This world can always use a little extra bit of Kindness, in my opinion, and the Holiday season is a perfect time to spread the cheer. Since I love my neighborhood so much, I decided to spread some cheer around Mar Vista, and I hope to inspire you to do a few random acts of kindness yourself this year!
I have always thought that my dream job would be to help a big Foundation decide how to give away its money, but so far I haven’t had that job. In the meantime, I’ve run a PTA for many years and helped decide how to use the money we raised to help our school – and of course I get to decide how to give my own money away… *ahem*.
Stonyfield Organic Farms wanted to help sponsor the effort this year, so they gave me and 9 other Mom Bloggers from MomsLA $50 each to give away as part of their #Sweetitude program. I used that as seed money and added to it with some of my own. And I went out and gave it away!
I started out at the Laundromat on Grand View and Pacific, handing out quarters to people who were washing their clothes that day. I had gone to bank and had a few $10 rolls of quarters with me, and it may seem small, but I felt like it was a nice little thing to do for someone. People were a little confused at first, but I just explained I was giving away money to help do the wash and that was that.
This morning I hit Yum Yum Donuts on Grand View and Venice, where last year Yahoo! had given me some money to give away as well. Let me tell you – Yum Yum does a brisk business first thing in the morning! I paid for about 25 people in line to get coffee and a donut or two, and it was really nice to see the smiles on their faces as they walked out to get on with their days!
I encourage you to do something, even something small, for someone in our neighborhood – or in any other neighborhood you like! If you’re looking for ideas, you could try buying groceries for the person behind you in line, or paying for holiday package shipping fees at the Post Office, or you can certainly buy coffee and donuts for people – that never gets old!
Here’s a bit more information about what Stonyfield Organic is doing this Holiday season:
This holiday season, Stonyfield is spreading a little natural sweetness to the world – organically…….. to celebrate our newest, 100 calorie, naturally sweetened cup! Our exciting new campaign is called ‘Sweetitude’.
To us, sweetitude means: n. – A naturally sweet attitude. An attitude produced without the use of toxic pesticides, hormones, or chemicals. A pleasant disposition brought about by a non-artificial act of sweetness. (Often brought to you by a cup of Stonyfield).
It can also mean the little thoughtful actions that can make a difference – letting someone go before you in that crazy line at the department store, giving up a close parking spot to an elder, sharing baked goods with your coworkers, etc.
What does sweetitude mean to you? Head to the Sweetitude website, www.sweetitude.com, view our call to action video, and submit what sweetitude is to you in 100 characters or less. For every 1000 entries, we unleash 100 coupons and deliver 100 cups of yogurt to those who need it – nursing homes, homeless shelters, etc – we’re open to all ideas and would love to hear from YOU about places and people that you think need some extra sweetness this season! Plus, one grand prize winner will receive a ski trip to Okemo – in the beautiful mountains of Vermont, and there are plentiful daily giveaways as well.
So, join us in some holiday cheer and sweetness this season – and help us spread it far and wide! We’d love for you to share this with your Twitter followers using the hash tag #sweetitude as well.
Happy Holidays, Mar Vista!
{Full Disclosure: I was given $50 by Stonyfield to give away as part of their #Sweetitude program for the Holidays and was chosen to participate through MomsLA, a website I co-Founded to bring together mom Bloggers from all over Los Angeles and Southern California – #MomsLAHoliday.}
They say they are at capacity for this event and will not be needing volunteers, However, they do still need donations of healthy snacks and beverages. Please contact Marianne Brown to make arrangements (marianne.p.brown @ gmail.com) by Friday at the latest – or just bring your donations to Mark Twain Middle School at around 1pm. Volunteers are meeting at _________
