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Leave a penny? Take a penny? Nah…just leave the penny.


“No one has ever become poor by giving.” 


I’ve been doing this kindness gig for about 2 months now.  It’s been really fun to play the “random kindness super hero” game but it feels, I don’t know, too random?  Like I want to do something concrete & tangible that I KNOW will make a difference on a regular basis.

So, the other day the kids and I went to Panda Express.
pandaexpress
Don’t judge me.  :-) Yes – I know it’s not “real” Asian food and no – I don’t really care. LOL.  My kids LOVE this place and I find it a great little guilty pleasure when I crave something Asian but don’t want to shell out $40 for the good stuff.  So I’m ringing out and the cashier says “Do you want to round up to $19 and donate your change?”

Hmmm….that got me thinking.  First – YES – of course I want to round up!  Odd numbers make me nervous AND make it harder to balance my bank account.  Second – I’m a sucker for a good cause (but ya’ll ready know that) so I agreed and was pleased to know my change was going towards The Children’s Hospital.

childrenhospital

Based on this experience, I’ve decided that part of the kind year will be making donations at my local shopping places when asked.  I know it’s a simple, silly kind of thing – but I think it’s a good way to spread the love AND it teaches my kiddos that it’s important to think of others even while you are thinking of yourself.   I mean, $18 and change for some “fake” Asian food?  We can definitely spare the extra to help sick kiddos (or local high schools, cancer fighters and survivors, you get the drift) reach goals and make progress.

If any of you would like to play along – I strongly encourage it!  It is an easy way to make a difference and the amounts are usually pretty negligible (spare change, a buck or two) and it will give you a warm fuzzy which we all know is priceless.

Finally, going forward, I’d like to focus on a specific cause each month.  For example, this month is Childhood Cancer Awareness.  I plan to look into what my family and I can do to help this worthy cause and will post some links below if any of you are also interested.
childhood cancer
Does anyone have a suggestion for the month of October?  I’m pretty sure stuffing kiddos full of sugar isn’t exactly a cause so let’s not go down the Halloween path. However, if there is a cause close to your heart that is promoted in October please comment and share a link.  I will spend the month focusing on ways to help with the cause and promoting ways to participate as well.

Thanks everyone – I’m excited about this and hope you are too!  Here’s to kind, purposeful, conscious giving.

September Childhood Cancer Month
American Childhood Cancer Foundation:
https://acco.org/SupportUs/MakeaDonation.aspx

 Mary Taylor Mom
This is one of my favorite blogs about a family and their battle with childhood cancer.
http://www.chicagonow.com/mary-tyler-mom

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