Countdown to FUN (and Tradition!)

Like many people, our holiday season is filled with cheer.  And it is filled with the sounds of the holidays - the sounds of giggles and excitement, the sounds of wrapping paper ripping…

But unlike most people, our season is also filled with different sounds. It is filled with:

-         The sounds of footsteps going up and down our wooden steps

-         The sounds of adults patiently explaining colors and shapes and numbers   to children

-         And last but most common – the sounds of small, oddly shaped wooden doors opening and closing and opening and closing and opening and closing…

Those are the sounds of our season, because everyday between December 1^st – December 24^th, our porch is filled with visitors for a special event.

From morning til nighttime, people stream onto our porch to make their daily visit to the life-size COUNTDOWN CALENDAR.  And each day, behind a brightly colored numbered door, they find a special treat.  Some days it is candy, other days a small toy.  But every day it is something, and every day is filled with the anticipation of what they will find.

The Countdown Calendar has become a tradition in our neighborhood.  Like so many of our projects, it started with a wild idea and has become a community staple.  I envisioned the calendar and David designed and built it with love (measuring many, many times to get it just right). We are not sure how many Christmases we have celebrated with it, but we have also used the calendar to count down to other special events – an election, Valentine’s Day, an inauguration, Eid Al-Fitr…  At Kindness Activist we believe you can countdown to anything!

And it is so FUN!  Many visitors come every day to make sure they don’t miss a treat.  We average 55 – 65 visitors a day.  Some days the gifts are wrapped, making them extra special!!  This year 13 neighbors volunteered to wrap gifts ranging from movie theater size boxes of candy to balls filled with slime to honey sticks to wind up walking toys and more.  We have at least 50 “main treats” per day and plenty of back-up treats for overflow, because on nice weather days upwards of 70 people come.

The Countdown Calendar is good for the community in so many ways.

-         Seeing the brightly colored contraption on our porch signals the start of the holiday season

-         It gives kids and families a destination to go to every day

-         It helps teach shapes, numbers, and colors!  I can’t count the number of times in December I found myself out on the porch talking to toddlers saying things like, “Oh!  Today is day 5.  It is a YELLOW door with a RED handle.  It is shaped like a TRIANGLE (gesturing drawing a triangle in the air).  With enough patience and time those kids can find it independently.

-         It is an excuse for visitors to get out into the fresh air each day

-         It provides a build up to the “main events” of the month

-         It provides exercise for many guests who bike or walk over

-         It introduces passersby to Kindness Activist and our work (it often draws in curious strangers, especially at night when the light is shining on the bright colors)

-         It is a reward for some families – if the child has good behavior for the day, they get to come to the calendar

-         And finally, the most obvious – it gives people a special treat each day!

The Countdown Calendar might look like an easy task, but it is actually a huge undertaking.  Because it happens at the same time as the Santa Project, I have learned to prepare way in advance!  This year we started shopping for treats just before Halloween, and kind neighbors wrapped and returned gifts to be used mid-November.

Wrapped calendar gifts waiting for their day to shine!

The hardest part of the project is keeping the calendar stocked.  We only put out a few treats at a time for fear a visitor will break the golden rule and take more than one (I am looking at you, middle school kids walking past after school…).  Each time the treats run out we need to put in more.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat from the time we wake up to the time we go to bed.  Kids who come every year know that if they find the cubby of the day empty, they are welcome to knock on the door and let us know (let’s just say we get a lot of knocks and doorbell rings during those 24 days…). 

But even though it is a lot of work, I love doing this project!  Kids are so happy to get a little treat!!  One special friend is a lover of chocolate and young enough to be delighted by everything in life.  To see his eyes shine and hear him squeal, “IT IS CHOCOLATE!” when opening a Hershey kiss one night was hilariously magical.  And the manners!  Oh my goodness, we hear so many, “Thank you Mr. David!” and “Thank you Miss Susan” s all month – so sweet.

My chocolate loving friend John and I made a little video in 2023 of how the calendar works.  You can find that here:  Countdown to Christmas

I have written a short blog about the Countdown Calendar before – here is a link to that piece: The Sounds of the Season

We won’t be counting down to anything super soon as now is time to rest.  But I can promise you this – if you ever pass by the Big Yellow House and see this brightly colored contraption on the porch, STOP BY.  Because you never know what you will find behind today’s door…

THANKS CUBE SMART!  Because of your kindness, the
Countdown Calendar

                                               can be safely stored until the next occasion

Kindness Activist funds spent on the 2024 Countdown Calendar - $768.82

Daily spend for the 24 days - $32.03

Average spend per person per day - .58 cents (using an average of 55 visitors per day)

Magical impact – immeasurable

(photos shared with parental permission)

From Babies to Birds (And So Much More)

I have not written any stories recently of how Kindness Activist funds have been used.  I am sorry about that!  I guess I DO have a good reason – I have been busy with Kindness Activist work!

But I will pause this evening to tell the stories of how some funds have been used.  After all, that is one of the main premises of Kindness Activist – if we talk openly about kindness and share kind acts we see, do, or receive – we can spread kindness ripples.  Those ripples will continue to spread when people inspired by the stories we share go out into the world and spread some kindness of their own!  Ripple, ripple, ripple…

Here is how some Kindness Activist funds have been used.

Having a baby, the first baby, is exciting!  But it can also be scary and lonely, especially if your family lives in a different country and you and your partner are not surrounded by aunts, uncles, siblings, grandparents, and cousins.  So, when a woman in our community was expecting her first child, a sweet friend planned a baby shower.  We collected many amazing donations of items from neighbors – stroller, car seat, blankets, clothing, diapers, wipes, books, toys – it was beautiful!  So many kind donations.  One thing that we did not get was a changing pad that the organizer thought would last long enough.  Som Kindness Activist pitched in for that. 

I am happy to report that the baby arrived December 11^th and is doing well (so is mamma).  It takes a village, and this little infant will have that.

Welcome to the world little one

 Kindness Activist funds used:  $25.43

  

Sometimes, it’s the little things.  Acts of kindness don’t have to be pricey, nor do they have to be grand gestures.  Even small acts of kindness can make a person feel special.  And that’s why Kindness Activist refilled a neighbor’s bird food supply recently when he ran out.  He feeds the birds everyday, it gives him joy.  And is on a limited budget.  He was happy to get some food for his friends!

 

Kindness Activist funds used:  $10.27

 

December is an ultra-busy month here at Kindness Activist.  We have a countdown to Christmas calendar on our front that has treats for kids everyday from December 1 – 24, we host a community caroling event, and our BIG annual project, The Santa Project, is all-consuming. 

 

One evening we were at Target buying gifts for the Santa Project and fun things to put on top of the wrapped gifts.  We used a gift card when we check out, and it just so happened that it had a strange amount left on it.  “We will pay $68.96 with a gift card, credit card for the rest,” we explained to the cashier.  “Wow!!  $68.96?  I wish I had a gift card worth that much!” she said as she smiled at us.  We chatted a bit and finished up.

Only, we were not finished.  My partner David said, “Hey, wouldn’t it be fun…” and our plan was hatched!  We checked with a manager to make sure it would not get the cashier into any trouble if we gave her a gift card, then went through another aisle and purchased a gift card for the exact same amount as ours had been - $68.96.  Then we got back in line with the first cashier.

I look exhausted here, and we were only 8 days into 
the calendar and a looong way from the end of 
the Santa Project :) 

She saw us waiting and I noticed a look of slight panic on her face.  When it was our turn, she said, “Is something wrong?  Did I ring something twice??”, looking worried.  “Oh no, just the opposite!” we said before we started “serenading” her with a carol.    

She was so happy and she couldn’t believe her luck.  We saw her again a few days later and she remembered us.  I asked if she had used the gift card yet. “Nope, I am saving it to buy gifts for my family!” she said.

Kindness ripples.  We were kind to her, and she will be kind to her family.  The ripples flow.

Kindness Activist funds spent:  $68.96

 

The Washington DC Metro is a very diverse, welcoming, and growing area.  Immigrants arrive from countries all over the world – hoping to make the United States of America their home.  Recently, a mother and her sweet daughter came to the US from Cameroon right before the little 5th girl’s birthday.

 

Neighbors helped to find furniture for the apartment to make it more like a home, clothes for them, art supplies for the girl, and get them generally settled in.  But birthdays are special, so a sweet neighbor organized a little birthday party in a neighborhood park. 

 

It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day in September and the children laughed and played and ran around the park.  The birthday girl looked beautiful in her fancy attire, and the celebration was grand.  Kindness Activist pitched in for pizza and little gifts for guests. 

 

Welcome to America, little friend.  May every birthday be full of delight and wonder.

Unicorns, pizza, and much more

Kindness Activist funds used:  $97.87

I was having an online conversation one evening and the person on the other end typed this, “I am trying to save money for a trip back to the Midwest, where my mom lives.  She is in a nursing home.  She’s been diagnosed with end stage dementia and being looked after by my brother and sister who still live nearby.  Our mom is 89 and we don’t know what the future holds.  I am trying to save money for a round trip ticket to attend her death, which grieves me, but I’m here on the East Coast and she is in the Midwest.  It’s a different world.”

 

As soon as I read the message, I knew Kindness Activist would buy an airline ticket.  My mom died in 2002 and I was fortunate to get to spend lots and lots of time with her (in the Midwest) during the last year of her life.  We traveled, we laughed, we danced, we talked, and we were all around her as she took her last breaths. I realize that is a privilege that many do not have, but I wanted to ensure that this person could at least go see their mother while she was still alive.

 

So, Kindness Activist offered to cover the airfare.  As we were working out logistics, the person told me, “Susan, I would so much like to see my mom again before she dies. I love her so much, and she always loved me.  I will with so much gratitude accept the Kindness ticket…  I’ve been saving to return for a funeral visit and grieving that I can’t make another live visit.  This would be another star in my heaven.”

 

When they returned to Arlington, they wrote to me, “I am home!  I got in late last night, but with the memory if a sweet reunion!  I’m pleased to report that although my mom’s memory is fading, she recognized me instantly,”. 

What an honor to be able to grant a visit with a loved one.  Because of amazing support from people around the country, Kindness Activist could make this wish happen.  (And, if I may “preach” a bit here, please visit YOUR mother if you still have one.  Write her a card or letter and mail it via the good old fashioned postal service.  Call and talk to her on the phone.  Mothers don’t last forever here on earth, only in our hearts.  So please make sure you tell yours that you love her today.

Kindness Activist funds spent:  $368.80

 

 

P.S. – stories of the 2023 Countdown Calendar and the Santa Project coming soon!