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As a result of a earlier post titled, The Gift of Gratitude, a challenge has been made by Lisa, AKA the Queen of Everything Money, to take Rachel’s Challenge so the first thing I had to do was see what in the world that is and this is what I found.
Rachel Scott was the first student killed in the Columbine High School Incident. She was known for her belief in the concept that compassion is contagious and her spirit lives on through a foundation created in her honor, www.RachelsChallenge.org.
What exactly is Rachel’s challenge? It is a challenge to create a chain reaction through acts of kindness. Many student groups have taken up this challenge in ways including a food drive, making blankets to warm the homeless, even making a thousand beautiful origami cranes to wish for healing (a Japanese custom) for a young man injured in a car accident.
We all do small acts of kindness and we hope that others pay it forward, however we do not always have the opportunity to see what path our act travels as it inspires others to act. One of the unique ideas found at www.RachelsChallenge.org are the Kindness Cards that are used to track random acts of kindness as they travel from person to person. As each person receives the card, which is given with the act of kindness, it is registered online by the person who receives it. They document what the act of kindness is and the location. That person then gives the card, with an accompanying act of kindness, to someone else who also registers the cards progress online at the website.
These cards are sold to raise funds to present anti-bullying programs in schools across the country. So you might think of this as the ultimate 2-fer-1 of kindness, like a giant kindness coupon.
I find the ability to follow the path of an idea as it passes through many people’s lives strangely appealing. It reminds me in some ways of the idea behind Bookcrossing.com. This is a mark and release project for books left in random public places for people to find, read and enjoy, register online and release once again in a random public place. The real fun is watching your book’s path as it travels the globe passing through and touching people’s’ lives. Well, sharing books is great but sharing random acts of kindness, creating hope and supporting faith is so much better! Imagine how wonderful it will feel when you see that your simple act was the seed that motivated someone to become a real hero in someone else’s life.
To find out more about kindness cards and anti-bullying programs or organizing school based kindness projects visit www.RachelsChallenge.org.
What great things do your acts of kindness lead to?
Familosity 