My 35th Birthday- A Day of Intentional Acts of Kindness

 I decided a few months ago that I wanted this birthday to be different. I love celebrating my birthday with friends and family and have always made a big deal about my special day, but this year I decided I wanted my birthday to be more than just about me. I wanted it to be BIGGER and BETTER. I wanted to let others feel the same love and joy that I feel today. I wanted to pass the gratitude that I feel for being given another trip around the sun on to others. There are so many amazing people in my life who inspire me on a daily basis, from the people I live with, to my friends near and far, and then there are those great stories you read about in your news feed. My original inspiration for my birthday came from my dear friend Beth and her daughter Vivien.  For Vivien's 8th birthday she gathered some of her close friends and embarked on an adventure to do 8 acts of kindness (one for every year she was alive). How cool is that?

Here's Vivien passing out $5 gift cards to random shoppers at Target and below is the special note that was attached.

So, I have decided to do at least 35 intentional acts of kindness today with the help of my family & friends. Yes! I am going to need y'alls help! The kids will not be attending school today (because it's a snow day, but even if it wasn't, they would still have the day off). They are learning so many great things at school, and have some amazing teachers. However, there are some lessons that are better taught outside of the classroom, and so they will be joining me today for a lesson called, "Be the change you hope to see in the world". Some of the things we do today will be random-- in the sense that random people will be the recipient of our gifts of kindness, and some acts of kindness will be bestowed on people we have specifically chosen to be recipients. But all of these acts of kindness are intentional and things that I have thought about and planned over the last few weeks. I will be sharing stories and photos later this week of my birthday adventure. I don't want to give it all away  just yet, but some of the "Kindness To-Do's" on my list include leaving $1 bills on items at The Dollar Tree, leaving words of encouragement on dressing room mirrors, delivering homemade blueberry coffeecake to the state road crews who've been busy clearing the snow, and leaving movie night buckets filled with popcorn, candy and drinks at some Redbox locations. 

So, let me tell you about my second inspiration. It comes from a boy who I never met. His name is Zach Sobiech. His story came across my news feed a few weeks ago as I was beginning to plan for this birthday. You can watch the inspiring video yourself. 

In his song, "Clouds" he says, "If only I had a little bit more time". And I thought, you know what? I do have a little bit more time. I at least have today. And so for today, why not go ahead and be the change I hope to see in the world. Why not leave a legacy of kindness? We all have plenty of stress in our day to day lives, but I was given this day, one more year to celebrate my life, and I'm ready for the celebration. Do yourself a favor and go download his song on iTunes. All of the proceeds go towards funding research for childhood cancer. Pretty awesome, huh?

Remember when I said I was going to need the help of my friends. Well, I've got another inspiring friend of mine to tell you all about. Her name is Michelle. She is funny and brave and sooo generous. She's the person who shows up to your pitch in party with more food than you've prepared for the guests. She's the girl that you say, "Oh, I like your bracelet", and she says, "Here. You can have it". I hope that all of you reading this are lucky enough to have your own Michelle in your life. 

So, here's where you all get to come and be a part of my birthday. I have decided to donate any birthday money I receive to 2 non-profits. The first non-profit was chosen by Vivien. Vivien was born with a congenital heart defect that required her to undergo open heart surgery when she was just a few days old. A few months later she underwent a second open heart surgery for a separate defect. She was a miracle baby. And maybe it's something that the doctor's did that has made her heart so full of love, but I think most of the credit should actually go to her parents, Beth and Jim. So Vivien has chosen the charity http://hope4tinyhearts.com/hope/, which helps to fund research and build awareness about CHD.

The second non profit I have chosen is the Kennedy Rucker Scholarship, "From The Heart". Michelle established this scholarship fund for local youth, in memory of her son. In her own words, this is what the scholarship fund is all about:

"Kennedy was an amazing boy who was full of love for life and everyone he met in his short 17 years. Kennedy died in a car accident on his way home from school his junior year of high school. He never judged others and all of his friends were very diverse. He accepted everyone for who they were and understood everyone has flaws. His smile and laugh were so very contagious. He was very intelligent and had a remarkable quick hilarious wit. He was very giving and had a heart of gold. After his accident I found out about countless acts of kindness he performed for others. Kennedy and I were best friends but he never boasted to me about these acts of kindness because he never helped others for the recognition. Kennedy would have graduated in 2013, so we gave out his first scholarship that year to all 3 area high schools, totaling $3,000 to be used towards a college education". 

So, this my friends is how you too can join in on my birthday celebration. Isn't this exciting?! I am asking that each of my friends donate to one of these amazing causes today. Skip your gourmet coffee or your lunch out with friends, and instead put that $5 towards something BIGGER and better. You can donate to Hope 4 Tiny Hearts through the link posted above. In order to contribute to the scholarship fund checks can be sent to Kennedy Rucker Scholarship ℅ Morgan Nay, 325 Demaree Drive, Madison, Indiana, 47250. You can also send donations for the scholarship fund to my paypal address (if you're like me and don't own any checks), and I will deliver the money. Heck! Maybe I'll even make one of those big fake checks to go with it. My paypal address is cami_pittman@sbcglobal.net. 

Remember to come back to the blog next week to see pics and read stories about my awesome birthday! Kindness Matters!