Your Acts of Kindness

In addition to helping people learn how to live their lives led from within, I clean homes. A couple weeks ago my car broke down on the way to a cleaning job – an axel in the transmission had cracked. The bills for towing and repair were more than I could afford. In the end I paid them from my meager retirement savings.

I have cleaned for the couple whose home I was headed for for five years. We rescheduled the cleaning. After cleaning that day, I picked up my cash payment from the kitchen counter as usual. To my great surprise and astonishment, there was an extra bundle of cash along with a note saying it was for the car, and a doit4derekcard. I was both stunned and deeply touched. As I stood there my heart ached for your loss. I once had a 10 year old son who I loved, and love, very much. He’a now 27. He too was passionate about pitching baseball and interested in so many things. He has realized some of his dreams by becoming a photographer and getting to travel around the world.

As I stood there I thought about Derek’s world, about your family and about your lives.
To suddenly be brought into your lives in this way, through a simple act of kindness, was deeply meaningful for me. I became immediately inspired to pass it on, not once but all the time.
Kindness is something that comes easily for me but since that day I’ve ‘done it for Derek’ many, many times, day after day, without a moment’s hesitation. Such a feeling of deep satisfaction and joy. Random is becoming routine. Whenever it looks like something would make a difference for someone, I just do it. I haven’t passed on the actual card yet. I will. At the moment it’s on my desk. I like looking at it, fingering it my hand and thinking of Derek.

Thank you for this beautiful gift you have given us all from having loved Derek so very much and simply wanting to pass it on. I’m sure you know each doit4derek ripples out far and wide. Isn’t love and kindness what it’s all about?

Warmly,
Carol

Over the past 3 years, when we have celebrated Derek’s Day At The Ballpark, we have given out thousands of dollars to unsuspecting kids at the ballpark or memorabilia as our Random Acts of Kindness Campaign.  In 2015 we sent 3 veterans over to Washington DC to visit the war memorials and for Christmas in 2016, we sent another. We believe that for all the veterans have done for this country, this would be a better fit for what we would like to do, and we believe Derek would agree. So in 2017, we have partnered with the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Milwaukee, to raise money to send as many veterans as we can to Washington DC to see the memorials for their service to this country. Our Foundation has agreed to donate $5 for every extra base hit the Milwaukee Brewers hit this year, $25 for every homerun that Jose Bautista hits this year, and then at Derek’s Day At The Ballpark on May 23rd, if Bautista hits a homerun, we will send a veteran over as well. On May 23rd, if Jose gets a hit, $100. On August 16th, our final Derek’s Day At The Ballpark, we will donate $100 for every homerun the Brewers hit. We also have some game day donations that we will make. So join us as we cheer on the Milwaukee Brewers this year and Jose Bautista, Derek’s favorite player. It is our hope to send at least 5-6 veterans over to Washington DC this year.

 

So I’m celebrating Derek’s godmother (and aunt) Tami’s birthday with her in Houston, Texas. We are staying at “Hotel Derek” (No LIE!!) We went shopping at this mall and stumbled into a women’s Christian bible conference. Two amazing ladies gave us their name badges and told us to go ahead and listen to the church service. We heard an amazing speaker who showed us uplifting ways to handle the joys of life and how to appreciate who God made us to be.Then we prayed with the lovely ladies who gave us their badges. I was able to tell them about Derek, and they gave us a beautiful evening that showed us how spectacular Gods spirit is. So Derek has touched Houston, and Houston is going home a part of our story!! 

Last year just before Christmas and shortly after I lost my job, we received a card in the mil. It was not a Christmas card as expected. It contained an anonymous note and a gift card for $100. It said that they wanted us to know that there were other families in Sauk Prairie who cared about us. It also asked us to “pay it forward” and referenced Do It 4 Derek. Although we were hardly without resources at that time, it still meant a great deal, and we proudly displayed the card all through the Christmas season. Last year we went to a local hospital and choose two cards off their giving tree and bought two people gifts equal to what we received. But we won’t stop there. We have promised ourselves to continue to match those funds each year for some family in our community, in addition to our normal holiday giving. We are proud to do it for Derek.

Paul

I was at a Brewer’s ball game in Milwaukee when I was approached by people who handed me an envelope that said it was to be used at the Brewer’s team store. In the envelope was a $20 gift certificate, a Derek card and the admonistion to pass on the random act of kindness. My kindness was to take several bags of produce from my garden along with staples like pasta and jars of jelly to a local homeless shelter. Since the shelter hasn’t the ability to pass on the ROAC that I received, I gave the gift certificate to my grandnephew with the admonition to his mother that they must do a random act of kindness, too. They have opted to volunteer at a homeless shelter to serve a meal or whatever else is needed.

 

Sally Gregg

Today we were at Mount Rushmore and sitting down to have some ice cream after our grueling trail hike. I sat down with the kids and said hey I have some Derek cards with me. Let’s give 2 kids some free ice cream. I gave each one of our kids a Derek card with $5 each and we found a nice family as we were leaving the park and told them it was a RAOK and to get some ice cream when they were done. They were from Illinois and very appreciative of the kindness. We told them just to pass it on.

 

Greg and Christine Schaefer

It was actually brown in this case as they were Grant County Sheriffs, but it was nice to get to finally pay for the meals of some of the guys who put their lives on the line every day to protect our community. We did it not for them to pay it forward, but to thank them. Apparently they will be paying it forward too!

Steve Lendosky

Todd Miller  – Got my meal paid for the other night. Looking forward to finding a way to pay it forward. Reminds me of the good ones that are still out there.