Took a phone survey.
All I know about politics I learned from watching The West Wing. Translation, I don't know a whole lot.
I know politicians need surveys to help make decisions or at the very least to know what to say to people to help win their vote.
Remember when I was worried I wasn't going to be able to do anything nice while I was trapped in my house? Yeah. Well sometimes life gives you little chances to be nice.
Event:
While my daughter was watching Go Diego Go, the phone rang. I answered it and was asked to do a survey for local politicians.
sigh.
I'm not great at surveys and a few years ago I did one and the harassment hasn't stopped since.
"I'll do it as long as you never call again and you take me off of whatever list you have. Deal?" But i said it much nicer then how it's written.
He laughed, "Deal."
Six minutes later I hung up the phone.
I'm not sharing the details because let's face it, it's as boring to read and it would be as boring to write.
Reaction:
The surveyor was pleasant enough. I didn't know all the answers and I felt sort of dumb at times. But at least my voice was heard and its one less survey he needed to do.
Would I do it again: I hate these things... I would go with my first no of the experiance. But will it happened again, Yes. Will I be as willing to help again, probably not.
Cost: Nothing
Effort: more then I would like to admit... it was a lot of thinking at 8 pm, my hair was still wet and I was cold from my nice deed of giving the snow plow guy coffee.
Time: 6 minutes
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Day 39 Gave coffee to snow plow guy
Gave coffee to snow ploy Guy.
Winter of 2009-2010 in Maryland is been crazy. There's been a lot of snow. A whole lot of snow. Friday, Feburary 5, there was an inch of snow at 5 pm by 7 am Saturday morning there was 30 inches. The snow drifts in front of my deck door as was high as my 2 year old daughter.
You know who's been working very hard this winter... the snow plow guys. Howard County has an amazing crew. They salt and treat the roads, they are constantly coming by and making sure the streets are safe. Not once this year have I felt unsafe driving down the roads. I don't live in a fancy neighborhood, with million dollar houses where I'd assume the roads would be plowed to prefection. I live on a hill, a fraking steep hill and the plows take better care of our roads then the large single family homes in Columbia.
Anyway at 8 pm my dog had to go out. While he was going, the snow plow can come down our street.
I ran inside, grabbed a metal coffee cup, popped a k-cup in my keurig coffee maker and poof 30 seconds later a piping hot cup of coffee. (this isn't a shameless promotion for the keurig coffee maker, but I'm pretty sure it's the best invention since the internet.)
I bundled up in my fancy new winter coat and started to walk down the street, coffee in hand. The snow and wind were blowing, I had forgotten a hat. I walked down to the end of the street where the snow plow was and handed him the coffee.
Reaction.
He was younger then me, probably in his early 20's.
"Hi, I was wondering how you take your coffee." I said as I handed him the cup.
"Um milk and sugar."
"Great, I'll run back to my house and get you some. I think you will be in for a LONG night and you're going to need it."
"Thank you so much.'
So I ran down my street, in the snow, wind and sleet. I didn't want to hold him up because I'm sure he had a schedule he had to keep up.
I ran inside, grabbed a plastic cup, poured milk and some sugar in it and ran out.
The plow was in front of my house.
We chatted for a few minutes mostly about the cars still parked on the street. He said he felt bad plowing them in, but he really likes to make sure the streets are clear for us because we live on this hill.
I told him that I'd help people dig their cars out. And I will... there's one girl who has to park on the street and I always feel bad for her during the snow storms. However the other three cars belong to people who have three car driveways and simple chose NOT to park in their driveways. I'm not in a rush to help those guys. They make my life diffucult every time I try to pull out of my driveway.
I thanked him for all his hard work and I hoped he makes a lot of extra money doing this. He sighed and said, "it's just going to suck in the summer, because they're not going to have money for us then."
I told him I was very sorry about that. Another nice dose of reality.
Would I do it again: Yep, when he comes by again I will give him another cup of coffee and some food.
Cost: A metal coffee cup that I hated.
Effort: This was a little bit more effort then normal because I got cold and wet, neither are things I enjoy.
Time: about 5 minutes with all the prep, talking, running, getting the milk and sugar and the talking.
Winter of 2009-2010 in Maryland is been crazy. There's been a lot of snow. A whole lot of snow. Friday, Feburary 5, there was an inch of snow at 5 pm by 7 am Saturday morning there was 30 inches. The snow drifts in front of my deck door as was high as my 2 year old daughter.
You know who's been working very hard this winter... the snow plow guys. Howard County has an amazing crew. They salt and treat the roads, they are constantly coming by and making sure the streets are safe. Not once this year have I felt unsafe driving down the roads. I don't live in a fancy neighborhood, with million dollar houses where I'd assume the roads would be plowed to prefection. I live on a hill, a fraking steep hill and the plows take better care of our roads then the large single family homes in Columbia.
Anyway at 8 pm my dog had to go out. While he was going, the snow plow can come down our street.
I ran inside, grabbed a metal coffee cup, popped a k-cup in my keurig coffee maker and poof 30 seconds later a piping hot cup of coffee. (this isn't a shameless promotion for the keurig coffee maker, but I'm pretty sure it's the best invention since the internet.)
I bundled up in my fancy new winter coat and started to walk down the street, coffee in hand. The snow and wind were blowing, I had forgotten a hat. I walked down to the end of the street where the snow plow was and handed him the coffee.
Reaction.
He was younger then me, probably in his early 20's.
"Hi, I was wondering how you take your coffee." I said as I handed him the cup.
"Um milk and sugar."
"Great, I'll run back to my house and get you some. I think you will be in for a LONG night and you're going to need it."
"Thank you so much.'
So I ran down my street, in the snow, wind and sleet. I didn't want to hold him up because I'm sure he had a schedule he had to keep up.
I ran inside, grabbed a plastic cup, poured milk and some sugar in it and ran out.
The plow was in front of my house.
We chatted for a few minutes mostly about the cars still parked on the street. He said he felt bad plowing them in, but he really likes to make sure the streets are clear for us because we live on this hill.
I told him that I'd help people dig their cars out. And I will... there's one girl who has to park on the street and I always feel bad for her during the snow storms. However the other three cars belong to people who have three car driveways and simple chose NOT to park in their driveways. I'm not in a rush to help those guys. They make my life diffucult every time I try to pull out of my driveway.
I thanked him for all his hard work and I hoped he makes a lot of extra money doing this. He sighed and said, "it's just going to suck in the summer, because they're not going to have money for us then."
I told him I was very sorry about that. Another nice dose of reality.
Would I do it again: Yep, when he comes by again I will give him another cup of coffee and some food.
Cost: A metal coffee cup that I hated.
Effort: This was a little bit more effort then normal because I got cold and wet, neither are things I enjoy.
Time: about 5 minutes with all the prep, talking, running, getting the milk and sugar and the talking.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
day 38 Gave Gift Card to a Homeless Man
Gave a McDonalds Gift Card to a Homeless Man.
During the first round of Project Nice I gave money to a man who was recently lost his house and job. He needed someplace to stay. I only had four dollars, but I quickly handed it over to him. After that, several people told me I should have bought him food-- I had gone back and tried to give him a gift card for Dunkin Donuts but I couldn't find him.
This time around I had learned from mistakes of the first go and I wanted to do something different, and a little better.
My husband sat down with me and helped me create a list 31 things to do for Project Nice. I was having a neverous meltdown because I thought (and I was right) that I would be trapped in my house because of a massive snow storm and how was going to be nice to people if I'm trapped in my house... The irony was the day before I sent out a list of 10 tips for people who are doing Project Nice where you didn't need to directly interact with people. Not once during that meltdown did I think, "Gee, I could do the stuff I suggested."
Back to the point.
This one was my Hubby's idea and I wanted to make sure I gave him credit for it.
Event:
There's a homeless man who sits on the off ramp of 95 north @ 175. (If you live in my town, all of this makes sense to you, if not, sorry.) He's there every day. He has a sign saying he needs a job.
He looks like Santa Claus, he's elderly, with a white beard, red cheeks, a fitted cap and an old coat.
I was going to my writer's group meeting after school and I purposely took 95 to get there. I had a gift card my aunt had sent us. I'm not a fan of McDonalds, but they do have a lot of food for a dollar. My Hubby activated the card the night before, since you needed to go on-line to do it and we didn't think the homeless man had internet access.
It was prefect I took the off ramp. With one hand on the wheel and the other in my purse, I grabbed the gift card on the first attempt. That in itself was pretty amazing since it normally takes me a while to find my cell phone and my keys. I was the last car in line and there was no one behind me. I pulled over to shoulder and rolled down my window. "Sir, I have this gift card for ten dollars, can I give it to you?" I asked.
Reaction:
His Santa smile showed through his gray beard, "Thank you, God bless you."
"You're welcome, please stay safe and have a good night." I told him.
Now the off ramp has a traffic light, which is one of the reasons why he stays there. The light was green when I was pulling over.
I looked up, and now the light was red.
"Oh, I missed my light." I said. It was mean or disappointed. I was mostly shocked at how quickly the light had changed.
"oh." He said.
"um, well, have a good night."
"Yeah, God Bless you."
This is when it got awkward. I inched my car back onto the lane, and rolled up my window. I debated, should I keep talking to him? Or would that make it worse? We both spent the next 30 seconds pretending the other didn't exist. He went back to his milk crate and continued to smoke his cigar, I listened to my music and checked around for other cars.
Yep, sometimes doing nice things can turn into a slightly awkward situation. Maybe it was just me, who felt awkward.
The light turned green and I drove off. I was thinking about the fact he was elderly and it wasn't fair that anyone should spend the last remaining days of their life on the side of the road. I wondered about his life, the choices he had made, the opportunities he might have had or not had.
Life isn't fair. It's a statement my parents had told me constantly while I was growing up. As I get older and as I've been doing project nice, I've been more and more aware of the unfairness of life. Mostly I'm more and more grateful for all that I have.
By the time Writers group was over, he was gone. I don't know where he spends his nights.
Would I do it again: Yes.
Cost: Nothing, my Aunt had given me the gift card
Effort: I made a slightly effort to drive that way, but the interaction was quick and easy.
Time: 15 seconds to give him the card, 30 more second sitting awkwardly at the light.
During the first round of Project Nice I gave money to a man who was recently lost his house and job. He needed someplace to stay. I only had four dollars, but I quickly handed it over to him. After that, several people told me I should have bought him food-- I had gone back and tried to give him a gift card for Dunkin Donuts but I couldn't find him.
This time around I had learned from mistakes of the first go and I wanted to do something different, and a little better.
My husband sat down with me and helped me create a list 31 things to do for Project Nice. I was having a neverous meltdown because I thought (and I was right) that I would be trapped in my house because of a massive snow storm and how was going to be nice to people if I'm trapped in my house... The irony was the day before I sent out a list of 10 tips for people who are doing Project Nice where you didn't need to directly interact with people. Not once during that meltdown did I think, "Gee, I could do the stuff I suggested."
Back to the point.
This one was my Hubby's idea and I wanted to make sure I gave him credit for it.
Event:
There's a homeless man who sits on the off ramp of 95 north @ 175. (If you live in my town, all of this makes sense to you, if not, sorry.) He's there every day. He has a sign saying he needs a job.
He looks like Santa Claus, he's elderly, with a white beard, red cheeks, a fitted cap and an old coat.
I was going to my writer's group meeting after school and I purposely took 95 to get there. I had a gift card my aunt had sent us. I'm not a fan of McDonalds, but they do have a lot of food for a dollar. My Hubby activated the card the night before, since you needed to go on-line to do it and we didn't think the homeless man had internet access.
It was prefect I took the off ramp. With one hand on the wheel and the other in my purse, I grabbed the gift card on the first attempt. That in itself was pretty amazing since it normally takes me a while to find my cell phone and my keys. I was the last car in line and there was no one behind me. I pulled over to shoulder and rolled down my window. "Sir, I have this gift card for ten dollars, can I give it to you?" I asked.
Reaction:
His Santa smile showed through his gray beard, "Thank you, God bless you."
"You're welcome, please stay safe and have a good night." I told him.
Now the off ramp has a traffic light, which is one of the reasons why he stays there. The light was green when I was pulling over.
I looked up, and now the light was red.
"Oh, I missed my light." I said. It was mean or disappointed. I was mostly shocked at how quickly the light had changed.
"oh." He said.
"um, well, have a good night."
"Yeah, God Bless you."
This is when it got awkward. I inched my car back onto the lane, and rolled up my window. I debated, should I keep talking to him? Or would that make it worse? We both spent the next 30 seconds pretending the other didn't exist. He went back to his milk crate and continued to smoke his cigar, I listened to my music and checked around for other cars.
Yep, sometimes doing nice things can turn into a slightly awkward situation. Maybe it was just me, who felt awkward.
The light turned green and I drove off. I was thinking about the fact he was elderly and it wasn't fair that anyone should spend the last remaining days of their life on the side of the road. I wondered about his life, the choices he had made, the opportunities he might have had or not had.
Life isn't fair. It's a statement my parents had told me constantly while I was growing up. As I get older and as I've been doing project nice, I've been more and more aware of the unfairness of life. Mostly I'm more and more grateful for all that I have.
By the time Writers group was over, he was gone. I don't know where he spends his nights.
Would I do it again: Yes.
Cost: Nothing, my Aunt had given me the gift card
Effort: I made a slightly effort to drive that way, but the interaction was quick and easy.
Time: 15 seconds to give him the card, 30 more second sitting awkwardly at the light.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Update on thank an artist!!!
So as you know I thanked an artist...
I wrote a very cool band called Socratic a thank you letter:
I wanted to thank you for making such amazing music. Yes that made me sound like a 14-year old boy and I'm sorry about that. Every time I listen to Spread the Rumors it makes me smile and puts me in a great mood.
A few days ago you posted in Twitter and on facebook that you were rehearsing for a new album. I sent you a quick little comment. Then you responded back and thanked me personally.
So this got me thinking about how important it is to thank artists.
I am doing this blog called Project Nice where I do nice thing for strangers or people. Everyday it's something new. http://projectnice2.blogspot.com/
You guys inspired me to write one about thanking artists, writers, bands, whoever.
So I just wanted to thank you. If you wanted to check it out, that blog will go live on 2-3-10.
Oh and a super quick question,
As an fan, I want the most of my money going to the band as possible. I know you guys don't make a ton of money off of your CDs, but where do you guys make the most money? If I bought a physical CD or if I bought the CD off of i-tunes? I-tunes is cheaper but does that mean YOU guys make less money?
I just want to make sure I'm doing my part as a fan.
Thank you again and have a great weekend.
Erinn
Today they responded back:
hey erinn. thanks so much for the kind words. It is always nice to hear those things.
Some FYI about the band...
They are on Drive Thru records, a pretty amazing company who once had New Found Glory on their label, Dashboard Confessional, Hellogoodbye, Ace Enders, The Early November and Something Corporate. (This label has basically all my favorites before they were huge and I discovered them) The owners of the company LOVE music, they were the fans hanging outside of the stage doors hoping to see their idols. As further evidence that there's not as much as money in music as you think, the owners of Drive Thru records admitted during an Alternative Press podcast that he was on food stamps.
Anyway Socratic's record was produced by Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 fame.
Something cool happened to me today... besides getting 38 inches of snow dumped on my front lawn.
Have a great day everyone!
I wrote a very cool band called Socratic a thank you letter:
I wanted to thank you for making such amazing music. Yes that made me sound like a 14-year old boy and I'm sorry about that. Every time I listen to Spread the Rumors it makes me smile and puts me in a great mood.
A few days ago you posted in Twitter and on facebook that you were rehearsing for a new album. I sent you a quick little comment. Then you responded back and thanked me personally.
So this got me thinking about how important it is to thank artists.
I am doing this blog called Project Nice where I do nice thing for strangers or people. Everyday it's something new. http://projectnice2.blogspot.com/
You guys inspired me to write one about thanking artists, writers, bands, whoever.
So I just wanted to thank you. If you wanted to check it out, that blog will go live on 2-3-10.
Oh and a super quick question,
As an fan, I want the most of my money going to the band as possible. I know you guys don't make a ton of money off of your CDs, but where do you guys make the most money? If I bought a physical CD or if I bought the CD off of i-tunes? I-tunes is cheaper but does that mean YOU guys make less money?
I just want to make sure I'm doing my part as a fan.
Thank you again and have a great weekend.
Erinn
Today they responded back:
hey erinn. thanks so much for the kind words. It is always nice to hear those things.
Either buying the cd at a store or on i tunes would help us out the most. So our label can see people are still buying. Also, if anyone else you know wants to buy it you can tell them the same thing. Good luck with your blog and hopefully I'll talk to you soon!!!!
Duane
Some FYI about the band...
They are on Drive Thru records, a pretty amazing company who once had New Found Glory on their label, Dashboard Confessional, Hellogoodbye, Ace Enders, The Early November and Something Corporate. (This label has basically all my favorites before they were huge and I discovered them) The owners of the company LOVE music, they were the fans hanging outside of the stage doors hoping to see their idols. As further evidence that there's not as much as money in music as you think, the owners of Drive Thru records admitted during an Alternative Press podcast that he was on food stamps.
Anyway Socratic's record was produced by Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 fame.
Something cool happened to me today... besides getting 38 inches of snow dumped on my front lawn.
Have a great day everyone!
Day 37- Talk to someone about stuff they like.
Talk to someone about stuff they like.
I like stuff. I like writing, movies, music, comic books and my family. I like to talk. But rarely do I get to talk about the things really LOVE to talk about. Rarely do people want to chat about the three different characters who have been Batman's sidekick Robin, or the cultural impact that CGI movies have in the past fifteen years.
I figured that 98.9% of my conversations are of mundane things like homework, dinner, diapers and facebook.
But you know the feeling you get when you're talking about something you really care about, that excitement, that smile that's plastered all over your face, the way you ignore the bored look on the face of the person you're talking to.
We've all had that.
Event:
I walked around during my planning period and I spoke to people I normally don't talk to.
I spoke with a long term sub who up until that morning I had never spoken to. Guess what, she's awesome. I learned all sort of cools things about her and we share something in common. She's a writer too. We both talking about writing for a few minutes.
Then I found another co-worked and asked her about her flowers. She competes in flower shows. Holy Snikes! She knows a lot of about flowers. My knowledge of flowers comes down to this:
1) flowers are plants
2) they are pretty
3) They need water
4) I tend to forget to water them and I kill them.
Reaction:
She looked so happy talking about her flowers, how she hibernates them, where she plants them, competing, how much one seed can cost and how long it can take to get a flower to bloom (It it take up between four and seven years for some flowers). Her eyes brightened, she clapped her hands while she was talking, she loaded up pictures of her flowers that won an award. (I thought it was very pretty--- again that's about all I know about it)
After talking to her I was completely amazed. Not at just how much she knew about something I would glance down at and shrug, but I was amazed at humans in general.
Look away from the computer screen for a second and look at something in your room. Pick any object--- someone is an expert on it. Someone could tell you everything you wanted to know about how to make a pencil, how shoes are designed, or that cool TRADIS USB hub.
People are incredible. We like stuff. We learn about the stuff we like and we make it better. This computer I'm typing on is a vast improvement from the typewriter I would have written this on thirty years ago.
I'm over simplifying again, but the vast amount of knowledge we have accumulated in our individuals brains is impressive.
If you have a question, someone out there could give you an answer.
We're amazing.
Would I do it again? Yes! Mostly because I love the way people light up when they talk about things the love. It's a visible change in their face and eyes. Humans, not just vampires, sparkle.
Cost: Nothing
Time: About 30 minutes
Effort: Not much, I listened, asked questions and was interested in what she was talking about.
I like stuff. I like writing, movies, music, comic books and my family. I like to talk. But rarely do I get to talk about the things really LOVE to talk about. Rarely do people want to chat about the three different characters who have been Batman's sidekick Robin, or the cultural impact that CGI movies have in the past fifteen years.
I figured that 98.9% of my conversations are of mundane things like homework, dinner, diapers and facebook.
But you know the feeling you get when you're talking about something you really care about, that excitement, that smile that's plastered all over your face, the way you ignore the bored look on the face of the person you're talking to.
We've all had that.
Event:
I walked around during my planning period and I spoke to people I normally don't talk to.
I spoke with a long term sub who up until that morning I had never spoken to. Guess what, she's awesome. I learned all sort of cools things about her and we share something in common. She's a writer too. We both talking about writing for a few minutes.
Then I found another co-worked and asked her about her flowers. She competes in flower shows. Holy Snikes! She knows a lot of about flowers. My knowledge of flowers comes down to this:
1) flowers are plants
2) they are pretty
3) They need water
4) I tend to forget to water them and I kill them.
Reaction:
She looked so happy talking about her flowers, how she hibernates them, where she plants them, competing, how much one seed can cost and how long it can take to get a flower to bloom (It it take up between four and seven years for some flowers). Her eyes brightened, she clapped her hands while she was talking, she loaded up pictures of her flowers that won an award. (I thought it was very pretty--- again that's about all I know about it)
After talking to her I was completely amazed. Not at just how much she knew about something I would glance down at and shrug, but I was amazed at humans in general.
Look away from the computer screen for a second and look at something in your room. Pick any object--- someone is an expert on it. Someone could tell you everything you wanted to know about how to make a pencil, how shoes are designed, or that cool TRADIS USB hub.
People are incredible. We like stuff. We learn about the stuff we like and we make it better. This computer I'm typing on is a vast improvement from the typewriter I would have written this on thirty years ago.
I'm over simplifying again, but the vast amount of knowledge we have accumulated in our individuals brains is impressive.
If you have a question, someone out there could give you an answer.
We're amazing.
Would I do it again? Yes! Mostly because I love the way people light up when they talk about things the love. It's a visible change in their face and eyes. Humans, not just vampires, sparkle.
Cost: Nothing
Time: About 30 minutes
Effort: Not much, I listened, asked questions and was interested in what she was talking about.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Day 36- Donate to Grassroots
Donate to Grassroots.
done on 1-31-10
I live in one of the most wealthy counties in the united states. We have one crisis intervention shelter. It meet the needs of those who have lost their homes in Howard County. It's called Grassroots Crisis prevention This shelter is increbible. Their pledge is this: (cut and pasted directly from their webpage)
Our mission is not very complicated, it's to serve those in need. Of course, more and more these days, carrying out that mission gets complicated. Today, providing our various services requires more staff, more planning, more resources and more skill than ever before. That's why we are so grateful to all of you in both the public and private sector who support the work that we do. We would not be able to help those in need without the help we get from you.
Be Nice to a Stranger and the economy in general has made me very aware how much people are struggling.
I wanted to do something important and I wanted to help a local cause.
Event:
I wanted to donate to Grassroots. Step one in this process was researching what they wanted and needed.
I went to the wishlist, yes they have a lot of needs. I wanted to make sure I donated exactly what they needed. I spoke to my husband about donating goods to the Grassroots. He called them and asked them.
Large size diapers-- they have "a lot of little ones" and they are in constant need of large size diapers. Here's a little consumer tip--- the larger the diapers the fewer are in the box-- Just because there's less in the box doesn't mean the babies pee or poop less.
Coffee-- they go through a lot of coffee.
Laundry detergent-- They go through a lot of laundry. Which makes sense, if you've lost your house, you would take your clothes with you, but you would have less and wear it more often. Therefore your clothes get dirty.
My husband, daughter and I drove around trying to find the best deals and think about what would best meet the needs of the shelter.
We bought 4 bottles of detergent at Cheap Ollies which would wash 160 loads of laundry.
2 tubs of Coffee that each made 380 cups at BJ's.
A box of diapers size 5- 128 diapers at BJ's.
A box of diapers size 6- 104 diapers at BJ's.
A box of baby wipes. 560 wipes at BJ's.
Reaction:
I walked into grassroots, because I wasn't sure where the donation center was. I asked an administrator, who lit up when I told her what I had. She smiled and pointed me in the direction of the family care area.
When I told them what I had, they smiled, asked me to fill out a quick form and helped me unload my car.
She thanked me for thinking about them while I was out shopping.
I told them why I was doing this and all about Project Nice.
She wished me good luck. She said she would send me a thank you letter and I could scan it and put it up on the website.
As a mom the thing that got me was the diapers. Being a parent has made me incredibly grateful for my husband, my house and all my basic needs. I can't image how terrifying it would be to lose your home, be in a crisis and to have my two year old daughter crying.
Would I do it again? yes. Absolutely. It's not far from my daughters daycare and it would be easy to drop off things they need.
Cost: $18 @ cheap Ollies $86 at BJ's grand total of $104. Ok A quick side note, because the other people doing Project Nice might be screaming at their computer screens right now. I gave everyone a price limit of $5 per person. Here's what I didn't tell anyone. My hubby and I have in our budget to give money to a charity every month. I was using that money for this good deed.
Effort: Yeah, this one was a lot. Between researching, shopping and delivery, the whole thing took more effort then most of the other nice deeds I do.
Time: all in all it was about two- three hours.
done on 1-31-10
I live in one of the most wealthy counties in the united states. We have one crisis intervention shelter. It meet the needs of those who have lost their homes in Howard County. It's called Grassroots Crisis prevention This shelter is increbible. Their pledge is this: (cut and pasted directly from their webpage)
Our mission is not very complicated, it's to serve those in need. Of course, more and more these days, carrying out that mission gets complicated. Today, providing our various services requires more staff, more planning, more resources and more skill than ever before. That's why we are so grateful to all of you in both the public and private sector who support the work that we do. We would not be able to help those in need without the help we get from you.
Be Nice to a Stranger and the economy in general has made me very aware how much people are struggling.
I wanted to do something important and I wanted to help a local cause.
Event:
I wanted to donate to Grassroots. Step one in this process was researching what they wanted and needed.
I went to the wishlist, yes they have a lot of needs. I wanted to make sure I donated exactly what they needed. I spoke to my husband about donating goods to the Grassroots. He called them and asked them.
Large size diapers-- they have "a lot of little ones" and they are in constant need of large size diapers. Here's a little consumer tip--- the larger the diapers the fewer are in the box-- Just because there's less in the box doesn't mean the babies pee or poop less.
Coffee-- they go through a lot of coffee.
Laundry detergent-- They go through a lot of laundry. Which makes sense, if you've lost your house, you would take your clothes with you, but you would have less and wear it more often. Therefore your clothes get dirty.
My husband, daughter and I drove around trying to find the best deals and think about what would best meet the needs of the shelter.
We bought 4 bottles of detergent at Cheap Ollies which would wash 160 loads of laundry.
2 tubs of Coffee that each made 380 cups at BJ's.
A box of diapers size 5- 128 diapers at BJ's.
A box of diapers size 6- 104 diapers at BJ's.
A box of baby wipes. 560 wipes at BJ's.
Reaction:
I walked into grassroots, because I wasn't sure where the donation center was. I asked an administrator, who lit up when I told her what I had. She smiled and pointed me in the direction of the family care area.
When I told them what I had, they smiled, asked me to fill out a quick form and helped me unload my car.
She thanked me for thinking about them while I was out shopping.
I told them why I was doing this and all about Project Nice.
She wished me good luck. She said she would send me a thank you letter and I could scan it and put it up on the website.
As a mom the thing that got me was the diapers. Being a parent has made me incredibly grateful for my husband, my house and all my basic needs. I can't image how terrifying it would be to lose your home, be in a crisis and to have my two year old daughter crying.
Would I do it again? yes. Absolutely. It's not far from my daughters daycare and it would be easy to drop off things they need.
Cost: $18 @ cheap Ollies $86 at BJ's grand total of $104. Ok A quick side note, because the other people doing Project Nice might be screaming at their computer screens right now. I gave everyone a price limit of $5 per person. Here's what I didn't tell anyone. My hubby and I have in our budget to give money to a charity every month. I was using that money for this good deed.
Effort: Yeah, this one was a lot. Between researching, shopping and delivery, the whole thing took more effort then most of the other nice deeds I do.
Time: all in all it was about two- three hours.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Day 35- Donate winter coats
Donate winter coats
Event done on 1-31
I hate winter. I really do. It's cold, it's windy, it's snowy and mostly annoyingly it's cold. All my life I've lived in places with seasons. One day I would love to live somewhere without a winter, but alas since my hubby is constantly hot and I'm constantly cold, it looks like a warmer a location isn't going to happen.
Sigh.
Mostly I hate winter because I hate my big stupid blue coat. I hate it. I feel ugly in it.
But I'm too cheap to buy a new one.
However this year I broke down and bought a new coat, two in fact, and I love them. Now I'm slightly less grumpy about winter.
Event:
I looked in my closet and it was overloaded with perfectly fine, warm coats.
Now my guilt kicked in. Yes. I am a VERY lucky person, I'm complaining that my coat makes me feel ugly. I am acutely aware that there are many people without coats. I watch my students everyday walk into the school without coats.
I gathered up all the coats in my closets that I will not be wearing and I donated them to Goodwill.
Reaction:
The volunteer at Good Will was a teenage boy who looked very sleep. He grunted most of his responses. I commented on how clean and well organized the donation center looked. He grunted. I gave him the bag of coats and I told him what was in the bag. He nodded and "Oh good. Thank you."
Will I do it again? Sure. I donate my clothes twice a year. I've donated old dressed around prom time, so a girl can have that iconic teen moment. Coats are tougher because they last longer then most clothes.
Cost: None
Effort: I did have to drive to Goodwill in a snowy parking lot. But besides that not too much
Time: about one minute
Event done on 1-31
I hate winter. I really do. It's cold, it's windy, it's snowy and mostly annoyingly it's cold. All my life I've lived in places with seasons. One day I would love to live somewhere without a winter, but alas since my hubby is constantly hot and I'm constantly cold, it looks like a warmer a location isn't going to happen.
Sigh.
Mostly I hate winter because I hate my big stupid blue coat. I hate it. I feel ugly in it.
But I'm too cheap to buy a new one.
However this year I broke down and bought a new coat, two in fact, and I love them. Now I'm slightly less grumpy about winter.
Event:
I looked in my closet and it was overloaded with perfectly fine, warm coats.
Now my guilt kicked in. Yes. I am a VERY lucky person, I'm complaining that my coat makes me feel ugly. I am acutely aware that there are many people without coats. I watch my students everyday walk into the school without coats.
I gathered up all the coats in my closets that I will not be wearing and I donated them to Goodwill.
Reaction:
The volunteer at Good Will was a teenage boy who looked very sleep. He grunted most of his responses. I commented on how clean and well organized the donation center looked. He grunted. I gave him the bag of coats and I told him what was in the bag. He nodded and "Oh good. Thank you."
Will I do it again? Sure. I donate my clothes twice a year. I've donated old dressed around prom time, so a girl can have that iconic teen moment. Coats are tougher because they last longer then most clothes.
Cost: None
Effort: I did have to drive to Goodwill in a snowy parking lot. But besides that not too much
Time: about one minute
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