Act of Kindness - Week #25!!

A new year...start it out with intentionally showing kindness!

  Happy 2015, may it be a blessed one for all! My week of Christmas and New Years was spent with family at home, family up north and family down south! It was a lot of traveling but full of such good times! Family time is one of my favorite things about holidays!

  In my last blog post, I added a “p.s.” that informed you to look for discounted Christmas cards when after Christmas shopping! Did you do so?! Read below to see how greeting cards of any occasion are part of the next intentional act of kindness!

*The act of kindness this week...show kindness by finding unused or lightly used items in your home (or purchased at a low price) that can be donated to an organization to help other people!!

  I accidentally found the “St. Jude’s Ranch for Children” website while looking for ways I could donate to St. Jude’s Hospital, and I am so happy I did! Here is a little about the organization (find more out at https://stjudesranch.org/):

“For more than 45 years, St. Jude’s Ranch for Children has provided a safe, nurturing home and therapeutic residential treatment services to thousands of children in Nevada and Texas. St. Jude’s Ranch is making a difference by creating new lives with new hope for abused, abandoned and neglected children...” Their mission statement is, “Transforming the lives of abused and at-risk children, young adults and families by empowering them to create new chances, new choices and new hope in a caring community.”

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children does a “Recycled Card Program”: “One of the most successful fundraisers at St. Jude’s Ranch is the recycled greeting card program. People from all over the United States send us their used greeting cards so they can be repurposed and resold. The kids on the Ranch run the program, and they earn an income from the cards they resell. This process of following through with a project gives them a sense of accomplishment and also establishes a solid work ethic.” https://stjudesranch.org/about-us/recycled-card-program/

*My experience with the act of kindness…I received a Walgreens gift card around Christmas. A couple days after Christmas, my Husband was leaving the house so I handed him the gift card and asked him to pick up some discounted Christmas cards! I was thankful for his help since I was busy packing for us to travel to Texas the next morning! I used these cards plus other occasion cards that were lying around the house that I had not used yet! The organization takes used cards as well, but I keep the cards I receive from other people! Below is a little information about donating cards to the program:

“To Donate Cards:

Year-round, we happily accept used all-occasion greeting cards. Please review the following tips before sending in your donation.

-Only the card front can be used (please check to be sure the backside of the front of the card is clear of any writing, etc.)

-We can not accept Hallmark, Disney or American Greeting cards

-5″ x 7″ size or smaller is preferred

-To mail large quantities in the least expensive way, use a USPS (United States Post Office) Flat Rate Box (available at your local Post Office), which holds up to 70 pounds

Mail donations to:
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program
100 St. Jude’s Street
Boulder City, NV 89005”

  This intentional act of kindness is simple: buy/find cards, cut off the front of the card and mail them in! The awesome thing about it is you have no idea how many children you are helping by doing this!!

P.s. Please comment below with your own experience with this act of kindness! I would really enjoy hearing about it!!