Blog:  Random Acts of Kindness!  Offer To Work Late!  Balancing life is never easy. Family, work, friends, exercise, school,  chores, and errands all demand our attention. Everyone has days where we wish we
had an extra couple of hours to get everything done. Next time a friend or  co-worker is looking pretty frazzled, offer to help.   Perhaps your co-worker is trying to finish a last minute project and just had  twenty revisions given to her; offer to help her with those revisions, even if  it means staying late. Or maybe you friend needs to pick up his kids from  school, but hasn't had a chance to finish the PowerPoint presentation for your
boss. Offer to come in early the next morning and work on the presentation with  him. If your friend has a family emergency and needs someone to cover her shift  at the last minute, offer to cover for her, even if you've already worked a full week.
Benefits:
You are helping someone in need. Perhaps it is someone you know quite well,  or maybe it is someone who just started a few weeks ago and you haven't had a  chance to spend time with them yet. Either way, offering to help will only bring  you to a closer relationship with those around you.
Step It Up:
Make it known to some of your good friends and co-workers that if they ever  need a hand you will help them out, no questions asked. Perhaps you could stay  late for a week teaching a new program to a co-worker, or tutoring a new  employee on the ways of the office. Help them feel comfortable and supported.  They will work better, and you will, too!
Keep It Simple:
Don't have time to stay late? Then make it easier for your co-workers who are  burning the midnight oil. Offer to run out and grab them so lunch so they can  continue to work uninterrupted. Or order some pizza for them as they prepare to  stay late for the evening.
(taken from:  randomactsofkindness.org)

Blog:  Random Acts Of Kindness!  Make a new friend today:  Introduce yourself to a stranger and strike up a conversation. Or, perhaps  there is someone you've seen occasionally on the bus or in the neighborhood. Ask
them how they're doing.   Make a new friend today!  Whether you are in school, at work, playing a new
sport, or studying at a coffee shop, go out of your way to say hello to someone  new and start a conversation. Volunteer to show someone the ropes at school or  at work.  Get out of your comfort zone and say "hi!"
Benefits:
Everyone knows what it is like to be the new person at school, on the block,  at work, or on the team.  Maybe you are the new person right now.  No  matter which side of the situation you are on, it means a lot to have someone
help you out and take that first step of saying hello.  Reach out today--you  might just make a new friend!
Step It Up:
Make a goal for yourself: talk to one new person everyday this week. If it is  someone you see often on your commute in the morning, pursue a conversation each  time you see them.  Or if it is someone at school sitting by themselves, invite  them to come sit with you. Commit to speaking with one new person everyday for a  week.
Keep It Simple:
This can be a very daunting idea, particularly if you are a shy person.  Try  to commit to speaking with one new person this week.  You could even send  someone an email or simply smile at someone new and see if they start a  conversation. Just be open to meeting someone new!
(taken from:  randomactsofkindness.org)

Blog:  Random Acts Of Kindness!  Mentor an at rick child or teen!  Encouraged people achieve the best; dominated people achieve second best;  neglected people achieve the least." - Anonymous     There are many factors that go into defining a youth as “at-risk” -A teen who  struggles in school or has problems with athority. Children who come from broken  families or low-income households are often more susceptible to drug and alcohol  abuse. Many times all these youth need is an influential adult in their lives,  someone to believe in them and encourage them.
Benefits
It isn’t uncommon for at-risk youth to fight depression and thoughts of  suicide. Oftentimes they end up in gangs or get in trouble with the judicial  system, situations that are very hard to pull themselves out of. That’s where  having a mentor can be very beneficial. If they have someone who holds them  accountable, someone who believes in them, it will be much easier to avoid the  negative forcesin their lives, and work to achieve their dreams.
Step It Up
Become involved with a mentoring program in your community. Maybe you have  experiences that can help you relate to them. Making a difference in a child or  teen's life could change your own life. Help him or her set goals and define the  path necessary to reach them. Or help him or her find a hobby he or she is good  at. Most of all, just be a strong support system for that youth.
Keep It Simple
Look for at-risk warning signs in your own children, and to help them  overcome the stressors that influence them, without drugs or alcohol.
(taken from:  randomactsofkindnes.org)

Blog!  Random Acts Of Kindness:  Pay the tab for the person behind you!  Have you ever experienced kindness from someone you don’t know? Knowing that  someone else noticed you can make your day a thousand times better, especially  if you’re feeling down. Celebrate those around you by doing random acts of  kindness for strangers, just for the sake of making someone else happy. Pay the  tab for someone behind you in line at the grocery store, gas station or the  drive-through. It doesn't have to be costly, just friendly.
Benefits
Sometimes it is the simplest act from a complete stranger that can have the  greatest, lasting impact on a person. When someone realizes that a stranger  noticed them and cared enough to do something special for them, it can brighten  their day and maybe help them to understand their self-worth.
Step It Up
Offer to pay the tab for the person in line behind you at the grocery store  or gas station. You could also pay for the drink of someone behind you at a  coffee shop. If you notice someone who looks like they’re having a bad day, all  the more reason to cheer them up with a random act of kindness!
Keep It Simple
When you notice that someone in line in front of you at a store is short on  money when it comes time for them to pay, offer to chip in a few bucks or  whatever it takes to help them afford their purchase.
(taken from:  randomactsofkindness.org)

Blog!  Random Acts Of Kindness:  Read to a child!   Giving your full attention to children is a simple way to show them they are  loved. Reading together can also be a very relaxing way to bond with a child you  care about.   For families, reading together is a great way to spend quality time with each  other. Reading to your children can also be a way to share positive messages  with them, and to ensure that they are learning your family values and  traditions, in addition to what they already learn at school.
Benefits
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, reading to your children is  important because it “stimulates the development of the brain, language,” and it  can also allow you to strengthen your relationship with them.
Step It Up
Adults can volunteer at a local after school program and read books to the  children who attend. Many children involved with such programs may have parents  who work long hours and don’t have enough time to read to them. Kids can read  their favorite book to a sibling or friend who doesn't know how to read yet. For  kids, this is great way to help others through what they have learned.
Keep It Simple
If you're a parent, make sure you set time aside every night or week to read  a book to your own children.
(taken from:  randomactsofkindnes.org)

Blog:  Random Acts Of Kindness!  Return a shopping cart!  There are many small things we can do in our daily lives that make other  people’s lives easier. An example of this is to serve those who serve us. Instead of leaving your shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot when  you're at the grocery store, make someone's job easier by returning it to where  it belongs. It is a small act that doesn’t take a lot of thought or energy, but  your consideration and respect will be greatly appreciated!
Benefits
It’s the little things that strangers do that can often make us the happiest.  A friendly smile from someone you walk past; a stranger who holds a door open  for you. These are some of the small things that we may not think of when they  happen. But when you look back, the small things are what inspire us to perform  kind acts for others. Maybe you returning your shopping cart will inspire the  person who is benefited by it to do something kind for someone else.
Step It Up
Next time you are at the grocery store or shopping center, return not only  your own shopping cart, but go out of your way to gather other shopping carts  around you and push them back into the store. Or when you see an abandoned cart  in your apartment complex or nearby alley, return it to the nearest grocery  store.
Keep It Simple
After you unload your groceries into your car, return your shopping cart to  the nearest cart rack. This is not only a kind act to the caddy whose job is to  gather the carts, but also to your fellow customers, who won’t have to dodge  carts when they’re trying to park or maneuver around the parking lot.
(taken from:  randomactsofkindness.org)

NEW BLOG!  Random Acts of Kindness! 
Be Delightful,” get McDonald’s reward
Now through the end of May, 2013 McDonald’s wants you to practice being kind.  
McDonald’s Tampa Bay is challenging residents to perform random acts of  kindness as part of a “Be Delightful” Twitter campaign. During the month of May,  participating fans will be rewarded with a gift card for a new Egg White Delight  McMuffin when they tweet @McDTampaBay an act of kindness that includes the tag #BeDelightful.  Each unique random act of kindness a person shares on Twitter – holding the  door open for a stranger, helping a neighbor, letting a car ahead of you in  traffic, etc. – must include a tag with @McDTampaBay and include #BeDelightful. 
An example of a qualifying tweet would be “@McDTampaBay you would be so proud  of me! I rescued a kitten from a tree today #BeDelightful.” The free food offer is redeemable in Tampa Bay only. 
To read the full participant guidelines, visit http://www.mcstate.com.