Random Acts for Misha

Congratulations to all our Random Acts for Misha participants who have successfully completed the 31 Day challenge! Thank you so much for your efforts for RA4M. You have helped to take over the world with kindness, ensuring that Christmas (and the world) will never be the same! Thank you. 

We wish we could hug each and every one of you so tightly that your eyes bug out and you make little wheezy breathless sounds and your face grows a lovely shade of  cyan. We're currently busy compiling some basic statistics to let you know the exact details of the cumulative difference made by this event. In the meantime, we would love to see your own posts summarizing your entire 31 day journey and how being a RA4M participant affected you.  Please feel free to post them and tag them "random acts for misha" so we can all read your stories!

Below are just a few of the highlights of all the good things you have done as a collective:

Hundreds of dollars of donations have been made to charities including Random Acts and Red Cross (among many, many others).

Minions have cut off their hair and donated it to Locks of Love

Blood has been donated to blood banks

One woman's life was actually saved while she was in cardiac arrest!

Homeless people have received assistance in many forms, including monetary donations, warm things to wear, coffee, food, and an umbrella.

A man and his child who were stranded roadside were given assistance in a crisis situation.

A woman and child were helped out of a crisis situation.

A family who lost their home in a fire is on their way to receiving financial and emotional support.

A child with a life-threatening illness has received help in trying to achieve his dream of breaking a Guinness world record (for the most Christmas cards received, in case you should wonder.)

Minions have bought strangers enough cups of free coffee to give even GISHBOT the jitters.

Bus fares have been purchased and jackets, blankets, and umbrellas surrendered to strangers in times of need.

Many, many meals have been purchased for random strangers.

One minion went on a gift card giving spree, buying and donating gift cards to random people in a store just days before Christmas.

Concerts were staged at nursing homes.

Free tutoring has been given to students who needed help or were just thirsty to learn new skills

Christmas trees were bought and delivered to families who couldn't afford them this year.

Toys, money, food and clothes have been donated to homeless shelters and food banks.

Snow has been shoveled, leaves raked, and holiday lights put up for elderly or infirm people.

Anonymous messages of kindness have been bestowed upon so many people who needed a kind word and a little support.

Young people have stood up for strangers and raised their voices against bullying.

Firefighters, postal carriers and police have received appreciation gift baskets and thank you notes.

Countless chores have been performed to help roommates or family members.

Minions have volunteered at animal shelters and hospitals.

Schwag was offered as an incentive to get more people participating in random acts of kindness.

The world has become a kinder and more beautiful place through kindness, compassion, and conscientious random acts too numerous to list.

The list goes on and on; the above is only a small drop in the bucket of all the good that you've brought into the world this holiday season. You have a lot to be proud of. You've proven beyond all doubt what we all knew: as a collective, minions are an unstoppable force of good. We're so honored that you have chosen to participate in this event and hope that it inspires you to make random acts of kindness a daily habit.  

We will be posting again in coming days with more information and exciting extras that are sure to thrill and delight, but in the interim, we would like to take this opportunity to offer you another challenge- a bonus week of Random Acts for Misha! We challenge you to commit one random act of kindness a day until New Year's Eve.  That's only a few days away.  For veterans like yourselves, this should be a cakewalk. Please join us!

As an extra thank you, we offer you this fancy-shmancy Digital Badge of Honor. As you are all now certified Random Acts of Kindness Champions, please feel free to use it as a profile image, or print it and wear it as a t-shirt, a button, or as the basis of your haute couture garments on Oscar night. When people ask you who you're wearing, you can proudly state that the only thing you wear is Random Kindness-- and you wear it well!

Those of you who are still working on your 31 days, please, please don't give up!  No matter where you are on this journey, the world is in need of your acts of kindness. We're here to support you and would love to read your stories of kind acts here, on Twitter at hashtag #randomactsformisha, or on our Facebook event page.  

Once again, and always, from the bottom of our spleens we thank you for taking part in this challenge and making the world a better place through your kind acts.  You are all our favorite sort of people, and we're honored to have shared this experience with you.

Happy Holidays, comrades!

For those of you who have been participating since day 1, today is a day to celebrate your 31st day of Random Acts of Kindness!  For 31 days, you've been enhancing the world with your kind and compassionate acts.  We are awestruck by your awesomeness and applaud you for all your heartwarming efforts. Your acts have touched and inspired us all. You have proven beyond all doubt that you understand what it truly means to be a minion... that as a collective, we  stand together to change the world through creativity and kindness. We're so very honored that you chose to dedicate yourself to this effort, and are so moved by the difference you have all made. No matter where you are in this journey, each of you have made a positive contribution to take over the world through your compassionate acts.  You have made the world a better place. Thank you so very, very much.

If you're still in progress on your 31 Days, or even if you've hit your pledged 31 Days, please don't stop!  After all, they say it only takes 30 days to make something a habit. We normally question anything "they" say, but in this case we agree with "them."  Besides, it'd probably feel weird and wrong to not be doing daily random acts of kindness now, right? Right! So, what do you say we keep this party rockin' until New Year's Eve with a bonus week of daily random acts of kindness? 

On a personal note, we hope you are having the very happiest of holidays, and that you have the opportunity to share this time with the people closest to your heart. Please know that you are in our hearts and thoughts, and we at RA4M wish you a year full of magic, joy, and above all, kindness.

Congratulations!

For those who have been with us since the beginning, we are approaching the last days of the initial Random Acts of Misha 31 Day Challenge.  The kindness you have shown toward others has been overwhelming! Thank you so much for continuing to support this effort- you are what it's all about, so please don't stop now!

These last few days before Christmas can be a stressful time for many. But we know you see things differently--  you see them as days filled with extra opportunities for random kindness.  We hope you'll take full advantage of this fabulous chance to make the days before Christmas brighter for the world through your random acts. Please continue to share what you are doing here with us, and on Twitter and Facebook as well!  We've seen a dip in participation over the last few days (it's okay, we know how busy you are)  so it would be really incredible to see a show of force over the next few days.

Don't despair if you're not yet near completing your 31 Days of Random Acts for Misha-- please keep up the great work!  We appreciate your dedication and will continue on this initiative as long as you do, so that we can all bring as much random kindness into the world as possible, ensuring that Christmas - and the world- will never be the same!

A special note:

This entire project was based on the idea that as a collective, this fandom and minions are an unstoppable force of good.  You're proving that every day.  When acting as a collective, you have done so much to take over the world with  kindness, compassion and creativity. We applaud you all and are so very grateful to those of you who continue to participate.  We'll be posting again in the coming days, but just wanted to take the moment to say an extra thank you to all of you, from the very bottom of our hearts and souls. Thank you.

On another note:

There are still a few individuals who choose to hide beneath the veil of anonymity to try to spread venom. Worse, they are trying to hurt some of our RA4M participants-- good people who are out there promoting random kindness in ways that make our hearts soar with pride.  To those vermicious knids, and you know who you are, we offer this note of gentle encouragement and this, our random act of kindness just for you:

We forgive you. 

We know that you act the way you do because something in you is suffering, and you are trying to express your suffering by spilling it out into the world. But know this: the darkness you're espousing can never extinguish the light of the kindness that our RA4M participants create. You are only pissing into the wind karmically with your actions, and frankly, you're better than that. So we offer you this gift: today is your day to change. Embrace the good within yourself -- we know you have it in you -- and reach out in positive ways toward others. You've been moldering for far too long in the darkness, anon.  

You have been given the gift of this day and the knowledge of what is the right thing to do.  Act on it. If you've been being unkind to someone, perhaps even bullying them? Apologize and be kind. If you have been holding onto anger? Today's your lucky day... today is the day to finally  let it go.  Make a fresh start. If you've ever wanted to start promoting good actively with random acts of kindness, but you just haven't started? There is no time like the present-- join us! It could change your life. And maybe, just maybe, you'll plant a seed of kindness that will grow within yourself. Maybe not only Christmas, but you yourself will never be the same... in the best possible ways. 

Trust us.  You can do this. We've got your back. This is our random act of kindness for you.

And no matter what you choose, know this: we are stronger than you. You cannot hurt our comrades. We stand together, unified in kindness... and we're taking over the world. 

For those who started with us on Day One of the initial RA4M challenge, the finish line is almost in sight. We have 5 days left in our initial 31 Days of Random Acts for Misha kindness challenge (although we're having so much fun, there's really no reason to stop there, is there?) We're amazed and delighted at the time you all put into this event, and are absolutely flabbergasted by all of your kind and collective efforts. Minions are an unstoppable force of good!

And for our final week, we pose this very special challenge to you:

"Operation Shock! and Awww..."

 Between now and Christmas Day, we challenge you to at least one random act that is something absolutely unexpected. Do something that's not just kind but bizarre or shockingly random. Get kooky; be zany! Make some mayhem and cause a positive commotion with a heartwarming flourish. After all, it's the holiday season-- what better time to have some fun? If those 2012 "Mayan Apocalypse" doomsayers have anything right (and we're not claiming that we think they do), you'll be spending that "last day" creating a burst of positive energy, creativity, art and kindness.  What better way to spend a "last day on earth" -- or even just your next day on earth-- than being creative, random, and kind?

Go wild and show us what you've really got.  Then, please tag your post with "Random Acts for Misha" and "Operation Shock and Awww" to make sure we see just what sort of madcap kindness capers you enact on this unsuspecting planet in the next five days.  Post about it on Twitter tagged with "#randomactsformisha", and on our Facebook event page as well!  Expose your puckish whims to an unsuspecting globe. Create a little whimsy and magic to brighten the world around you, and Christmas will truly never be the same!

Holiday Greetings to one and all!

Thank you so much for continuing your work to bring kindness and compassion into the world.  Your random acts are really helping to brighten the world. Keep up the great work!

Speaking of making a difference, we've got a special bulletin for you. Please take a moment to read the following important note from our comrade in kindness, happiness-is-simplicity:

Hello friends! 

So I had been thinking for a while about what other random acts of kindness I could do, and then one threw itself in my face. A very good friend of mine just lost his home in a fire earlier this week. He, his wife, and his two children (ages 8 and 3) are now homeless for the holidays.

Being part of the best fandom in the history of ever, my mind immediately thought of my SPNFamily and how much good we have done and continue to do for the world. Jim Michaels, the co-executive producer of Supernatural, retweeted for me and we are off to a solid start, with $315 in two days. The social media director for Random Acts encouraged me to submit a proposal through them as well. The outpouring has been tremendous, but I have to wait for them to get back to me through RA, and this family needs a home as soon as possible. 

If you could donate, that would be amazing. But even if you can’t, someone who follows you might be able to. Or someone who follows them. Perform a random act of kindness, and donate or reblog to get this family a place to call home for Christmas. 

I love you all, happy holidays!

Undoubtedly Christmas will never be the same for this family, but we pose this special challenge you: let's see if minions everywhere can help change the world for this family, turning this from "the Christmas we lost so much in the fire" into "the Christmas where we lost so much in the fire, but were given so much support thanks to the generous spirit of others."  

Please help them if you can.  If you cannot donate anything to help, please at least take a moment of your time to retweet or reblog this post so that others who are able to help will learn of their situation.  Your kindness and support may make all the difference to two young children and their parents this holiday season. Let's take this family's crisis and kick it in the ass! Please help if you can and spread the word so others may as well!

As always, our heartfelt gratitude goes out to each and every one of you.Thank you so much for all that you are doing, and please keep up your excellent work.  We have such an appreciation for all your daily efforts to make  things better and kinder. The impact you make truly is changing the world... You guys are better than sweet karmalade on hot buttered toes.

Our hearts are with the community of Newtown, CT, today--  and especially with those directly affected, and the friends and loved ones of of those taken too soon.    There are no adequate words to convey our heartfelt sorrow for your loss.  Please know that our thoughts are with you. 

A special note to all our kind minions and comrades reading this:

First: If you can, please do an extra random act of kindness for a child in crisis or in need today, or for a parent-- or both. The world could use more of this type of kindness in action. Especially today.

Then, please tell everyone you care about just how much they mean to you, and apply vigorous hugs to those who would appreciate them. Life is too short to miss any opportunity to communicate love and appreciation for one another.

And finally, our special note to you: Thank you so much for helping to bring some extra kindness and compassion into a world where too much pain and darkness exists. We appreciate all that you do each day more than we can possibly say, especially all that you have done as a collective over the last 21 days to make this world kinder. Please don't stop now-- and if you haven't yet started, please take action with random acts of kindness today!  Remember, the world is full of more people like you-- the compassionate, the bringers of light-- than it is of darkness or corruption. The darkness may get more press... but we are far stronger and more powerful. As a collective, we are unstoppable. So stand up.  Raise your voice and take action for kindness.  The world needs you today.

Greetings, comrades!

Today is Random Acts of Misha Day 20!  Can you believe we've made it this far?  Your acts of kindness are spanning the globe, spreading a plague of compassion and goodwill across the lands.  Congratulations on all your efforts!

Today is a very special day.  It's 12/12/12 according to the Western calendar.  Do you know what this means? 

It means, my friends and allies in kindness and randomness, that today, when divided by (3x4) as one must, is 1/1/1... which makes it officially "1-day."  Think about all the things you've always said you'd do "1 day"... well, this is it!  Today is the day!

12/12/12, and 1-day... In honor of such an illustrious date, we at Random Acts for Misha have a special challenge for you today. We Duodecuple Dog Dare you to go out into the world today and accomplish the often rumored, always admired, but almost never seen, the one, the only, the Spectacular Spectacular: TWELVE UNIQUE ACTS OF RANDOM KINDNESS in one day. 

CAN YOU DO IT?  In a world where random kindness has become second nature to you, in a time where you've already completed at least 20 daily random acts of kindness flawlessly, we're confident that if anyone can do it, you can.  Some people would think that it was too hard, but not you. We know you possess the strength of character and tenacity to pull this off!

This is "1-day"...  For many, this will be the last time we live to see the calendar read as a perfect triple repetition of a singular number.  So grab this once in a lifetime opportunity to generate some global warming of the good kind and attempt the Doudecuple Dog Dare today.  If you accomplish this feat (and we have no doubt that you will), please share it with us and tag it on Tumblr with "random acts for Misha" and "Duodecuple Dog Dare" and note it on Twitter with #randomactsformisha and #RA4MDDD so we can fawn appropriately over you and your mighty world dominating Random Acts of Kindness skills!  

Thank you for all that you do...  We're excited to see which of you are courageous enough, kind enough, and creative enough to astonish us with the outrageous Duodecuple Dog Dare!

Congratulations to all of you on 18 fabulous days of Random Acts for Misha!

Your behavior continues to shock and awe us as you take the world by storm with random acts of kindness during our 31 day adventure together. Thank you so much to all who continue to participate!  You exemplify what it truly means to be a 'minion', and are demonstrating on a daily basis what an impact we can make when we channel our collective energy into positive acts.  Well done!

Please, keep up the good work. We're so close to our goal, but we really need your help, especially as the holiday season gets busier and participation has therefore slowed. Now is the time for action, comrades! For those of you who have gotten busy or off track somehow, please make today the day that you take this challenge to heart again and perform a random act of kindness for someone. It really is incredibly easy to find opportunities to perform random acts of kindness, and the good you put into the world makes an incredible difference.  Please encourage your friends and family to join us, and reblog on Tumblr, retweet, or share our event on Facebook to spread the word!

Maybe you just feel a little stuck. What can you do to spread random kindness, you ask? Never fear, we can help you!  Here's a really simple idea from the Random Acts 12 Random Acts event to kickstart you back into action (or get you started if you're just joining in on the fun):

"Day Four of The 12 Random Acts of Kindness is here, and this one’s so easy, everyone can participate: Smile at people. Family members, friends, coworkers, and complete strangers – even if you’re grouchy. It takes less effort to smile than it does to frown, and you’re almost guaranteed to get a positive reaction from a grin.

 Sharing your optimism and good attitude with others is just that simple. Completely fabricated (but still entirely true) statistical evidence says that 96.72 percent of smiles are contagious, so get out there and brighten everyone’s day with your gorgeous grin!"

Why not stretch your lips wide and expose your pearly dents to a random person to brighten their day today? That's the easiest thing in the world that you can do to spread kindness, and it costs you nothing!  Of course, you could smile at people while holding open a door for them, or letting them go ahead of you in a busy store's queue, or while buying their morning coffee or while committing a multitude of other random acts of kindness. We encourage this! But even a simple smile at another person creates a simple connection of kindness and helps generate a little extra warmth.  

Congratulations!

Random Acts for Misha has passed its two week anniversary! Way to go!

We're over halfway to our goal of 31 days of Random Acts for Misha.  For the past two weeks, you have acted as a catalyst for positive change, helping to increase the global kindness quotient and stimulating others to do the same.  I'm humbled and moved by your daily efforts to bring random kindness into the world. Your efforts to take positive action every day through random acts of kindness are truly changing the world for the better. Thank you, and please don't stop now!

The holiday season is upon us, bringing comfort, joy, and copious amounts of shiny ornamentation to many around the globe. The season also can bring new stressors including scheduling challenges, the stress of untangling those $#*@)#$ strings of tiny lights, and extra financial pressure to many lives... to say nothing of the stress that the holidays can put upon those those who are struggling in daily life already. At a time that is often extra stressful and often lonely for many people, and in these times of true need for many, random acts of kindness are needed more than ever.  The world needs your help!

The hustle and bustle of the holidays might make some people feel they just don't have time to fit in an extra Random Act of kindness, but not you!  We know you. You're the type of quality individual that sees the holiday season as a time rich with extra opportunities to perpetuate random acts of kindness.  You seize those chances to make the world a better, kinder, more creative place every day.  We applaud your fortitude and your spirit, and encourage you to perpetuate two random acts of kindness today, instead of just one.   We know you can do it!

Speaking of the holiday season: Looking for a way to get your holiday shopping done and still manage to find creative ways to do random acts of kindness? Check this out, courtesy the Random Acts 12 Days of Kindness event:

"Here’s a simple way to make holiday (or everyday!) shopping much more rewarding: make a charitable gift one of your purchases. Make the most of your bargain-hunting savvy and snag some warm sweaters or scarves for a homeless shelter in your area, or scoop up some toys or colorful school supplies for a children’s charity. Donations like these are greatly needed and much appreciated. Turn the hassle of holiday shopping into a gratifying experience by making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate."

We think that's a great idea to help generate random kindness for people who really need it in your community. Please consider this Random Act of Kindness as one you'll attempt, to help those who need it most this season!

As we enter into the third week of Random Acts for Misha, I ask you to please continue your efforts and encourage others around you to join in as well.  We need all the participants we can possibly get to make sure that we're making a consistent global impact.  You alone can make a difference, but imagine the difference you and your closest friends and family can make together! Please invite them to join us on Tumblr, Twitter or Facebook today. Nothing brightens the spirits like world domination-- invite a friend or loved one to conquer the world with you today!

Once again, thank you for participating and encouraging others to do so as well. Your efforts are overwhelming, my heart is full of gratitude toward each and every one of you for your participation. I look forward to seeing what you do in this third week of our challenge.

 Thank you.

This was recently brought to our attention:

jackhawksmoor:

So, I’m sending some Christmas cards to a little kid named Dalton

(I posted about his story already, but here’s a link again)

http://bandboysonly.tumblr.com/post/37092692459/in-salyersville-kentucky-there-is-currently-a

(got some stickers, too…all kids like stickers, right?)

Clicking on the picture will take you to the Facebook page for this.

From what we gather, Dalton's a 9 year old child living with Cystic Fibrosis. He's recently been getting sicker, according to his Facebook page.  His wish is to win a Guinness world record for receiving the most holiday cards (current record: 35,000!).

What's that, you say? He's working on a Guinness World Record?

Well, Dalton, you sound like a kid after our own hearts. After all, many minions- and every GISHWHESean- know the value of your goal, and can recall the feeling of profound bliss that can comes from succeeding in breaking a world record.  Making such a superlative life event a Christmas reality for a sick child sounds like a great idea for a Random Act for Misha!

If you'd like to help Dalton to reach his goal, check out the Facebook page and send a card (or 100) to his address as listed on the Facebook page.  Please repost this, tweet it, or do whatever you can to signal boost it as much as you can, so we can make sure this reaches as many people as possible and gets Dalton the 35,000+ cards he needs.  

Who knows? Maybe the card you send will be the one that gets him his world record.  Where else are you going to get the chance to not only help someone break yet another Guinness World record, but to actually make a wish come true for a sick child-- all for the cost of a holiday card and postage? What an incredible opportunity! Please, help out if you can, and please spread the word!

Congratulations on a successful 12 Days of Random Acts for Misha! 

We're rounding the corner toward the two week mark tomorrow- it hardly seems possible.  I feel like we've barely begun, and yet it seems like we've known each other forever!

You guys are doing so much great work.  The Twitter and Tumblr tags are a daily reminder of how much good you're putting into the world, through your kind and creative spirits. I can't begin to thank you enough for your generosity and conscientious efforts to keep this going.  You are amazing human beings and I'm honored to get to read of your exploits.

But we can do more, can't we?  Of course we can.  As minions, this daily act of random kindness is something that is profoundly easy most of the time-- some of you aren't even breaking a sweat!

So let's up the ante. We already have fabulous Double Dog Dare and the elusive Triple Dog Dare challenges, which a few brave souls have taken on.  As we approach the halfway point in the Random Acts for Misha challenge, I put forward these challenges:

From now until Christmas, I challenge you to recruit as many people as possible into taking action with Random Acts for Misha. We need to get bigger if we're going to take over the world! Invite your friends to the Facebook event.  Spread the word on Twitter, and encourage anyone you know or love or even sort of like to retweet about our event, too. Let's get it trending! Post about us on Tumblr, and reblog about your efforts as much as possible. Tell everyone about the exciting things you're doing and encourage them to join us in our quest to make the world better through kindness in action! 

Second- let's have a little fun: 

Over the coming week, I challenge you all to do at least one extra random act that is in some way holiday inspired, creative, and fun. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Get a couple of friends together and go spontaneously caroling in an unusual location like busy mall or a park.  

Shovel snow off a neighbor's walkway, and build them a snowman while you're at it.

Deliver mini candy canes to people working in under-appreciated jobs.

Bring paper and pencils to a place where people have to wait and are often bored (a doctor's waiting room, your local department of motor vehicles, bank lobby-- you get the idea) and encourage adults and children alike to write a holiday gratitude list or "letter to Santa". (To add to the fun, get them do it in crayon.)

Set up a free gift wrapping station at your local mall. 

Bake some holiday treats and share them with those neighbors you've always meant to introduce yourself to, but never have.

Bring holiday treats to your local fire station, police station, or an emergency room for the staff to enjoy.

Make holiday cards and write thank you notes in them. Deliver them to people you often forget to thank, but who make a difference in the world. 

Start a ding-dong ditch Secret Santa in your neighborhood or at your office or school (leave a small present with an anonymous note encouraging them to do the same to a random neighbor or classmate/officemate.)

Volunteer for holiday-themed entertainment at a local nursing home, children's hospital or homeless shelter.

Host a holiday movie and games day for your friend's children, so the parents can go take care of their holiday errands without the kids in tow.

Let that stressed patron behind you check out first when out holiday shopping. 

Make holiday cards and give them out at your local senior center or nursing home. While you're there, take the time to talk to the people you meet about their holiday memories. We bet you'll hear some amazing tales!

We could go on, but you get the idea. We're sure you have even more ideas of your own.

We know the holidays can be busy and stressful, but that's when it's even more important to add a little extra kindness into the world.  Nothing boosts the spirits like world domination, so please- keep on conquering the world through your kind, creative, generous random acts.

Please remember that no kind act is too small, and keep up the great work. You're changing the world!  

Thank you!