Post #6-Kindness during Shutdown

Hello everyone,

In my last post, I discussed a story in which an officer helped a young man in need, just before his final moments.  This week, I am going to tell you about a local business that is trying to keep the kindness coming during this awful government shutdown.  Less than two blocks from the capital building in Washington, D.C., a local Starbucks is offering cash donations to furloughed federal workers.  Since the times are hard and the money is not coming in, workers are allowed to take as much as they need.  Civilians are also being encouraged to refill the bin.  This act of kindness from a local business is giving an opportunity for everyone to be kind.  Also, this has inspired many other local businesses to do similar things.  Local fitness company Town Sports is offering free access to their facilities.  Many bars and restaurants in the area are offing discounts as well.  Even though the times can get rough, a person can always find time to assist someone else in need.  I hope you enjoyed reading.  Be Safe and Be Kind.

Dallas Hathaway

Post #5-A Little Kindness can Travel Far

Hello all,

My last post discussed a team of engineers who helped a young man gain his independence.  Today, I am going to be discussing an event that happened not so long ago.  Last year, shortly after returning from a tour in Afghanistan, San Diego Police Officer Jeremy Henwood stopped at a local McDonald’s to grab some lunch.  While in line, Mr. Henwood noticed a young man standing in line behind him.  The boy proceed to ask the officer if he could have an extra dime in order to purchase cookies.  Officer Henwood then offered to by the young man some cookies so that he didn’t have to pay for them.  While waiting for the order, Officer Henwood asked the young man what he wanted to be when grew up.  The boy informed the officer that he wanted to be a professional basketball player.  Officer Henwood told the boy that it would take a lot of work to become a basketball player, and to make sure he tried as hard as he could to achieve his dreams.  Moments later, Officer Henwood received his lunch and walked  out the door.  Little did he know, the conversation he had with the young boy was going to be his last.  After sitting down in his patrol car to eat his lunch, Officer Henwood was gunned down and killed.  This final act of kindness Officer Henwood committed on his final day of life has motivated the young man to be all that he could be.  Whether you decide to help someone cross the street, or buy them cookies, no act of kindness will ever go unnoticed.  I hope you enjoyed reading.  Have a nice weekend everyone!

Dallas Hathaway

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Post #4-Kindness with Independence

Hello everyone,

Today, I found a wonderful story while searching the web that I thought I would share with you.  A team of Rice University engineering students won their George R. Brown School of Engineering Design and Showcase Competition last April for their design that assisted a young man gain his freedom back.  The students came across a young man with a rare disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, which makes a person’s bones extremely brittle.  The young man uses a power wheelchair, and he often times has trouble grabbing for items that are not in his reach.  This team of engineers decided to make it their mission to help the young man gain independence.  They called it the R-ARM, a robotic arm which attaches to the back of his power chair.  The arm is operated by a simple game controller which allows the young man to grab just about anything with a touch of a button.  The students are glad they could help the young man, and in the future they hope to make improvements to the device over the years.  Eventually, the group wants to start a business plan and begin marketing the product.  I am glad to see that there is technology out there which provides a great deal of assistance.  This story is very personal to me because I have a disability.  At times in my life, I have struggled to gain my independence, but with the use of technology I am now able to be fully independent.  Thanks to a group of engineering students, a young man’s life will never be the same again.  Well, that’s all for now folks.  Stay kind and kindness will return!

Dallas Hathaway

Post #3-Celebrity Kindness

Hello all,

Last week I decided to begin my blog with a recent personal experience. This week I think it would be appropriate to discuss an act of kindness committed by celebrity. Aaron Paul, star of AMC’s Emmy winning drama series ‘Breaking Bad’ is reaching out to fans in order to raise money for the Kind Campaign. The Kind Campaign’s Mission statement is as follows: the “Kind Campaign is an internationally recognized movement, documentary and school program based upon the powerful belief in KINDness that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl-against-girl “crime.” As an incentive to donate to the Kind Campaign, Aaron Paul and other stars are offering the second place winner a chance to win a trip for two to attend the series finale screening. The grand prize winner and a guess will be personally picked up by Aaron Paul himself at the airport to watch the finale with the stars of the show. The original goal of Paul was to raise a total of $750,000, but as of last night (Wednesday) they were very close to raising $1.5 Million for the Kind Campaign. I see this as a major accomplishment for the cast of ‘Breaking Bad,’ and I would like to thank each of the cast members and all of the fans of the show for their support of the Kind Campaign, you all are truly amazing. Well, that’s all for now folks. Until next time, keep spreading kindness and kindness will spread to you. Have a great day!

Dallas Hathaway

Post #2-Let's begin with a Personal Experience

Hello All,

Since hearing stories about kindness can make everyone's day a little better, I thought I would start by sharing my most recent personal experience with you.  Following the Summer Session of classes at Washburn University in 2013, my girlfriend and I decided to go out to eat as a celebration.  It was a nice day out so we decided to go to On the Border Mexican Restaurant.  After enjoying our meal, the next step was paying for it.  Our waitress came over and informed us that someone else had already paid for our meal.  At this point I was in complete shock that someone had been so kind to us.  The waitress then proceeded to give me a sealed envelope.  The waitress began smiling.  Inside the envelope was a note which said "best wishes, and may God bless you."  Also included was a $100 gift card to return to the restaurant.  At this point I was in disbelief.  This was the kindest thing that I had ever witnessed, and we knew that we had to pay the kindness forward, and to this day I do not know who that kind person is.  In order to pay it forward, we decided to take out some very important people in our lives out to dinner with the card.  This will be a day that I will never ever forget.  I hope that someday the person who committed this act of kindness will read this post and know how thankful I am for their graciousness.  That day was the very thing that inspired me to begin writing this blog.  I hope that you enjoyed the story, and that it inspires you to commit similar acts.  Until next time, keep the kind acts coming!

Dallas Hathaway

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Post #1 - Kindness is Key!

Hello everyone!

Kind words and stories can make anyone's day just a little better, brighter, and happier.  While keeping this in mind, I thought it would be nice to compile a list of stories, videos, blogs, and news clips which show acts of Kindness In America.  All throughout my life, people have been kind to me.  Therefore, I thought it would be nice to share other acts of kindness which are happening all throughout the country.

By sharing these stories with you, it is my hope that together we can help spread this kindness to create even more stories for others to share.  Throughout the course of this blog, you will see how Kindness In America can truly make a difference!  That's all for now folks!

Have a wonderful weekend, and keep on caring!

Dallas Hathaway