If you’ve found a candy cane on your windshield, a bag of popcorn taped to a Red Box machine or a bag of change and candy attached to a downtown parking kiosk, you have likely been a lucky recipient of 100 Acts of Kindness. Or it’s just one of the great coincidences of all time, but most likely this was the work of Jessica Fogg Livingston and her family.
The quintet has been going around Concord since the first of December committing random acts of kindness – just because. The plan is to have four family members (Lincoln, 15 months, gets a free pass this year, his mom said) perform one act of kindness every day from Dec. 1 until Christmas. In the end, that will be 100 acts of kindness in all.
So how does one come up with such an idea?
“It just kind of came to us,” Livingston said. “During the month of November, I did 30 days of thanks, so it was kind of like every day you’d talk about something that you’re grateful for. So I thought, what could we do for December?”
It seemed natural to transition from giving thanks in November to giving gifts in December. Livingston said that around Christmastime, some people can get really stressed out between running around shopping and trying to still maintain their everyday lives that they could use a little pick-me-up to recharge the Christmas spirit. That’s where her family comes in.
“It just came to me about the 25 days, and there’s four of us – the baby gets an exemption this year – so we just started doing it,” Livingston said.
In November, Livingston took on the thanks-giving project herself. By December, she wanted to get the whole family involved. And everyone was on board.
“I love it,” said Livingston’s son Alden Hussey, 17. “I think it’s a good way to be a role model to this guy,” he said, holding his enthusiastic baby brother.
“I actually thought it was kind of fun,” said Grace Milliken, 14. “It inspired me to keep going. I’d just love to keep going after the 25th.”
“At first, I was like, okay, what does she have us doing now,” said Livingston’s husband, Paden Livingston. “But once we started doing it, and every day you think of something new to do, it brought us a little closer together as a family.”
The ideas for what to do come from all over. Sometimes the family thinks of things themselves, and sometimes they go to the trusty Google machine. There are all kinds of lists of good deeds out there, Jessica said, and there isn’t one specific site they check more often than any others. But many ideas come up on the spot.
“I remember one instance when I was at work and I bought coffee for the person behind me, and he was so surprised that I would buy him coffee just for, what he thought, no reason,” Paden said. “He turned around and shook my hand, he introduced himself to me, and, you know, it’s a great way to meet new people, by doing a random act of kindness for them.”
Some of the acts they have performed include Grace lending her laptop to someone in need; Alden bringing brownies to the South End Fire Station; leaving candy, change and nice notes on cars; donating to people in need (they put together some toiletry packs to bring to the Homeless Resource Center); and donating clothes to OutFITters and Girls Inc.
Last week I tagged along as everyone went around Main Street conducting the Candy Cane Blitz – the term they use for running around and leaving candy canes on people’s windshields. Okay, maybe there was no running, but definitely walking at a brisk pace. There were also some stops at the parking kiosks, where Jessica taped some change, a candy cane and some kind words.
Just so we’re clear here, the family wants everyone to know that they are not affiliated with the Robin Hooders group in Keene, which has at times caused some controversy by putting money into expired meters just as the parking patrol officer is about to issue a ticket. This family doesn’t actually drop money into the meters – they just leave change right there so whoever is about to park can choose to take it. There is also no political statement being made here, Jessica said. They’re just trying to be nice.
And they hope to inspire you to do the same. The idea is that kindness encourages more kindness, so if there’s a team always out there doing kind things, the good juju should constantly be flowing. And of course there’s nothing better than a steady stream of good juju.
The family has been documenting the deeds on Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #100actsofkindness. There’s no official website or anything – the family is just doing this on their own and choosing to post pictures on their personal sites.
Jessica likes to include a card for Hearts for Kindness with the packages she leaves on cars. Hearts for Kindness is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote community and hope. Really, it’s just an organization that likes to see people do kind things for each other, or as Abraham Lincoln said in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, “be excellent to each other.”
And Honest Abe would be proud of this family, as they have certainly been very excellent to their community lately. They even have a Lincoln! It’s like it was always meant to be.
To share your own story of kindness – whether it’s something you have done or something someone has done for you – head over to facebook.com/hearts4kindness or heartsforkindness.com. And if you see these do-gooders, give them a big, warm thank-you. Spread the kindness!
