bought a board game and a giant teddy bear for Toys for Tots. 

• Melinda bought socks and gave them to a homeless man she met.

• I passed out cozy, Christmas socks to the ladies in my department at work.

• Melinda gave her sweater to a friend who was freezing in the middle of a conference.

• We both gave out multiple gift cards…and we both gave surprise flowers to friends of ours.

I know I speak for Melinda, too, when I say that this was a rewarding project that I will never forget.  Because I was committed to doing something every day, I really started to open my ears and listen to what people around me were talking about…so that I could be ready when the right opportunity struck.  Instead of always thinking about my needs, I was constantly searching for a new way to make someone else’s day great.  And Melinda…she is an inspiration in all things.  She suffered the loss of her mother’s dog, plus a pretty bad cold/flu…but none of that prevented her from carrying out her mission to GIVE.

We both have plans to continue our giving journey…even if we can’t keep up a daily pace.  I look forward to finding new and fun ways to surprise and delight my friends…and to help those in need when I can.  If you have any ideas…please share!!!!

Peace.  And Happy Holidays.