Valentine Fairies

I just had to get this post up before the end of February. It's been almost a year since I've blogged, which seems unbelievable. Yet when I cast my gaze over my shoulder at the past twelve months I am amazed at the distance I've traveled given the difficult path I was on. It feels wonderful to be centred in the present, with such an exciting and hopeful future. One thing is certain though, I would not have survived without the kindness of friends and family. I was literally saturated with kindness and support. So thank-you to my amazing sister and her family, my parents who are always 'there for me', and my dear friends - you know who you are.

There are so many things to share. Firstly, and not necessarily related to dakbands, although people's feedback has certainly been kind! I have launched my new coaching website. Please take a moment to have a look.

Perhaps most importantly we have made some awesome programming changes to our website making it SO much easier for you to look for any stories associated with your dakband, and now you can share your story in just a few clicks. And you can share your story to all your favourite social media sites!! Imagine sharing your dakband story to Twitter and Facebook! And we have more changes coming!

I wanted to leave you with an inspiring story of kindness that manifested on Valentine's Day in Vancouver. My dearest friend Ainslie (of AinslieWear Fame), and a couple of her friends dressed up as Valentines Fairies and visited St. Paul's Hospital to cheer up the patients. Wow. (Ainslie is in the red scarf). I'll have to send some dakbands to those girls :)

It's good to be back. 
Be kind today!

Sticky Note Kindness

 
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I recently attended a positive psychology course with Louisa Jewel of Positive Matters. It was a wonderful two days, and as one might expect at a positive psychology workshop, I met some incredible people, whose stories I hope to share over the next week or so.

To begin, a story that takes place at a school in St. Catharines, Ontario. Perhaps it can remind us, although our hearts are heavy with sorrow, and aching for the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School, of what can be inspiring and transformative about school.

Early, long before the school bell rang, 20 young people set out to encourage their fellow students with 1000 acts of kindness. Although the event was meant to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day, there was nothing random about this at all – it was carefully planned, and one might even say in fact that it was a Deliberate Act of Kindness (which is really the best kind!).

In their own words, and pictures, here is their story…..

1. What inspired you to do this?

Our club, Mosaic, decided to do something for random act of kindness day so we were brainstorming ideas. We were inspired by another school in our area who also had the idea to post anonymous sticky notes with compliments on them. We wanted to do something special because we felt like our school really needed something like that to happen.

2. What was the reaction of your friends and others at the school?

Of course there were mixed reactions from the people in our school. The majority of people were in awe when they walked into school that day, and they thought it was cute.I saw a lot of people just slowly walking down the hallways, reading each different sticky note as they passed (some even took a few for themselves to keep). We got a lot of positive feedback from all the students and staff. We didn't advertise that we were the ones that did it, so no one thanked our group personally but there were posts on facebook and instagram thanking whomever did it! The only negative feedback that we got was that it was a "waste of paper", but the smiles and the compliments that we got made it all worthwhile. 

3. Has this little project inspired you to be more aware of kindness, and to do more?

YES!!! 

4. What is the best thing about being kind?

 The best thing about being kind is seeing the smiles and knowing that you made it happen.

   

                                                                                                     

Dak News and Interviews!

What to share first? 
Isn't that a great position to be in? I'm feeling super blessed with kindness today. I struggled with posting yesterday in honour of World Kindness Day and all, but here at Deliberate Acts of Kindness our default position is that everyday is world kindness day, kindness isn't random it is a conscious choice that inspires human flourishing.  

So to begin, we have a school board, yes an entire school board, from Jacksonville, North Carolina - Onslow County Schools - that have just received their first shipment of customized dakbands!

We cannot wait to see the stories, and travels, of all the dakbands that will connect Onslow County School children and teachers to their community and the world. When you receive a blue dakband be sure to share your story on the website!

  
Another great dakband story deserves some attention and page time. A few months ago I received an order for some bands from an organization called the KarmaKlub. An initiative that a couple of mothers were inspired to launch a few years ago. I thought it would be great to do a little Q & A with Julie, one of the founders. Here it is:
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Can you tell us a little about your organization and how it can to be?

The karma club was formed when myself and Tanya decided to turn our kids weekly "play date" into something more meaningful. We decided that instead of playing, the kids could come up with ideas on how we could give back to our community through acts of kindness. That was 7 years ago and we are still going strong!

How did you come up with the name for your project?

I have always believed in Karma, and thought it was important to teach our kids about it. The name just came to me one day and I liked it...Karma Club, kids for kindness.

How does kindness support your philosophy?
Our motto is "kids for kindness"...so everything we do is based upon how we can spread kindness to others.

How did you learn about the dakbands?
I learned about DAK bands when I received one from my niece in Yellowknife. I immediately realized that it would be a great fit for our club--and so I presented it to them. (did you read that, Yellowknife!!)
Does wearing the dakband contribute to your personal outlook and awareness as far as kindness is concerned?

Wearing the band reminds me to be on the lookout for kindness in action.

Have you given a dakband away yet?

No, I have not given mine away yet--as I still need to register it!

Anything else you would like to add, please do.
We have told the kids that there will be a prize awarded at the end of the year for the person whose band has travelled the farthest. It will be interesting to see what comes up.

Thanks for everything you do. Julie

Julie, thank-you, and everything YOU and KarmaKlub do - you make the difference!