We just received this lovely story from a recent Kindness Contest winner:)

Too often, I think that small things in our everyday lives get taken for granted. When a long-lost friend calls to say a random hello, it can definitely make your day. Knowing that people care and do nice things for your family when you're living far away... they probably have no idea how much that means to you. Or, what about the child you used to nanny for that checks-in once in a while to keep you posted on how they are doing, even though they are full-grown adults now?

These are all things that give me something to look forward to, and make a huge difference in my day, but all of a sudden I feared that they had no idea how much those things meant to me, so I wanted to do a "random act of kindness" to make them realize. I slightly changed my original idea, of being a two-step process, because I really wanted to make this person feel special. It happened to be around Valentine's Day, so it was a perfect theme for huge hugs and saying "thanks." I made a list of everyone that made a big difference in my days (about 15 people!). From there, I tried to think of little things they would love; most were chocolatey/ sweet, and then made a little package with that. Inside, there was a card that had a simple message, and always included "You help make my days great." I also included a link to this site, so they would get the idea of paying it forward, but without being TOO obvious and taking away from their treat.

Within days of receiving them, I heard back from every single person, and they said how special it made them feel, and how they never thought that whatever their thing was, made that much of a difference. Some said that they were going to try and make more random calls to other people, etc... One person even called THREE times to say thank you! The extra special surprise to me, was that the daughter of one of my recipients had seen the little package for her mom, and thought that it was SO cool (she is 8). Then, after church one day, she told her mom that she wanted to do something for her friend to let him know how special he makes her feel. It's one thing for us to pay the kindness forward between peers/ adults, but to bring another generation into it is even more wonderful than I could have thought. I can't wait for my next project! PS: decorating the outside of the package was key! Everyone loves knowing that something isn't junk mail!