Down Syndrome Awareness Month

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.