Est 1988 – Decide To Be Kind
Be Kind to Humankind Week is celebrated every year on August 25-31. Read about how BK2HK got started here.
The Days
Show them that you care
Sacrifice Our Wants For Others’ Needs Sunday
Drive Courteously
Motorist Consideration Monday
Spread kindness, one heart at a time
Touch-A-Heart Tuesday
Offer a helping hand
Willing-To-Lend-A-Hand Wednesday
Treat others well
Thoughtful Thursday
Come together
Forgive Your Foe Friday
Say something nice
Speak Kind Words Saturday
It has been a simply horrible situation for so many people since hurricane Sandy left it’s mark. The East Coast has been hit hard by the storm. Thousands are homeless. Many are still without power. The gasoline lines remain very long. A lot of people are loosing their patience and fighting over gasoline, and there has been looting. I heard a story yesterday about some people pretending to be emergency personnel just so they can have immediate access to gasoline! Others are stealing gasoline from car tanks!
Although there have been many negative stories in the news, there has also been positive stories being reported. Stories of people going to great lengths to help others.
Below are some links to different sources of help. Additional help for individual townships would most likely be accessible through your town halls. Please continue to try and maintain your patience. Our resolve is tested in these difficult times! I guess taking one day at a time is the best thing to do.
Well, another summer has come and gone and much too quickly for those of us who enjoy the hot weather! I also hope that everyone had a great summer season and that it was filled with good times and good things! BK2HK had a very successful celebration in August with many inquiries sent to me asking how they could participate in BK2HK’s week long observation of kindness and the ways that they could implement kindness in their communities!
One young lady, Jessica M. from Muscatine, Iowa said that she would be out and about in her hometown spreading the news about BK2HK! She asked me if I had any handouts…so I mailed her some fliers, business cards, magnets and pens to hand out. Jessica was so happy to have received them, and said afterward that her efforts were a great success! She told me that not only did people stop and ask what she was doing, but that they loved BK2HK and were happy to receive the goodies. Some people even asked if they could walk around spreading the news with her. Thanks so much Jessica!
I only hope that you will stop and take the time to be kind daily, 365 days of the year…not just 1 week in August. Small acts of kindness sure can go a long way! A simple smile to a stranger, holding the door for others, mailing an uplifting card to someone you know who may need it, calling or better yet visiting your elderly or sick relative in a hospital or nursing home,volunteering even 1 day a month to something that interests you, donating unwanted items, donating to a local food bank, bringing doughnuts to your local police, ambulance or fire department to say “Thank you” for all that they do for the community. There are thousands of ways to show kindness…so please share your gifts of kindness to those around you. Make your corner of the world a better place! Decide to be Kind!
Say your prayers. Dot your I’s and cross your T’s. Don’t believe everything you hear. Always wear clean underwear. Never run with scissors. Say please and thank you. Turn the other cheek. Listen to your elders. Be kind to others. Say you’re sorry. Use your napkin. Do as you are told. Play fair. Wait your turn. Don’t spit. Brush your teeth. Tell the truth .Eat your vegetables.
-Anonymous
This summer has proven to become quite a challenge for us to stay cool and kind and for those of us living within the weather band of extremely high temperatures and humidity it has been especially difficult!
Not only is it hot outside but we can also become hot-under-the-collar and totally impatient with just about everything and everyone! Work relations, personal relations and our daily interactions with strangers can become stressed and just plain intolerable at times!
These are the moments I ask you to challenge a difficult situation and try as hard as you can to find patience and tolerance within yourself and be kind to those whom you encounter. Hold the door for others, give up your seat to one who is standing and may need it more, let the person with fewer groceries or items go ahead of you in line if you have a lot more than they do, allow a car to enter into heavy stand still traffic if it is safe to do so, offer to be a designated driver on a social outing with friends, offer a cold drink to someone who is working in the heat, bring ice coffee and donuts to your Fire Department as a “Thank You” for all of their hard work, share a kind word, share a meaningful compliment, smile at strangers, be an encourager rather than a discourager, apologize when called for, donate blood for The American Red Cross, volunteer for a day at your local nursing home, volunteer doing something helpful for someone. Enjoy more ideas on ways to show kindness by viewing my daily suggestions.
Well…here we are in June. Happy June to all! Time has a way of flitting by us so fast…and as a matter of fact, so do the cars on our parkways here in Jersey! Slow down for heavens sake! I stay in the center lane doing 70 miles per hour and the other vehicles sharing the road with me zoom by so fast that I would guesstimate their speed at around 90 miles per hour!
Not everyone driving our freeways is looking for a severe accident to take place. My mom called me this morning and told me that it was fortunate that I did not go to her house in the morning because she heard on the radio of a terrible car accident on the parkway (ask me if I am surprised) and it left at least 1 person dead and the others air lifted to our trauma hospital. I pray that the others involved in this accident are ok…however this accident just proves what I have said all along…people drive way too fast on the Garden State Parkway and they weave in and out of traffic while doing so!
Do yourself and everyone else a huge favor and slow down, do not text or use your phone while driving (unless you us a hands free device to communicate), and pay close attention to those around you, whether those around you are in cars, on bicycles, walking or jogging. Be especially alert while driving in the late evening hours. Many people walk on the side of dark roads at terribly late hours sometimes, and it is so easy to hit them. So please keep an eye out for these walking night owls.
I am also going to ask you to donate a pint of your blood this month to the American Red Cross.
You can donate again in 56 days. Save a life, donate blood.
Check out our “Motorist Consideration Monday” page. Of course we stress to drive in a safe and courteous manner every day…not just on Monday’s.
Find an American Red Cross location near you
Read about the history of The American Red Cross
Thank you and have a safe, fun, wonderful summer!
Stay Healthy
Stay Happy
Stay Kind
Lorraine 😎
I read an article in People Magazine about the horrific consequences of bullying.
People Magazine did a special report on the subject after receiving a tremendous response from its concerned readers in reference to the suicide of Massachusetts resident, 15 year old Phoebe Prince. She was taunted and harassed by fellow students and as a result, hung herself. According to the article, two other teenagers committed suicide in the United States this past October. The numbers for October could be higher, I do not know. I certainly hope not.
How can we put a stop to bullying in schools and in our work force? YES…our adult work force. Adults can be bullies also. It is amazing to me. I would think that it would be foolish to believe that adults can be bullies…however they can be terrible bullies at times. They can make a person’s time at work pure hell. When a reformed teenage bully, Daniel Harrison, was interviewed by People Magazine about “why” he chose to be a bully, he said it made him feel confident and powerful. Adults who are bullies are also seeking to feel confident and powerful when preying on the kinder less aggressive people in their midst. It shows just how insecure these people actually are, but when you find yourself being victimized by them, it is difficult to see their vulnerable side. WE are made to feel vulnerable by them, which is the bullies’ goal.
Ellen DeGeneres stated in the article that “this has to stop.” Easier said than done….however, the Massachusetts school system has taken serious steps to try to alleviate the problem and hopefully prevent any other students from committing suicide.
The high school where Phoebe attended formed an antibullying task force. Antibullying measures are now being passed throughout the U.S. in schools, which is excellent. However, the lessons begin at home.
Parents must display kindness towards others, strangers included. Kids mimic their parent’s actions. If they see their parent being unkind and cruel to others, they will do the same. If they see their parent being kind to others, they will do the same. Promoting kindness is a wonderful thing and a wonderful way to help turn things around, turn negative into positive.
There are many GREAT things that teenagers and adults do in their communities daily to help promote kindness and good works for others, but after reading this article apparently there is still a repulsive amount of aggression and meanness permeating our society. Kindness truly IS contagious and just as the reformed bully in People Magazine, Daniel Harrison turned his life around, others who bully can choose to do the same. Daniel said that he felt confident and powerful when bullying…however after turning his life around and joining forces to stop bullying he stated that, “Now I befriend the people being bullied.” He said, “It’s satisfying to help people out.” Being kind to others promotes the same feelings of confidence and power although 100% more intense. Being kind produces a natural high and I wish those who bully others, both teens AND adults, would witness for themselves how much MORE confident and powerful they will feel by exercising kindness! You will become addicted to being kind…and that is a good thing!
An excellent book for teens to read [and adults] is written by Ben Mikaelsen titled “Touching Spirit Bear.”
Daniel said that this book is what turned his attitude to gratitude rather than anger. His language-arts teacher Laurie Hogan-McLean assigned Daniel a project which was to write a letter to the author of “Touching Spirit Bear” and how it proved to be an inspiration to him. Daniel wrote to the author and his letter took top state honors in the national Letters About Literature contest! Yay Daniel! Keep the kindness going and I hope this story proved inspiring to my readers!
My Kindness sent 2U…
Lorraine
Here are additional links with information which will help to alleviate bullying:
Cartoon Network Stop Bullying
GLSEN – Creating a better world for LGBTQ students
Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center
It’s Summertime folks….and the need to donate blood is greater than ever! I just donated blood today! Please save 3 lives with 1 donation. Thank you!!
Visit the Red Cross for more information.
If you know any woman currently undergoing Chemo for Breast cancer, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning – 1 time per month for 4 months while she is in treatment.
All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service.
Please pass this information on to bless a woman going through Breast Cancer treatment. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women. It’s our job to pass the word and let them know that there are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.
Visit cleaningforareason.org
Below is a letter of thanks my husband and I received from Ms. healthordisease.com. Sophie Delaunay, Executive Director, MSF-USA thanking us for our monetary donation for Doctors without Borders, who are currently helping out in Haiti. Please check this out. It is a wonderful way to help out knowing your dollars are going to help these physicians and their efforts to aid the victims in Haiti. Thank you. Lorraine
“Thanks to your support and the dedication of our staff and volunteers, MSF was able to react immediately and effectively to the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. Here are some first-hand accounts of our response to the profound medical needs of the Haitian people.”
Sophie Delaunay, Executive Director, MSF-USA
Video: Facing an “Unprecedented Challenge” in Haiti
Op-Ed: “Trying to Save Lives in Port-au-Prince”
Video: The Construction of an Inflatable Hospital
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, or exclusion from health care in nearly 60 countries. New York office: 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY, 10001
Photo Source: multiculturalcookingnetwork
