Runner's High

I’m not much of a runner, but I like to walk. A nice option for giving back to the community is to join a 5k walk or run. And they are everywhere. A quick Google search found me more 5k races than I could count.

After I narrowed it down; there were two races that caught my eye in particular:

1.       Habitat for Humanity. Here is a short description of their goal for the race taken from their website:

“Our annual 5k Walk/Run for Humanity takes place in scenic downtown Beaver. Starting and ending at the Gazebo in Irvine Park on Third Street. Runners are chip timed and ribbons awarded for each age group. All participants registered before September 1st receive a commemorative race day T-shirt and goodie bag. In addition, refreshments, including lunch, are donated by local businesses. This year’s goal it to raise enough money to pay for all of the windows and roofs on 4 houses. That’s $22,000! A single window costs $175 and a roof is $3,000. Register now, set a goal and let’s help provide simple, decent, affordable housing to families in need.”

As found on the website, the race is scheduled for Sept. 22 in Beaver. Check it out for more information pertaining to the race or other volunteer opportunities!

2.      Catie’s Race. Catie is a little girl who is battling pediatric epilepsy. The race is not only in an effort to help provide Catie’s family with money for medical bills, but also to show the community’s support for her in her battle. Check the website's race page for more information on the race or to register. This race is taking place at Brady's Run Park.

Even if you might not have a lot of time or money to donate to causes, if you can sign up and take a few hours out of your weekend to show support and donate a little money to a good cause, you’ve done well. And besides doing good for others, you’re doing good for yourself by getting some exercise! Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

Center for Hope

I signed up for community service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day last year. I didn’t know where I would be placed or what I would be doing until that morning.

The woman in charge of the community service day told me I’d be working at the Center for Hope in Ambridge. I had no clue what it was, but I figured it must be for a good cause.
When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised to see what the Center for Hope was all about. The Center had so much to offer its community members, and all in one place. They had a food bank, clothes closet, Daily Bread Ministry, after school programs and even dog and cat food for low income pet owners! I was really impressed.

This article was written about the day we helped moved the Center for Hope to its new location and gives a little more detail about people behind it and how it works. Below is a picture taken from the article. We were taking everything out of the previous building and moving it to the Center's new location just a few minutes away.

There are plenty of ways to donate your time to this organization, and you should! Volunteer sign-ups are available on the Center for Hope’s website. Simply click on the "volunteer" tab, fill out the short application and wait to hear back from them!

Follow up: Random Acts of Kindness

I never finished my random acts of kindness, but I completed quite a few.  I kept track of them for the first two weeks before I started missing days and forgetting. Some of my favorites are as follows:

1.       In the downtown part of my city, the Meter Maids go home at 5 p.m. That means that people no longer need to put money into the parking meters at that time. Around 4:45, I saw a Meter Maid making her last rounds and noticed the car parked next to me would have received a ticket. I jumped out of my car and put a nickel into the meter. This took less than a minute of my time and prevented someone else from getting an $8 ticket!

2.       I’m not really a dishwashing kind of gal. Give me laundry; have me dust the whole house, vacuum, whatever.  I hate washing dishes. But my mother can’t stand waking up to a messy kitchen. When she fell asleep early one night and didn’t get around to doing the dishes, I sucked it up and did them.

3.      I’m a bartender. I was training a new guy at work. He just worked all day at his current job and was closing up with me, so altogether he had a pretty long day. I was pretty hands-off and let him do most of the work. At the end of the night, trainees aren’t supposed to get any tips. I let him have all of them instead.

The simplest thing can make someone’s day and it’s so easy to do. Looking back on what I kept track of, I can’t help but feel good. It makes me want to start all over again and spread some kindness to new people!

Did you attempt the Acts of Kindness Challenge? If so, what were your favorite(s) or most memorable experiences?