Every
once in a while I hear about somebody that really piques my interest. Someone that makes me wish I could meet them
in person. And recently, thanks to
Kindness Activist Amanda Nicastro, I heard about somebody that made me think,
“Man, I really want HER to be MY FRIEND!!”.
Amanda
is amazingly kind. I mean, she DONATED A
KIDNEY for goodness sakes (story about that super duper Kindness Activist act
is here: Donating Kindness). So when Amanda emailed me and said she would
like to nominate her friend DANA KRASHIN to be a Kindness Activist, well I
sorta knew Dana would be deserving. But
I didn’t know how much of a flood of kindness would be reported to me by so
many of Dana’s friends!!
Amanda
and Amelia Bienstock (another friend) each secretly posted on Facebook (hiding
Dana!), asking friends to reply with stories of kindness they had been lucky enough
to experience because of Dana. Well, it
didn’t take long at all for the posts to start rolllllling in. Guys, DANA ROCKS in the kindness
department!!!
First
off, Dana is a runner. Like, a super fit
marathon type runner. But it isn’t
enough for her just to RUN, oh no, she takes it to a WHOLE. NEW.
LEVEL.
Dana with a complete stranger at the Philly Marathon. |
The
website to learn more about Team Hoyt and how YOU can help them, visit
here: Team Hoyt
Go TEAM HOYT!! |
OK,
so Dana runs. And volunteers a lot for
Team Hoyt. But guess what else she does
while running? (Note: this is the part that hooked me on the idea
of Dana, this is right up my alley!) SHE
MAKES HOMEMADE MEDALS, CARRIES THEM IN HER FANNY PACK WHILE RUNNING, AND HANDS
THEM OUT MID-RACE AND AFTER THE RACE TO FRIENDS AND STRANGERS! Medals!!!!!
Is that not the most kind, fun thing
you can imagine at a marathon??? I would
love to be running (ok, I would hate to be running, but IF I was running, I
would love this part…) and have Dana come up beside me and say, “Susan, you
look like you are having a bit of a hard time.
But it’s ok! You can DO IT,
girlfriend!! Here is a “I Got My Butt
Off The Couch” medal that I made! Keep
running!!!!!”. Sometimes she goes to
events she isn’t running in just to cheer and hand out medals. I totally know that her medals (and smiles
and cheers) have inspired people and will continue to do so. Make sure you check
out #FollowThatFannyPack to see stuff about Dana bringing joy and encouragement
to loads of runners.
A MEDAL!! |
Look - a homemade DANA MEDAL!!! Lucky recipient!!! |
Dana
also INSPIRES people to run. Her friend
Amelia told me this: “I 100% could not have
run a marathon ever without her. One day we agreed to go on a run. I told her
that I was out of shape and definitely couldn't run more than 2 miles, but somehow
she convinced me to run 6! That was
twice as many miles than I had ever run before. A few weeks later, she was
like, "Hey, let’s go around the park another time," and that was my
first 12 mile run. I was hallucinating after but sure enough, I did it, and
absolutely would not have been able to push myself to do that without her. She
was there for my first half marathon (and my 15th!) and my first
marathon. She's the reason I run. She's also so fun to run with, friendly,
encouraging, has great outfits. We even started a show together that is currently
called "The Runway" where we interview runners about what they are
wearing.” And her friend Danny told me
about a particularly hard race where her mental image of knowing Dana would be
at the finish line to cheer for her is what kept her going.
Team Hoyt crossing the finish line at the Boston Marathon!! |
Dana
not only runs, she is also a performer – she is part of the People’s Improv
Theater (PIT), where she is an improviser and the “Random Acts of Kindness
Queen”. She does a TON of cool (and
kind!) stuff for fellow performers!! Kathleen
O’Mara told me, “When I got on the PIT house teams, the first night of shows
someone introduced her to me and she confidently said, “Oh, I know
Kathleen. She’s funny!”. I am not sure we had ever met and if we had
it was in passing at best, but it made me feel really good and confident on a
day I was really nervous and insecure.
She’s a bright ray of sunshine.”
Dana at the mic |
Performing,
especially IMPROV, really requires teamwork and the support of everyone on
stage. From the sound of it, her PIT
teammates would love to be on stage with Dana any day of the week. “She takes the mistakes of her teammates; the awkward moves,
accents, gestures and she gleefully spins them into comedy gold. You can do the worst set of your life on a
stage with Dana and walk off looking like a genius because she cares enough to
make the people around her look good through supporting their comedic offers,
making blunders look intentional and just diving in to save a teammate who is
floundering on stage- never worrying about looking foolish or bombing, just
wanting to support, never wanting to leave you out there alone,” said Jessica
Clark.
And
how about THIS??? Dana joins the lottery
every single day to try and get tickets for the Broadway show “Hamilton”. Only, she isn’t trying to score them for
herself – she is trying to win them FOR FRIENDS
AND FAMILY so that they can go see the always sold-out show!!!!!! As someone who really wants to see “Hamilton”,
I can so support this kindness on her part!!
She used to have to physically go to the theatre to enter the lottery,
but now it is all online. But still – I mean
– who does that??? Who scores the hottest tickets in town and
then LETS SOMEONE ELSE HAVE THEM? Dana,
that’s who!!! And friends Amelia
Bienstock and Giancarlo Osaben appreciate her kindness in this department (as will another person who doesn't even KNOW yet that Dana scored them Hamilton tickets!!).
Dana
just GETS kindness – she exudes it! And
in today’s world more than ever, we NEED people like her! Check out what she did for her friend Christine
Prynn: “I had a travel companion for my tours and cross country trips – a stuff
animal of young Simba from The Lion King.
I posed Simba in different places to post pictures on Instagram. On a trip back from Colorado last February, I
lost Simba in the Denver Airport and was pretty bummed about it.
Oh no - Simba has gone missing... |
Dana
contacted the airport every day for two
weeks to try and find him, but he never turned up. Instead, she secretly bought a new stuffed
Simba and opened a new Instagram account for that toy, posing it all over New
York in a search for ME. She and
several people from Unauthorized were mum about the whole thing until a few
weeks ago when she confessed. The new
Simba has passed hands and is continuing his travels for the time being.
It’s
one of the loveliest gestures anyone that wasn’t my mother has done for
me. I’m impressed and flattered that
Dana went to such lengths to find a replacement toy and entertain me. This is one of the countless examples of what
a loving, generous friend she is.”
As
someone who travels with a mermaid tail and photographs herself in it all
around the world, I can so relate to this story and how sad I would be if I left
it in an airport. But in the Simba emergency,
Dana jumped in (as usual!) and saved her friend Christine’s day!
And
it is not always “little” things like medals and stuffed animals that Dana does. She
also organizes big surprise SHOWS!! She
did one for Kindness Activist Amanda after she donated her kidney: “After I donated a kidney Dana contacted my all lady improv
team and organized a whole surprise show in my honor. It really meant a lot to
me. I was still processing this huge thing that had happened to me and not
quite sure yet of how to talk out it with everyone. Dana swooped in and made me feel loved and at
ease to be enthusiastic & take pride in what I had done. And when our
friends Abbie and Sean got married she organized a surprise secret show for
them as well. They had gotten engaged at the theater and I know the show meant
a lot to them.”
The big Kidney Show that Dana organized |
Dana
also picks out the perfect gifts for her friends, ones that when they use them
make them think of her and smile. Tamsi
told me, “I am wearing a pair of socks right now that says “Let’s Taco About
Love” and I own them because Dana saw them and thought about me and got them
for me. So I guess you could say, “When
you ‘Taco About Kindness’, you TACO ABOUT DANA KRASHIN!”. Another great gift she gave was to Amelia: “A few years ago at the annual PIT Holiday
party, house team members got these really cool hoodies and interns (me…) got
hats. I was bummed because the hoodies were awesome and I really wanted one. Well, Dana secretly told everyone in the
office that if they go on sale NOT to let me know or buy one, and then she
went and bought one for me and gave it to me for my birthday. It was really
sweet.” And she found the perfect
bracelets for her friends, too! She got them bracelets that say, “It’s not a
sprint, it’s a marathon” after they completed their 1st marathons. And hey, Rachel Schwartz got pumpkin muffins
hung on her door when Dana went home from Pancakeland, just cuz Dana knew she
liked ‘em! Damn, she is a great gift
giver!!
Medals AND bracelets??? What a friend!!! |
Dana
organizes Biggest Loser contests with her friends and family. Everyone who joins pitches in $100. The winner gets half the pot, and the rest of
the money goes to Team Hoyt. Well, it is
Dana’s contest, so she writes the rules, and wouldn’t you know one of the rules
is: IF DANA WINS, ALL THE MONEY GOES
TO TEAM HOYT. Bingo – first year of the
contest, Dana wins (as does Team Hoyt!!).
I
kept the whole “Kindness Activist” thing hidden from Dana for a while so her
friends could write and share photos secretly.
But then I contacted her to get HER SIDE of the story. I wanted to know what her friends had been
saying about her and see what she had to say about her kindness.
Wouldn’t
you know it, she bawled. She hid in a public bathroom reading Facebook messages
her friends had secretly written about her and CRIED. And she totally thought she was UNDESERVING
to be a Kindness Activist! Can you believe
it?? She is this super amazing person,
and she said something like, “I am a fraud!
I am not kind! Now Amanda, SHE is
kind, she DONATED HER KIDNEY!”. So I politely
asked her to please take a breath, wipe her tears, blow her nose, and accept
that she is, indeed a KINDNESS ACTIVIST.
J
And
then I asked her some questions. Here’s
what she told me:
Me:
Do you deliberately set out to be as kind as you are? Do you have
to "work" at it, or is it just a natural flowy kindness-y thing with
you?
Dana: “I don't really think there's
any other option. Also, I don't think the seemingly kind things I do are
for the other person...it's really just plain selfish. Doing fun things
for other people makes me feel great and like I have a purpose. It's so,
so, so selfish. It's totally selfish. I love doing this stuff. I
love spectating. It's my own favorite thing to do and it makes me so
happy and energized and excited. It makes me feel like I have a purpose. So I
guess it falls on the flowy side cause I'm pretty sure I couldn't live with
myself if I didn't do simple easy things that made people smile. It seems
like the only choice.”
Dana is an amazing person. |
Me:
What are some of your favorite examples of kindnesses that you have
bestowed on others?
Dana: “I love surprises. They
stress me out like crazy, but I love them. I love throwing surprise
improv shows for people. Oh man - that's the best.
I love marathon spectating. My
family has only one tradition. We didn't really do regular holidays but
we ALWAYS went to mile 8.4 of the Boston marathon route to cheer for Team Hoyt.
For over 3 decades my family gone to this event as marathon spectators
and it is in my blood. So I loooooove spectating races for other people.
I love making medals. I make them for my friends and for strangers.
Ugh - I love giving out medals.
I love holding signs for people.
Blowing bubbles, writing on the ground with chalk, wearing ridiculous
costumes. So I guess this is nice for someone running a race or for
random runners, right?
Dana's family's spectating spot :) |
So after spectating for most of my
lifetime, I finally started running way late in the game. Boston 2013 was
my first marathon. I got a charity slot running for Team Hoyt and raised
a ton of money for them. It all goes to organizations that make the lives
of disabled young people better.
Then I got stopped at mile 22 after
the bombs went off and wasn't allowed to finish my first marathon. So who knows
if I ever would have run another marathon...but being told to stop made me not be able to ever stop. Now I've run 9, soon to be
10, and that's not enough. Don't ever tell me I can't do anything.
So it became my mission to get more people running.
I'm not really sure if I had
anything to do with this, but in the fall of 2012 when I got invited to be on
Team Hoyt, I knew my dad was a marathoner and I had like one friend who was a
marathoner. Now everyone I know
runs. I'm not in any way saying that I made these people run or
helped these people run, but I did try to spread the joy of it and it seems to
make people happy...wait what were we talking about?!! :)
People who know me know that I will
hold them to things they want to do for themselves. Sometimes I'll call
you early in the morning if you need help getting up for a run. I love checking
in with people on losing weight, quitting smoking, other stuff like that.
I just think it's nice to feel like you're not alone in these battles.”
When I asked Dana if she wanted to
add anything else about her kindness, she told me this: “I have never been able
to figure out what I wanted to "do for a living." I just wasn't
sure I could live with myself if I was doing anything that didn't seem
completely for the good of other people or that was fun or happy. So I've
refused to commit. Probably not the best plan, but here I am, teaching
for non-profit after school programs as a teaching artist, coaching a little
running, and doing a ton of unpaid improv and performing and marathon training.
I guess what I'm saying is - what I do for a living isn't my waiting
tables on the weekend job...I call that rent. The other stuff is the living.
When I can take a day off from the restaurant to go be ridiculous and watch
my friends run a marathon that's 4 loops of a park and I can cheer for them for
hours...that's a great day. That's
my living.
Dana is really kind to ANIMALS, too! |
Also I think it's really important
to note that I'm pretty sure I get a lot of this from my mom. She's the
marathon spectator that showed us the way. She also always does
everything for you. I know everyone says that about their mom, but mine
really does. I knew if there was
something I wanted, really hard to get concert tickets, a Cabbage Patch kid on
the day they went on sale and you had to stand in line all night, a Muppets Baby
HappyMeal Gonzo that NOBODY had... she would figure it out. She is
amazing like that. Sometimes I have to say to her, "Hey do you have
any idea how I can...(fill in the blank)...but PLEASE only tell me if you know
the answer don't go making this into a project.
Dana and her mother - the woman who taught her to be so kind |
I guess that's it. I love the
project of making people happy or giving them exactly what they want (if they
knew it or not). That I got from my mom.”
Well, I have to say that I think
your friends and the strangers that you inspire are thankful to your mom for
passing down that amazing trait to you.
Here
are just some of the amazing things people said about Dana:
“Dana
is the nicest, most supportive member of any community she is a part of and
cares about everyone. She makes you feel
like you are one of the most interesting and important people in the world when
you talk to her.” Kathleen O’Mara
“She
is the best person to get salads with and she still talks to me even after she
has seen me cry a million times.” Adrian
Sexton
Dana
is just pure support and kindness and light.
Dana rocks hard.“ Heather Jewels
“Dana is able to
believe in people when they feel unable to believe in themselves. She is
consistently looking for ways to bring a large, competitive, sometimes cynical
community together. She celebrates others. She empathizes with others. She
improves the lives of others.” Tamsi New
“Dana is by far one of
the most driven, encouraging, inspiring, and supportive people I know.” Amelia Bienstock
“Dana is just
endlessly, tirelessly, indefatigably supportive. She’s your biggest fan. Your one woman cheering section. She’s the human embodiment of “You can do it!”. In a comedy world full of cynicism, she is a
fount of sincere enthusiasm.” Jason Specland
“Dana always reaches
out. I can be a real hermit, and if a week goes by that Dana and I don't talk,
she will always text me and check in. She is probably my only friend who
does this. I don't know if we're closer than she is with other people, because
I suspect there are probably 40 people who have the exact same experience with
Dana, but she makes me feel special and loved. Running brought us together, but
I feel like wherever life takes me or her, we will always be friends. I count
her as one of my closest, most trusted friends, and I feel lucky to have her in
my life.” Emily Johnson
“She gives so much
love and support to her friends and to strangers that it balloons around her,
connecting people. Her kindness
transcends and creates communities wherever she works or plays. She’s a total love bug who wells up with
emotion over the human condition on a 24/7 basis.” Jessica Clark
“I remember the
lead-up to the 2012 holiday party and the office discussion regarding who would
win the PITizen of the Year. I think we spent all of 2 seconds before
unanimously agreeing Dana would be the recipient.” Keith Huang
“Dana does a million
things 24/7, yet she always finds time to express her appreciation of
others. Dana’s kind words and thank yous
always come from the heart.” Mamma and
Pappa Bienz (these are not her REAL parents, but this is what she calls them
and they obviously adore that!)
“There isn't a thing
Dana wouldn't do for the people in her life, and she asks for nothing in
return. Over the last few years her selfless kindness has inspired everyone
around her to do the same. Simply by existing the way that she does, she
reminds me to be kinder to people. Everyone in our community of friends and
colleagues is kind, supportive, and generous, and I dare you to find a single
person who hasn't been inspired to act this way because of what Dana does.” Danny Weinstein
LOOK – after you have
read all of this about Dana, I know you are as inspired as I am. Please, use that inspiration. Go out and DO SOMETHING GOOD for the
world. Give a friend some socks! Hand out a medal to a perfect stranger! Inspire someone to run!!
And for gosh sakes,
follow Dana on Instagram
@followthatfannypack
Dana Krashin - KINDNESS ACTIVIST! |
Yay!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a woman!!!! Spreading joy for a living......exceptional, inspirational, big hug and kisses sent her way!
ReplyDeleteShe really is inspiring!!
Delete