April’s Random Act of Kindness

Every month we do a Random Act of Kindness for someone else.  Our family calls it Project Joy.

This year I partnered worked with Third Street Alliance for Women & Children for our local Listen To Your Mother show.  It’s a women’s shelter that provides women with the opportunity to learn new skills, be supported as they search for a job and start a new life, and provides childcare for their children so they don’t have to worry about their children while they’re working to change their life.

This year our own children took a strong interest in Third Street Alliance.  They were blown away when they learned there are children who are homeless.  They thought similar scenarios only happened in stories.

They asked me a bunch of questions about the shelter:

• Where do the kids sleep?
• Do they go to school?
• How do they get to school?
• Where do they ride their bikes?
• Can they have playdates?
• Where do they eat?
• Do they get to cook?
• Do they have family come to visit?
• Where do they wash their clothes?
• Do they have their own room?
• Do they have toys?
• Do they have books?

I answered each question to the best of my knowledge for them.  There were quite a few questions I didn’t know the answers too but I told the kids we could go and visit and they could ask Miss Kim their questions.

Then a few days later at bedtime, the girls were in the hallway making a ton of noise.  They were supposed to be climbing into bed at this point so I was surprised (and a little annoyed) to see them in the hall and not in bed.  They were pulling books off of our bookshelf and placing them into a box.  As I walked toward them one of the girls said,  “Mommy, we thought the kids at the shelter could use some of the books we don’t use any more.  Is that okay?  Can we take them there?”

How could I say no to that?  This is the first time they’ve thought of a Random Act of Kindness all on their own.  Typically every month, I remind them we need to do one and ask for suggestions.  Typically they respond with a suggestion of something we’ve done before, so I was especially happy they came up with this idea on their own and they were working on it together.  A few days after our show, we delivered the box to Third Street Alliance and the girls were able to get a quick tour of the building.  They were mesmerized by the detail in the woodwork and the big wide open rooms.

I couldn’t have been more proud of them for thinking of this month’s Random Act of Kindness on their own.  I’m hoping as we continue to do these every month that they’ll become second nature for them.

Have you done any Random Acts of Kindness this month?

xoxo

–k