Every October I try to come up with ways to raise awareness about Down syndrome. Having two boys with Down syndrome and my oldest being 21 I was out of creative ideas for this year, until.... the boys and I decided to do 31 Acts of Kindness for Down Syndrome
Awareness Month!
We have had so much fun coming up with the ideas and
also doing the acts. Here is what we have done:
The front and back of the card we put with our act of kindness
Day 1: We left sidewalk chalk at the park
Day 2: We purchased coffee for the person behind us in the Starbucks line
Day 3: We left quarters at the laundromat
Day 4: We delivered bagels to our local police department
Day 5: We put quarters at the arcade
Day 6: We left popcorn at the Red Box
Day 7: We left a can of balls at the dog park
Day 8: We put a few dollars at the $ Spot at Target
Day 9: We left a lottery ticket on the gas pump
Day 10: We left baby wipes and diapers on a changing table in a public bathroom
Day 11: We left quarters at the vending machine
Day 12: We took a care package to our Ronald McDonald House (one of my favorites!)
Day 13: We left a Sonic card on the order board at Sonic
Day 14: We delivered sub sandwiches to all the teachers at the middle school
Day 15: We put a Barnes and Noble gift card in a book about Down syndrome at the library
Day 16: We delivered dinner to a neighbor
Day 17: We put a gift card for a car wash on a random car
Day 18: We delivered flowers to a nursing home to brighten someone' day
Day 19: An extra tip for our waitress
Day 20: We left duck food for the ducks at the pond
Day 21: In honor of Nick being 21 and his love of beer, we left a card for a free beer at Bristol Brewery!
Day 22: We left a little bottle of hand sanitizer in a shopping cart
Day 23: We left a word puzzle book in the waiting area of the hospital
Day 24: We left a coupon for ice cream at the park
Day 25: We took a little cheer to the Children's Hospital
Day 26: A late night act of kindness to deliver some chocolate to the homeless area of Colo. Springs
Day 27: We delivered a care package of needed items to the Springs Rescue Mission
Day 29: We left a book of stamps at the Post Office
Day 30: We delivered a care package of needed items to the Human Society
Day 31: We gave out big boxes of M&Ms and full size candy bars with our awareness tags on them. We thought the best way to end the awareness campaign was in our own "backyard"!
Oct was an amazing month for our family with our acts of kindness. We enjoyed meeting people as we did the acts and receiving notes and emails from people who enjoyed the acts of kindness. I won't be posting photos each day but we will continue to do acts of kindness because it makes my heart happy to hear Noah say every morning "what's our kindness today". We will hold doors open for people, say good morning and smile at people, take time to help someone, etc. I encourage all of you to take a day, a month, a year or even a lifetime to spread some kindness. It will change your heart and maybe even someone else's.
