Day 365: Made a Donation in Honor of You!

Wow! What an incredible year!!! As I completed my final act of kindness for the year, I had so many emotions running through my head...joy for the smiles I witnessed this year...hope for the power of kindness in changing how we see the world...and appreciation for the support, encouragement, and love received from each of you as I completed this journey! I especially want to thank my fabulous family and dearest friends for believing in me! I couldn't have made this journey without you :)

The question I was asked most this year was why are you making someone smile every day? While I wanted to share kindness, love, and happiness with others, there was a deeper meaning behind each act of kindness. The end of 2013 marked the end of a 5 year struggle to become pregnant. In this struggle, I allowed myself to harbor anger, resentment, and incredible sorrow and that changed me in so many ways. I didn't recognize this person I became and I disparately wanted to find the old me again and get back to living life! Then out of nowhere, I came across the blog 366 Random Acts of Kindness and thought... maybe I need to open my heart to heal it.

And what a healing it has made! By channeling negativity into an act of kindness, you create a powerful reaction that is capable of not only changing you, but those around you. Kindness is the difference and has made such a difference in me. Whatever struggle or battle you may be facing, kindness can be your saving grace.

An act of kindness doesn't have to be big or elaborate. Just a small gesture can make a huge impact and ripple effect of love and happiness. And that is exactly what I hoped this journey would demonstrate. So that brings us to today 12/31/14, Day 365! In honor of each of you, I made a 10 cent donation for each follower to Random Acts, an organization conquering the world one random act of kindness at a time! This year, Random Acts funded over $47,000 in supporter and staff acts of kindness in addition to other projects promoting kindness across the country. Find out more at randomacts.org !

Thank you again for your continued support this year! A dear friend made me the beautiful artwork pictured above to remember this wonderful year. So, I'll end with the quote that has embodied this journey..."No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted!" --Aesop

Day 364: Made a "Year Long Gift" in a Frame for a Friend

The new year is upon us, which means it's time to roll out the new calendar! I love celebrating the seasons and holidays of the year and was so excited to find this "Year Long Gift" in a frame printable from Eighteen25! Each printable was printed on cardstock, then cut out and placed in a frame. Such a fun way to view the year :)

Day 363: Mailed a "Hug" to my Grandma

My Grandma was not able to visit for the Holidays this year. I wanted to find a way to brighten her day, so I decided to mail her a "hug." I saw this idea on multiple blogs and thought it was too cute! I traced the outline of my hug on wrapping paper to add a little extra sparkle and included a special note for my Grandma! Hopefully, I can give her a hug in person real soon :)

Day 362: Left a Surprise Gift for a Neighbor

My husband helped me with today's act of kindness! We noticed that a neighbor recently constructed a home bar in his garage and could use a tap handle for his kegerator. My husband wanted to handcraft a tap handle with a chalkboard writing surface to give to our neighbor! Tonight, we secretly left the handle for our neighbor to find :)

Day 361: Counted Coins for Imagine No Malaria

A local church in my community collects "Miles of Coins" for charity. Their mission this year is to support Imagine No Malaria, a fundraising campaign to bring prevention and treatment programs to areas affected by malaria. Today, I helped count and roll coins to prepare them for donation to the cause :)

Day 360: Viewed Light Displays with My Nephew

Tonight I bundled up my nephew for a walk to view Christmas light displays in my neighborhood. He was so excited to see the lights and kept saying, "I like, I like." It was too precious! I love catching a glimpse of the world through a child's eyes. They have full appreciation of life and its joys :)

Day 359: Shared a Christmas Tradition with Someone New

Merry Christmas!! This year, for the first time, we hosted our entire family over for Christmas day celebrations. I thought it would be fun to share some of my family's Christmas traditions with my husband's family. So today, we cooked our traditional Holiday feast including country ham, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole, homemade biscuits, pecan pie, and eggnog punch (yep, I grew up down South)! We also shared our tradition of exchanging ornaments. I chose this ornament, which read "Believe" to give to my mother-in-law. The word "Believe" is especially treasured in my family as a reminder to have faith in the possibilities of life :)

Day 358: Made Christmas Sing-A-Long CDs

One of my favorite movie quotes of the season is "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear," from the movie Elf.  So when I found this adorable printable from Eighteen25, I knew this would be a fun act of kindness. I made CDs with my favorite Holiday Sing-A-Long songs and used the Christmas Cheer printable for the CD cover :)

Day 357: Gave a Cookie Mix Kit to a Friend

Wow! What a fabulous Holiday break with family and friends!! The year is quickly coming to a close, so let me fill you in on what I've been up to...

Day 357: Gave a Cookie Mix Kit to a Friend-- I have such fond memories of making cutout cookies with my mom and sister during the Holidays. My favorite part was always taste tasting! So today, I thought it would be fun to package a cookie mix, cookie cutter, and recipe for a friend to create memories with her family :)

Day 356: Posted a Photo of a Hug to Support a Nonprofit

Today I posted a photo of a hug on Instagram to support @theredtricyclebrigade ! For every hug photo posted with #hugs4joy , the nonprofit will receive $1 (up to $500). I decided to post one of my favorite pictures of me hugging my grandmother after I was able to pull off a surprise visit earlier this year :)

Day 355: Left a "Letter for Santa" Kit for a Child to Find

I found an adorable package of stationary that read "Wish List" at Target, which inspired this act today. I thought it would be fun to package the stationary with some crayons for children to write letters to Santa. I left the kit in a children's play area for someone to find :)

Day 354: Wrapped Gifts for Someone

Wrapping gifts can get overwhelming with everything else going on during the season. Although it's one of my favorite activities during this time of year, for others it's not the most enjoyable way to spend the holiday. So today, I helped a friend wrap gifts for her family :)

Day 353: Gave a Gift Wrapping Kit to Someone

One of my favorite activities of the season is wrapping gifts for family and friends! I thought it would be fun to gather some gift wrapping essentials-gift tags, tape, bows, and of course wrapping paper- to give to someone :)

Day 352: Remembered a Christmas-Time Birthday

My coworker told me this year that her birthday is often forgotten or lumped together with Christmas because of the date.  I wanted her to feel appreciated and not forgotten, so I put together a little something today :)

Day 351: Donated Outerwear to a Local VOA Shelter

Today, I donated outerwear to the Volunteers of America (VOA), an organization dedicated to supporting and empowering those in need. The VOA provides services to many including at-risk youth, homeless individuals and families, people with disabilities, the elderly, those returning from prison, and those recovering from addictions.  Find out more about your local VOA at voa.org :)

Day 350: Purchased Items for a Local VA Giving Tree

Our local VA is sponsoring a Giving Tree to help Veterans and their families this Holiday season. Today I purchased some items from the wishlist of a 4 year old girl who loves the movie Frozen. I am wishing for a joyful Holiday for her family :)

Day 349: Left a Cookie Plate and a Favorite Cookie Recipe for Someone to Find

Christmas cookie season is in full gear at my house! I thought it would be fun to share one of my favorite cookie recipes with someone and decided to add a cute decorative plate too :)

Day 348: Made a Blanket for Project Linus

Project Linus collects new, homemade blankets for children who are ill, traumatized, or in need. I don't have sewing skills, but I can make a no-sew fleece blanket! The Project Linus website is filled with patterns for blanket makers of all skills. Blankets can be mailed or dropped off at a local chapter. Learn more at projectlinus.org :)

Day 347: Helped Families in Need Pickup Christmas Gifts

A local church and school team up each year at Christmas to collect donations from the community to support families in need. Each family receives groceries, wrapping paper, and Christmas gifts for their children. Today, I helped families pickup their donations. I was blown away by the overwhelming kindness of my community :)

Day 346: Grocery Shopped for Someone

Today I picked up groceries for someone that needed help running some errands. Just 10 minutes of your day can make someone's day a little easier :)

Day 345: Sponsored a Care Package for Our Troops

Operation Gratitude sends care packages filled with gifts from home including snacks, hygiene products, and letters of appreciation.  Since inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude has shipped more than one million care packages! With a $15 donation, you can sponsor the shipment of a care package to our troops :)

Day 344: Left a Winter Wreath on a Neighbor's Door

I decided to spread some Holiday cheer in my neighborhood today and left a winter wreath on my neighbor's door :)

Day 343: Made a Heart-Shaped Bookmark for Someone

I found a tutorial for making adorable heart-shaped bookmarks that fit on the corner of a book page from the How About Orange blog. I knew the perfect bookworm to make one for :)

Day 342: Left Baking Supplies for Someone to Find

My mom was the inspiration for this act of kindness! At Christmas, she packages baking essentials in an oven mitt to give to friends. So after baking cookies this weekend, I thought it would be fun to leave a mitt filled with some baking supplies for someone to find :)

Day 341: Donated Homemade Cookies to a Local Domestic Violence Shelter

Today I hosted a Cookie Exchange Party with my mom! We always have a great time sampling new recipes and playing Holiday games, but this year we also wanted to spread Holiday joy to even more people. We asked those in attendance to bring cookies to share with one another, but also to donate to a local domestic violence shelter. With the help of our friends, we were able to donate about 10 dozen cookies to the shelter today :)

Day 340: Mailed a Christmas Card to a Stranger

Today I decided to mail some Christmas cheer to a stranger! I always enjoy receiving Christmas cards and thought this would be a fun way to brighten someone's day :)

Day 339: Made Dinner for a Friend

Our dear friends recently had a baby and my husband and I are so incredibly happy for them! I can imagine that new parenthood is quite an adventure, so we wanted to make dinner for our friends to hopefully give them one less thing to worry about today. We enjoyed a pleasant evening catching up and laughing about their new experiences :)

Day 338: Left Candy Canes for People to Find

It's the most wonderful time of the year and my Christmas spirit is in full swing! Today I decided to spread some Christmas cheer by leaving candy canes for people of find :)

Day 337: Practiced Positive Affirmations

I was inspired today by the adorable cutie in this video. I thought about how much love would be in the world if we all started our day off like this. So I decided to give it a try! I wrote positive phrases on post-it notes and placed them on my bathroom mirror and read each with a smile on my face.  Positive affirmations set the tone for your day and can ignite kindness in your heart :)

Day 336: Made a Donation to My Alma Mater

Happy Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to giving back! I wanted to honor my alma mater today as I would not be at this point in my life without the guidance and support of my professors. I am incredibly fond of the memories and lessons learned during my college years and I hope future students can enjoy an experience as I did :)

Day 335: Coordinated a Gift Basket for a Charity Raffle

Today was the start of a local charity raffle that ends this Friday. I coordinated donations for a basket on behave of my department at work. The theme of our basket was an Italian Meal and came complete with a stockpot, specialty pasta and sauces, an oven mitt and dish towel set, a grocery store gift card and more!  I hope this basket helps to earn many donations for the charity raffle :)

Day 334: Shopped for Families in Need

A local school and church in my community team up to sponsor families in need for the Christmas season. In addition to food, families also received clothing and toys, activities, or specially requested items for the children. Many generous people donate money to this cause, but are unable to shop for the items. So today, I picked up needed items for 3 children :)