Your Acts of Kindness

My uncle Barry took me to a Brewer game where a nice guy gave me a signed Scooter Gennett baseball.

Preston Kirchoff

(FYI Sydney, we enjoy reading every act and it doesn’t cheapen it at all :-) )

We have a few stories to share of random acts of kindness done in Derek’s memory. Until today, I wasn’t exactly sure where to post these (until I saw it on the news) and didn’t really feel I needed to post about them to make them meaningful. However, I thought Steve and Brandee would be appreciative of the deeds that are being done in Derek’s memory, even if they are unaware of them. I really hope I don’t forget any. I’ll start with the smaller ones we’ve done and continue to do. Whenever on the beltline (which is a few times a day as we live in Madison) we always let people get in if they are trying. I know this one is very small, but even the simplest things can make such a difference in people’s lives. We also ALWAYS let people cross the street, crosswalk or not. One very small thing I always do is when I pass someone on the street, I don’t avoid eye-contact but instead I always smile. I’ve found that when people smile at me for no reason at all, it makes my day just a little bit better. So I decided to return the favor — we never know what’s going on in people’s lives and a random showing of kindness could make a huge difference. Another time, I heard my roommate come home at 1:00 in the morning, slamming doors and crying her eyes out. Recently right before this, her and I had a disagreement and were not very close. However, I thought about what the right thing to do was and so I texted her and told her that if she needed someone I was right out in the living room for her, despite our current tension with each other. I also always hold the door open for the person behind me, and am especially courteous to the elderly. Now to more of the larger acts of kindness. I’ve always felt very sorry for those who are homeless, so one day in the winter when a homeless man was finding shelter in the local starbucks, I bought him a hot chocolate. Even though he yelled at me and told me not to bother him and he didn’t need my help, I am not hesitant to do it again. Someone might need a little extra warmth some day. Another… I work for a University Residence Dining Hall/convenient store on campus in Madison, and most of our customers are students. One day a young mother and her son came in and he really wanted ice cream, but she was hesitant; I wasn’t sure, but I thought maybe they didn’t have much money to spend. So when they checked out, I told them not to worry about it and I paid for their snacks/groceries out of pocket. She didn’t say much as she didn’t really speak English, but I could tell on her face that she was very thankful. More recently, Trevor and I were driving home from dinner one night when we saw a dog on the side of the road. We actually almost hit her. Immediately we pulled over, put her in the car, and spent a good hour looking for somewhere to take her, knocking on doors asking if anyone was missing her, and ended up taking her to 24 hour vet hospital. I’m so thankful we found her as she was blind, she had a collar with a leash connected so some family must have been looking everywhere for her, and about 2 minutes after we got her in a car a semi drove in the exact path that she would have been standing in if we weren’t there. A few nights later, we went out to Red Robin and had a very nice waitress. She acted as though she had had a very long day, so Trevor and I gave her a very large tip even though we only got one meal to split, and wrote her a not telling her she deserved a raise, and that “p.s. my girlfriend thinks you’re pretty”. We really hope it made her night better and she went home with a smile on her face. About a week ago, Trevor drove by an elderly woman moving heavy bags of mulch from her car to her house. She was putting them in a sled and pulling them behind her, but it was clear she was struggling. He pulled over and offered to help, and ended up staying for over a half hour just talking to her. She thanked him and said it gets pretty lonely by herself sometimes, so not only did she receive some extra help with the heavy bags, but she had a friend to talk to. Trevor and I plan to go over there very soon, take her flowers, and play a few board games with her. A more long term act of kindness I have been working on is crocheting scarves to donate to the women’s shelter. For right now, this is the only place I am aware of to take them, but I am going to be looking at more local homeless shelters and non-profit organizations to donate them. After I make enough scarves, I plan to make tie blankets and I hope to donate everything before the winter. Last winter was unbearable so I’m sure anybody could use a little extra warmth. We only plan to continue to do random acts of kindness, but this is what we have so far!! We plan to spread the word about Derek in Madison more than we already have.

Stdney Whitaker and Trevor Mann

Every summer we take our kids to at least one Brewers game. Today, while at the game, our family was approached by a couple who handed us $50 worth of Brewers merchandise or food vouchers. We thought it was a fund raiser at first and were more than happy to pay for the good cause. The couple explained that it was FREE, for us, as a a Random Act of Kindness, in Derek’s name. We were shocked and appreciated the kind gesture. While at the game, I shared Derek’s story with a friend we ran Into, and shared the cash as well. We intend to talk as a family how we should pass this act forward. I will update once we do! Thank you and God bless you all.

Renee Carlson

I have a couple stories to tell and I hope this one at least makes its way back to Disney and the Disney Dream. While on the cruise we learned about pin trading. We were taught the premise of it by a young lady named Catherine from Merchandise who was on her final night of her contract. She explained the whole system and we each purchased lanyards and a bunch of pins. In the conversation she mentioned asking Mickey to help us out on our pin trading journey. Later that evening we received a letter in our stateroom from Catherine along with 4 hidden Mickey pins to help us on our way. Sweet!! Right away Lucas and I headed down to merchandising to try to do an Act for her.

When we arrived there we came with cash, a card and a bracelet to tell the story and thank her. As we explained what we do her enthusiasm dimmed as she explained that she couldn’t take cash or gifts as it was against policy. Instead she told me to take the money and pay it forward in her name to someone else. She did take the bracelet and card and thanked us. Later that night we got another letter from her telling us what a wonderful of a gift we gave her even though she could not accept the monetary part. She received the Act of learning how great it is to receive and give.

Well two days later at The Magic Kingdom we repaid it in her name. I was speaking to a wonderful man and his family from Ecuador. We had a lot of time to share stories. Brandee nudged me and we knew this was the person who should receive Carherines Act. We had purchased an Elsa Barbie doll earlier so we presented it to their little girl. Act passed forward. Thank you Catherine for realizing the true meaning of paying it forward. It was a wonderful gift you shared and we all learned from it.

Steve Lendosky

Today in the mail I received a bottle of PerCoBa from Immuno-Dynamics in Fennimore, WI. I live in Woodward Iowa. I have been using PerCoBa for 16 years to help treat Scleroderma. I believe PerCoBa saved my life and then in the mail I get a bottle of lozenges with a note saying Random Acts of Kindness week in Fennimore. I am touched by your story and sorry for your loss, August 4 is my birthday. I will definitely pass an act of kindness on. Thank You for brightening my day!

Shari Janssen

We were visiting Ole and Lena’s Kaffe Haus in Westby. We received Derek’s card while trying to pay for our ice cream. Thank you! We will also be paying it forward!!

Melinda Benzing

My fiancé and I heard about doit4Derek from my cousin Jodi Needham and wanted to do a RAOK in honor of Derek. We decided to purchase a dozen donuts at this infamous bakery and country store in Vermont and have them distributed to the next 12 people to order them. We were then known as the “kind couple” and it warmed my heart to have brought awareness of doit4derek and put a smile on someone’s face. What a wonderful thing you all have started.

Natalie Errthum

I was animal sitting for a friend who told me to watch out for their dog who started limping just before they left. The next afternoon when I came home from work, the dog was whimpering and was not putting any pressure on the one leg. I felt bad because they do not have the money if it was something serious but I had to take him to the vet. I paid for half the bill without their knowledge. Allie B

I suffer from a severely debilitating chronic illness. I use Percoba Colostrum which dramatically improves my quality of life. I received in the mail a bottle of their product with the note and card attached that I was the recipient of a random act of kindness. I cannot put into words how incredibly touched I was by this gesture. What a wonderful way to honor the memory of a little boy who so inspired such generosity and love. I look forward to passing this on…..in Derek’s name.

Maria Wilson

Just days before our daughter left for college, we received the movie God’s Not Dead at our home in Tomahawk. This was the perfect act of kindness because we all wanted to see the movie but were not able to see it at the theater. It was a special movie to share with our family the evening before we took our daughter back to school. Our family shared lots of prayers for Derek and his entire family and are brainstorming a way that we can share an act of kindness.   The Nycz Family