Saturday, June 19, 2010

Megan Day 7

Deed 7

Lastly, this one is only a small one, yesterday I was in the public toilets at my local park when I overheard two girls talking about how they needed plasters because their shows has given then blisters, me being very over prepared had a pack in my bag, so I gave them both plasters. After doing most of these things it made me feel happy that I had something nice fore someone else, that even if it wasn't particularly life changing that it did make someone else's day a little brighter

Editor's NOTE: Yep I'm a dumb American and I'm not what plasters is, I"m thinking plaster like the art stuff and I'm pretty sure that's not right.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Megan Day 6

Deed 6

I go on Youtube A LOT and recently I've been commenting on the video I watch saying, that was really good, or thank you this video made me smile, or other things like that.


EDITOR'S NOTE: As a blogger comments mean the world to me. They are like my life blood. It's amazing what one quick comment can do for a writer or a web content creator.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Megan Day 5

deed 5

Me and my Mum argue quite a lot, because I'm quite a messy person, I've tried to be neater and help more around the house.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Megan Day 4


Deed 4

In England it's become a place where when you walk down the street you look down and don't speak to people (or in my area at least), so over the last month I tried to smile and say Good Morning to people as they walked past, I had a few odd looks from people but some, usually the elderly, smiled back and said 'Have a good one'.

Editor's note:
INTERNATIONAL NICENESS!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Megan Day 3

deed 3

I always try to leave my boyfriend notes telling him I love him, so have tried to do that more too.


Editor's note:

Again something easy and it makes such a huge difference in someone's day.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Megan Day 2

Deed 2


I also sorted out my clothes and gave all the ones I didn't want to charity.

Editor's note:

This is one of the easiest and best ways to help someone out. You feel productive because you can SEE what you've done. The tricky part for me is driving to the donation center.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Megan Day 1

Deed 1

I try to be nice as much as I can, but I realize sometimes it's just not that easy, I have however tried very hard over the last month.
The day I started Project Nice 2.0 I made a video for video volunteers advertising a Woman's charity called Rosa.


Here's the link to the video if you want to check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt7vEBI-Uho

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Jenny day 7

Made a video for the Ningmaster Tom collab
Date: 03/03/2010

I haven’t been a Nerdfighter all that long, but the community has become a big part of my life. After all, that’s how I found Project Nice! Like all the other Nerdfighters, I was greatly saddened to hear of Ningmaster Tom’s accident, and jumped at the chance to do something for him when I found out about the video collab. I made a short video and uploaded it, crossing my fingers that it would be in time. Thankfully it was! (The video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u5BHJlAIQM&annotation_id=annotation_499972&feature=iv (I’m the slightly ginger British girl about 6 minutes in!))

Reactions: You only have to look at the comments on the video. It feels great to be a part of this and give something back to someone who’s done so much for our community.

Would I do it again? Indeed I would.
Cost: Nothing.
Effort: Very little. I was happy to do it!
Time: Ten minutes to make and upload. Much more on the video-maker’s part!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Jenny day 6

Put money in a charity box
Date: 26/02/10

You know those people you see on the street and in shops, collecting money for charity? I pass them by every time. But as I was on a nice outing already, I decided to put some money in for once. It was a cancer charity, and there’s really no arguing with the work they do. So I emptied purse and put all my spare chage in.

Reactions: A brief thankyou.

Would I do it again? Next time I see the guy who sells the Big Issue outside the supermarket I’m going to buy it, so yes!
Cost: My spare change, maybe £2?
Effort: Nothing.
Time: A few seconds.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Jenny day 5

Fed the ducks with a friend
Date: 26/02/10

A friend and I went into town for lunch, and I suggested we feed the ducks in the park. So we went to buy some bread, and did just that! Neither of us was having a particularly good day and it seemed like a nice thing to do. Mainly I wanted to take her mind off things.

Reactions: They’re ducks, and I doubt they know the meaning of gratitude. But they seemed happy enough, and I think – I hope – it cheered my friend up.

Would I do it again? I have done so already!
Cost: Under a pound for the bread.
Effort: None, really. It was fun.
Time: 20 minutes or so.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Jenny day 4

Making tea
Date: 15/02/10

I’m well aware how much my parents do for me – pretty much everything, in fact. I help out when I’m asked, but I’m not very good at making the first move. On this day, when I got home, I decided to say I would cook that night as Mum had had a long day at work.

Reactions: Well, the curry tasted okay! More importantly, Mum was able to concentrate on other things, and have a bit of a rest, which I think she liked. And I was thanked for taking the initiative.

Would I do it again? I have done so already!
Cost: Nothing.
Effort: Not much; it wasn’t a difficult meal.
Time: About an hour.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Jenny day 3

Smile
Date: 11/02/10

I am, by nature, a very shy person. When I walk down the street I stare at the floor with my hands in my pockets. I find it difficult even to make eye contact with anyone. So while I was out doing my previous act I decided to try to smile at every person I passed. As a belated addition I made sure I had the exact change at the train station, as I know most people use notes and that annoys them.

Reactions: In the end I passed very few people, some of whom were doing my usual avoiding-eye-contact routine. But I did manage to greet and smile at a couple of people, who seemed surprised but smiled back. A few days later someone smiled at me on the street and it really made my day, so I like to think I made some sort of a difference. And I got no real reaction from the man in the ticket office, but that’s only to be expected, really. They’re so busy.

Would I do it again? Yes, when I can muster the confidence!
Cost: Nothing.
Effort: Only what it took me to get over my fear of people.
Time: A few seconds.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Jenny day 2

Bookcrossing
Date: 11/02/10

I have neither the time nor the words to explain Bookcrossing in any great detail, but the basics can be found here: http://www.bookcrossing.com/home
On this occasion I bought two books, Mrs Dalloway and The Picture of Dorian Gray, from a charity book sale (double whammy of nice!), then registered and released them.

Reactions: None for these particular books as of yet. It can take a while, and only about 25% of books that are released are journaled by the finder. But I like to think somebody enjoyed them, even if they didn’t let me know they found them.

Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Cost: About £2 for the books, which went to charity.
Effort: Very little, as I released them on my way to the train station.
Time: Negligible time buying books, 15 minutes to register, 5 minutes to release.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Jenny day 1

To start, a little bit about me. I’m Jenny, I’m 16, and I live in the UK. I found out about this project via the Ning, and started it a little late! I worry pretty much constantly about the way I treat other people – in other words, I worry about being nice. So when I read about Project Nice I thought it’d be a great way to get into the habit of doing nice things for people. And as I’m not the most sociable person ever, I thought it could be a way of working on that. As things worked out most of my good deeds ended up being for my friends, but I think that’s okay. I’m also making more of an effort to be nice to people I meet and spend time with. And at the end of it all, I’ve had a great time, and I’d do it again without hesitation.
So without further ado here are my good deeds!
Books for a friend
Date: 10/02/10

One of my closest friends has gone to Canada for 10 months to improve her French and generally gain life experience. I miss her like mad, but we regularly email each other. Quite a while ago she emailed me and mentioned that she wasn’t really reading very much. For her, this is extremely strange. One of her definitive characteristics is being a bookworm. To remedy the emergency situation I went out and bought her three books – a poetry anthology, The Doubtful Guest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. I was going to send them off as soon as I could, to get them there for Christmas. But as I’m a bit of a procrastinator, time went by, and I missed Christmas and New Year. Then I started Project Nice, and remembered the books. I wrote her a quick letter, wrapped them up and sent them off. Although I would have done it even if I hadn’t been doing the project, I’m still counting it because it spurred me on to send them. Otherwise they’d probably still be sitting here!

Reactions:
She was very pleased. I got an email in which she thanked me, and as a sign of gratitude used correct grammar and punctuation throughout the email. She even capitalised her sentences. Just goes to show what a big nerd I am that I really appreciated that!

Would I do it again? I would if another friend was in the same situation. I probably won’t send anything more over to the same person, as she’s coming back this summer.
Cost: About £15 for the books and £5 postage. Expensive, but it’s a special case and, I think, worth it.
Effort: Very little. I like bookshops, so I don’t count that as effort! Some involved in getting to the post office.
Time: About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to buy the books and half an hour for going to post them.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

angelia day 2

nice thing two:

i thanked a custodial person for all the work that he did. he said thank you but never looked up and kept doing work. i think he thought i was patronizing him, i felt so embarrassed.

Friday, June 4, 2010

angelia day 1

nice thing one:

i tried to pay for five people with my meal plan card in the lunch room at my college. i got through three people before i was told that was against the rules. for the three people i did do it for, they looked at me like i was weird and averted their eyes but took the free meal. one guy did smile in a strange way and said cool and took the meal.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

CIndy Day 10

TITLE: Bark if you want treats! Animal Control Part Two

Date: 4 Feb 2010

Explanation of the act:

Last time I went to the animal control they were busy which is fabulous! The people looked like they work hard. They also informed me of what types of supplies they needed. I decided to go to Walmart and buy: cat toys, bag of cat food, 6 pack of wet dog food, 5 bags of dog treats, and 5 dog rope toys. I also decided that the people who work there need treats too! I made a super easy chocolate cake – the same one I made for the security guards. The 5 dog toys and 5 bags of dog treats got put in gift bags with the following label.
Thank you for adopting a dog that needs a good home. Here are a few treats to get you started! Enjoy!

Courtesy of the Do Gooders from Project Nice

http://projectnice2.blogspot.com/


Along with the cake I included the following note:

Thank you for taking care of Howard County’s neglected, homeless, and abused animals. Your service to them is greatly appreciated! Enjoy some treats for you in addition to the treats for the animals.

~Cindy

Project Nice Do Gooder

http://projectnice2.blogspot.com/

For allergy purposes

Cake contents: chocolate box cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, skim milk, cocoa power

Frosting contents: powered sugar, vanilla, butter, skim milk, chocolate chips

Event:
Erinn and I made a date to take all the stuff over. Luckily they weren’t too busy. There was one other person there “reclaiming” her pet. There was an adorable well-behaved, attentive dog hanging out behind the desk.

Reactions:
They said thanks but weren’t overly enthusiastic (they haven’t tasted the cake yet). They did get my address so they could send a Thank You note.

Would I do it again?

Sure but probably not to that extent. I am thinking monthly donations.

Cost: $40 – I know it sounds like a lot but think of the number of animals and people that benefit from this. 5 adoption gift bags, 6 cans of dog food, at least 24 cat toys, many many servings of dry cat food, and all the people that get to eat cake. Probably less than $1 per animal (be it human, dog, or cat).


Effort:
Delivering was minimal, cake is pretty easy, purchasing at Walmart was easy

Time:

1hr or so for cake and icing prep

30 min at Walmart (my line was pretty slow and I was doing comparison shopping, if I knew my brands ahead of time it would be much shorter)

15 min to drive from my house to the adoption center

CIndy Day 10

TITLE: Bark if you want treats! Animal Control Part Two

Date: 4 Feb 2010

Explanation of the act:

Last time I went to the animal control they were busy which is fabulous! The people looked like they work hard. They also informed me of what types of supplies they needed. I decided to go to Walmart and buy: cat toys, bag of cat food, 6 pack of wet dog food, 5 bags of dog treats, and 5 dog rope toys. I also decided that the people who work there need treats too! I made a super easy chocolate cake – the same one I made for the security guards. The 5 dog toys and 5 bags of dog treats got put in gift bags with the following label.
Thank you for adopting a dog that needs a good home. Here are a few treats to get you started! Enjoy!

Courtesy of the Do Gooders from Project Nice

http://projectnice2.blogspot.com/


Along with the cake I included the following note:

Thank you for taking care of Howard County’s neglected, homeless, and abused animals. Your service to them is greatly appreciated! Enjoy some treats for you in addition to the treats for the animals.

~Cindy

Project Nice Do Gooder

http://projectnice2.blogspot.com/

For allergy purposes

Cake contents: chocolate box cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, skim milk, cocoa power

Frosting contents: powered sugar, vanilla, butter, skim milk, chocolate chips

Event:
Erinn and I made a date to take all the stuff over. Luckily they weren’t too busy. There was one other person there “reclaiming” her pet. There was an adorable well-behaved, attentive dog hanging out behind the desk.

Reactions:
They said thanks but weren’t overly enthusiastic (they haven’t tasted the cake yet). They did get my address so they could send a Thank You note.

Would I do it again?

Sure but probably not to that extent. I am thinking monthly donations.

Cost: $40 – I know it sounds like a lot but think of the number of animals and people that benefit from this. 5 adoption gift bags, 6 cans of dog food, at least 24 cat toys, many many servings of dry cat food, and all the people that get to eat cake. Probably less than $1 per animal (be it human, dog, or cat).


Effort:
Delivering was minimal, cake is pretty easy, purchasing at Walmart was easy

Time:

1hr or so for cake and icing prep

30 min at Walmart (my line was pretty slow and I was doing comparison shopping, if I knew my brands ahead of time it would be much shorter)

15 min to drive from my house to the adoption center

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Cindy Day 9

ITLE: Thank you! I hope you get lucky!

Date: 23 Feb 2010

Explanation of the act:
Our secretaries work really hard. They know everything about the school. They have to be super organized and change what they are doing on the fly. While they don’t have the take home work of a teacher they are working super hard from start to finish each day. I wanted to say THANKS!

Event:
I had a few thank you cards already. In each card I wrote a personalized thank you note highlighting things that were great about that person and their contribution to the school. I included a scratch off lottery ticket in each one with the phrase “I hope you get lucky!” These cards were unsigned

Reactions:
I have no idea. I didn’t sign them and haven’t heard about them inquiring about it. I would think that at least for a few minutes they would have a warm fuzzy feeling and hopefully someone won a few dollars

Would I do it again? Sure!

Cost: $5

Effort: The effort was in making sure I was writing something sincere in each one.

Time: About 1 minute at the lotto kiosk and about 30 minutes writing


Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Cindy Day 8

ITLE: Don’t forget the animals!

Date: 16 Feb 2010

Explanation of the act:
All this Project Nice stuff is going to make a person’s day what about the animals? Project Nice coordinator Erinn had to put her cat down due to cancer. She was very sad and for the sake of her 2 year old daughter wanted to get all of the cat items out of the house quickly. I have a cat so she gave me a big bag of dry cat food and some wet food. My cat doesn’t like the wet food so I decided to give it to the Howard County Animal Control . I went out to Petsmart to get another bag of dry food, my cat seemed interested in the new food so I would feel bad taking it away, and some cat toys. After purchasing I went right over to the Animal Control.

Event:
It was really nice to see the long line of people there to look at these animals. I didn’t mind waiting my turn. When I was called I went up and handed the officer everything I had brought and asked what they need to have donated. For your reference they need: dry cat food, dog biscuits, canned dog food, and cat toys.

Reactions:
The officer seemed surprised and thankful that I brought over items. Do they not get many donations?

Would I do it again?

Absolutely! I am thinking about doing a once a month donation. I also have a follow up idea! Stay tuned!

Cost: About $12 (but for many cats)


Effort:
Minimal, it’s actually pretty relaxing to see all those nice animals

Time: Minimal just needs to be planned into the day to go to the store and then to the shelter. 1hr tops depending on traffic and how fast you shop. I like to look at the animals in the store