Lifestyle

Be a part of something special and join the nearly 600 Charlestonians dedicting themselves to helping others throughout the Lowcountry

The Kindness Wave – Click Here to Join

Mission:

The Kindness Wave is a group of volunteers bound together with a single and simple goal of spreading smiles by practicing random acts of kindness and being of service to our community by volunteering.

For those of you who are new to the group we post two different types of activities.

#1 our group/volunteer events are posted as WAVE event meetings and for these we ask that you RSVP. Recently, we’ve stepped ‘outside the box’ on these events by adding a Facebook Challenge on-going event, VA hospital visits and drop-off events. These ‘outside the box’ events allow you the flexibility to participate without being stick to a one date – one time event.

Group/volunteer events – this are events involving meeting at a specified location for a purpose (a WAVE). We aim to have a minimum of 5 RIPPLEs for these WAVE events. Our goal is to spread WAVE events around the lowcountry area. If you have volunteer events you want posted or ideas for WAVEs please email Valerie.

Facebook Challenge – if you’re a Facebooker, you have your friends put you to work based on the number of ‘likes’. You complete your volunteering or RIPPLEs throughout the month and provide a summary on the date of the event.

VA hospital visits – these are new events which will be posted on one day of the month. Like the Facebook Challenge, you complete your visit(s) throughout the month during any of the hours posted then provide a comment.

Drop-off Events – some of our events need supplies and drop-off events are utilized to gather the supplies. You obtain the supplies either purchase or do a drive for the items at work. Next contact a drop-off coordinator to arrange for delivery.

#2 Individual RIPPLEs are posted on the message board. We invite all of you to post individual RIPPLEs. In the past one of our RIPPLEs, Gwen, posted one about cleaning out your extra pens. Then during that week if you went out to a restaurant you were to leave a pen behind. Waitresses/waiters always need pens. Her timing was perfect, this just happened to be a week where I had three luncheons with large groups. Naturally the waitress had only a few pens to go around. Gwen’s WAVE to the rescue! I just happened to have at least 20 pens in my purse. Thanks Gwen! The waitress got pens and I got room in my desk drawer.

Another of our RIPPLEs shared this memory. “I will never forget one morning very early I left the house for work only to find that half way to work my car was sputtering, I totally forgot to get gas the previous day and if I did not turn in to the nearest gas station I would be stranded. I searched my purse for my debit card; it was nowhere to be found. Remembering exactly where it was at home and knowing I would not make it back to the house without completely running out of gas and stranding myself I went in to talk to the clerk. I asked him if I left my ID if I could get a few gallons to get me home to get my debit card. The clerk told me that was not possible and after thinking about how I was going to be late for work and stranded at the gas station I wanted to cry. A few moments later I felt a hand on my shoulder, a young man told me to go ahead and fill up that he had overheard my conversation with the clerk and he had paid for the fuel for my car. This young man wanted nothing in return he was simply being kind.”

A kind act is “random” when it is unexpected-done simply out of the will to extend goodness, person to person, without expecting anything in return. Never underestimate the impact of a single act of kindness. It is truly a win/win/win situation. The person you are being kind to benefits through your help. You feel good for having helped someone. And the world is a better place through your kindness.

Join in the “kindness revolution” today and make a positive difference on this planet that we all call “home”. Start a ripple – create a wave – it begins with YOU the RIPPLE.

On earth as it is in Heaven…neighbors helping neighbors.