3 december, 2004

The contest is over and I want to sincerely thank all of you who participated. First, I must tell you, I appreciate my fans so much! So many of you did so many wonderful things, you just "got it" and embraced this concept and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that. I wish you all could have been winners of the "stuff," but the truth is, everyone wins in this case, the people that give and the people that receive, and I applaud all of you and your selfless acts of kindness. The one thing that you told me over and over was that you felt like you were a winner anyway, just by what you got back from doing the things that you did and how the contest made you just want to step things up and go the extra bit and it made you feel tremendous. That is inspirational and humbling for me and I thank you. . .all. You saw over and over how contagious kindness is and how people passed it on and some of you wrote about the acts of kindness that were done for you as well.

This was so very difficult to choose because you are all winners to me and to the people you passed it on to. These are the people that I chose to receive the prizes listed below and a few runners up that I chose as well.

Sofia from England, Joey from Louisiana, Dee from California, Tiffany from Ohio, Tia from Illinois, Shelby and Cindy from Tennessee, Tara from North Carolina, Anna from Pennsylvania, Jennifer from New Jersey.

and these are the 75 acts of kindness that these 10 people did and wrote in to us about, in no particular order. We hope they will give you some new ideas and that you will continue to practice kindness acts in your life, teach others to pass it on, as that is reward unto itself. I really loved that so many young kids participated and wrote us or someone wrote to tell us how proud they were of them. They once again prove that the youth of the world are kind and loving souls, to be cherished and nurtured as they will pass on what they have learned, learning and teaching as they go. They are our future and the architects of the journey that we will all benefit from. I am happy that this inspired families to work together and adults to work with children. Thank you again for participating and for sharing what you did with all of us. I know that when you read these, it will warm your hearts as well.

I celebrate each and every one of you and the many blessings that you continue to bestow upon others . . . Charlie

i am 11 years old. what i do for kindess is everyday i try to do something nice like in a grocery store open the door for people. i even put gas in old people car at gas station. i live with my grandparnets and my grandfather is blind. so everyday i read him the sports page in the paper because he loves the braves.i took him walking and i help him get his bath water. i also sit and watch tv with him and explain the different things on tv. my neigbor is very old, so i go and feed her cats and get her newspaper and mail. i think everyone sure do just one thing nice for someone a day, it would be a great world if we did.

My mom has always wanted an updated family picture. But, as the economy is down and our money situation is hard right now, I decided to see if I could help out. I can draw pretty decent so I decided to draw our family. It took me over 45hrs. to complete but I think in the end it came out good and she really appreciated it. I'm not sure if it will come out and the scanner messed with some of the shadowing and coloring but this is what I drew for her. I'm on the right under my Dad. click here to see this beautiful drawing My Mom had the biggest smile on her face when she saw it. I originally did it for her but in the end, I ended up being the one with the blessing. Seeing her face when she opened it made it all worth it. :)

I go to school. There's this girl. Her name is Essance. She has a problem. Everone laughs at her. I've known her ervery since 3rd grade. Everyone makes fun of her. She can't speak clearly and she goes to a special class. People treat her wrong. One day at recess she walked up to me and said hi. Then she asked me could she hang out with me and my friends so I said sure she could. On weekends I'd help her. I also helped her with her work. Like a tutor. She thought I was so nice. I did everything I could. So at the end of school she got her report card. It was very good. So good she skipped the 6th and now she's going to go to 7th. Everyone thought what I did was very good. Now, when I'm in stores or the mall, I put money to help people like her. I thought I really did a good job. I will continue to do it.

Yesterday, a man came into the store where I work. He told me that he didn't have any money and that he has three kids at home with nothing to eat. I told him to get whatever groceries he needed and I paid for them.

Shelby is my 7 year old daughter. She donated her allowance and her tooth fairy money to our local police department. The money is to be used to help buy bullet proof and stab proof vests for the police dogs.

It is back to school time in Tennessee. When I went to buy my daughter's school supplies I bought extra. I gave them to her teacher to give to the kids that might not be able to afford them.

A local non-profit organization offered me a rare opportunity to create and direct two weekly theatre workshops over the summer. The workshop began with eighteen students interested in participating, but many lacked the finances to pay the enrollment fee. As a result my employer (Angie Carter) and myself offered our paychecks to compensate the children’s expenses. We also worked the community circuit in efforts to reach beyond the possibility of a workshop and make it a definite reality for the children. Despite the threats of termination, forty-two students between the ages of five and twelve were introduced to theatre through our workshop because the financial surplus and increasing popularity within the community. Although the workshop was created to teach children, I rather think that I learned as much as they did. College provided plenty of book knowledge and experience needed to maintain civility with my peers and professors. However, it was not until I began this workshop that I realized the world does not revolve around me. I learned the world does not owe me anything other than what I offer it. More importantly, the kids taught me that we often learn through mimicry. Children need great role models to mimic and to encourage them to be proud of their individuality. click on this link to see photos workshop photos

My neighbors were out of town visiting an ill relative. So while they were gone I mowed their yard and took care of their dog.

Everyone at my workplace was having a really bad week. Nothing seemed to be going right. On Friday I bought everyone lunch including homemade pie for dessert. We all sat down together and had a great time. It helped relieve some of the stress from earlier in the week.

I have written to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asking how I can help develop a program to get non-violent offenders and juvenile delinquents out of prison and into the animal shelter system in California. This volunteer army would help clean and redecorate the shelters and help the system find rightful owners and new adoptive families much more quickly for lost and abandoned pets rather than the idiocy of euthanizing healthy, loving animals.

My sister has been looking for a full-time permanent administrative assistant job for quite some time and is doing temp work in the meantime. I search the newspapers and websites and send her at least one new job lead a day to keep her spirits up and encourage her to keep on pitching' until the right opportunity presents itself.

I saw an Associated Press Story on the Internet that actor Martin Milner's daughter badly needs a bone marrow transplant and that there would be a blood drive/marrow registry sign-up at SAG offices on July 16. I made an appointment and registered as a possible bone marrow donor to help save Amy Milner or somebody else who is waiting for the right tissue match.

The July 19th issue of the Los Angeles Daily News carried an inspiring story about 12 year old Jessica Sara Halpern and a project she started to Blanket the Homeless in Los Angeles. It gave an e-mail address, so I contacted her and sent along a donation for a new blanket to be purchased and distributed wherever needed.

My act of kindness today was mailing a music CD and movie on DVD to the "A Million Thanks" campaign being run by Lutheran High School in Orange, CA, collecting these to send to servicemen and women currently on duty in Iraq.

Through a recent feature in the Los Angeles Times, I found a mechanical engineer in Santa Ana, CA who has designed the world's least expensive wheelchair and he donates them to the disabled for free. You can actually change somebody's life for $41.17 -- the cost of producing, shipping and distributing one wheelchair. I donated 5% of my income this week to the Free Wheelchair Mission ($46.74) -- hurrah -- enough to buy one wheelchair to make a difference in somebody's life. FEELS GOOD!

A young fellow at the jewelry shop I get my watch batteries changed gave me the opportunity to practice random kindness -- when I entered the store, he asked if I had a quarter - I looked, but my change purse was empty, so I told him, sorry, no - when the owner kept repeating a figure, I realized he was short 25 cents, it didn't have to be a quarter - so I asked the store owner to change a dollar - gave the young man a quarter so he could pay his bill and he kept thanking me...but I just told him to "pay it forward" and have a nice day.

I was sitting on the front patio this afternoon reading when I saw the postman come up the walk - I asked him how he was and he answered "hot" -- "how about an ice cold Coca Cola?" I asked him and his eyes lit up -- "That would be great!" Things DO go better with Coke!!

Saturday morning is my usual grocery shopping time and I had a large order this week; as I was putting my items up on the belt, another woman came behind me in line struggling with a gigantic bag of cat food -- so I let her go ahead of me in line so she wouldn't have to wait for me to finish with my order.

We have taken to heart the pledge that one person can make a difference!!!! When we found out that summer camp prices had tripled in the span of one year for our handicapped daughters camp and that a lot of the kids were being excluded due to new age restrictions - we started a Teen Club for disabled teens and young adults at our church. Originally suppose to be just a summer program we expanded the group to an all year experience when it was received with great enthusiasm!!! We have limited funding (most coming out of our pockets) but the kids are able to meet twice a month for rap sessions, music, arts & crafts, and time to just be themselves. It is a great feeling to see them smile and hear their laughs!!!!! A time otherwise denied them by new and everchanging rules!!!!!

I have just recently joined the Elks organization which is a charity completely non profit. I have only been their about a month and I Have helped out by taking a visit to the veterans hospital in the area and donating books to them, I visited with a few veterans and brought my dog along with me I met some very interesting people and found out that a few of them have no family or their families wont visit them so now I make time to visit with these individuals three times a week and they have become like family to me I bring them pictures of my family to show them and we share story's. I look forward to my visits with the veterans and with the help of other Elks we are trying to set up a picnic one weekend for the vets in the area to get them out of the home a bit they so very much appreciate everything we can do for them and I have learned a lot form them.

I befriended this lady that lives on her own and communicate very regularly with her via e-mail every week. She is an avid fan of American television programmes but doesn't have cable. She likes to keep up to date so I tape them and post them to her. I use my own money to pay for the tapes and postage. The post office near me is the only one in the three local areas and so the minimum queueing time is at least 45mins. I can't stand for long periods of time for medical reasons but I do this for her because I know it cheers her up.

It usually takes me about an hour and a half to get into University. Someone asked me for my help with Maths before the exam {the other day} which required me to be there even earlier than I had planned. This meant I had to get up extremely early to be there to help them. I tutored them on the two topics they didn't understand. We took the exam that afternoon and those topics formed a huge chunk of it. They said they felt confident and understood what they were doing. Unfortunately it's about a month and half's wait before we find out whether I really helped or not!!

Someone close to me is very sick. I didn't know what to say to them so I went out to the local library and looked up their illness and learnt as much as I could about it. One of his carers {not paid but a relative} was feeling down one day so I took them out, went shopping and bought them their favourite drink. The day before I let them rest while I took care and sat with "he" who is sick.

I vacuumed every room in my house, 2 flights of stairs and mopped all of the rooms with no carpets without being asked to. My mum offered me payment but I refused it. I told her to donate it to a charity of her choice on my behalf and she did.

I spent the whole of yesterday tidying my room and sorting out the stuff that I no longer wear/use. I managed to fill the equivalent of a bin liner with clothes and donated that to the local heart foundation charity shop. I also donated a handful of books which have been with me since I was little.

I donated half of my allowance to a charity that raises funds for research into Cot death.

I cleaned my parents' car both inside and outside without being asked.

I donated books, which have been with me since I was very little, to my local library.

My friend contracted glandular fever and so was for off university for a while. I collected sheets, kept her informed of what she was missing and let her copy my notes so that she could catch up.

I collected my brother's and my dad's suits from the dry cleaners while they were at work without being asked.

Somebody close to me got very ill after drinking too much and was let's just say ill everywhere but the right place. I spent an hour cleaning everything up for them so that they didn't feel embarrassed when the guest we had staying with us {even though he is family} came home.

Somebody close to me requires constant care because of an addiction problem. Instead of going out with my friends, I stayed in to look after the person so that others could go out and have fun. The looking after involved giving them their dinner, watching t.v. with them, putting them to bed and staying with them until they fell asleep.

I realised that my father would be busy this week what with juggling being away on a course in Oxford and finalising deals in his office in London so I volunteered to temporarily take his place on the Neighbourhood Watch Committee. What this meant was that yesterday I compiled a mini-newsletter {since there is meeting coming up soon} and along with the latest crime statistics distributed it to members of the sub-committee. They in turn helped distribute the information to every household in the three local roads.

I live in Wimbledon, very near to the tennis grounds. This weekend has seen thousands of tourists descend upon my local station and the roads near and where I live. I was on my way to do some shopping this morning and stopped to help what looked like a very confused Japanese family. They didn't speak much english and appeared to be getting shoved back and forth by the huge crowd near the station. I helped them to get to the set of buses nearby waiting to take people thus helping them to bypass unnecessary queues. I also stopped to give directions to an American couple at the end of my road as to how to get there on foot { using the shortcuts that I knew.}

My neighbour who lives opposite ordered her groceries online which she organised to be delivered this afternoon. She must have thought that she would be back in time from picking up her children from school but obviously she wasn't as I saw the guy waiting in the delivery truck. Realising that was what she had done and that she might be stuck in traffic or something I spoke to the guy and asked him to drop her stuff off at my house. Luckily there was no need to sign for anything as the guy would have been waiting for a further hour! My neighbour returned and picked up her groceries after I explained what had happened.

My mum and I had been planning for a while to go and see the Formula one racecar parade in central London today. The reason why the cars are "in town" is because the British Grand Prix is on Sunday and they are taking part. I realised this afternoon that she {my mum} hasn't spent much time with my third brother who has been away at University so I called him and offered him my place to see this one-off event with her.

I went to see Shrek 2 with my friends on Friday afternoon. My little cousin wanted to see it but couldn't as she had a doctor's appointment. I treated her last night {with my limited funds!} to the movie and food beforehand. Seeing the movie twice was worth it not only because the movie is really funny but also because of her happy face throughout the night.

My brother has just finished university and his "final" results are due out this coming week. Our parents are very hard to please and are expecting no less than the best degree classification. I took him to one side and said no matter what he gets I'm very proud of him for actually completing the course and for giving it his all.

A couple of days ago, I was on vacation in Key Largo when I befriended a little boy on holiday with his mother. They were from Cooper City. The mother couldn't swim but the little boy could. He didn't like deep water though but desperately wanted to try and go to the deep end. I asked him if he wanted to go with me. I got his mum's permission and together him and me sidled our way along the pool whislt holding onto the side. Once we got there I told him all he had to do was to push off and swim straight. He eventually did and was so grateful that I had helped him to become so brave.

I am currently in Miami on vacation. The maids at the hotel where I am staying turn the beds down at around 8:30pm. Yesterday they left free chocolates and dressing gowns. I wrote them a note saying thank you for their efforts earlier today.

I bought a "Breast Cancer pin" for £1 at my local store today and have it proudly on display on my t-shirt. As I left the store I donated my spare change, around 50p, to a Children with Cancer charity. I donated so readily both times because there is a history of cancer on both sides of my family.

I am currently tutoring a group of people on my university course who shortly have to take several resit examinations.

I planned to go to the movies but gave up my tickets when a friend of a friend called to talk about her family problems which included her worries about her father going back to Iraq to visit her grandmother. She was so upset that I opted to listen to her and gave my tickets away to my cousin and his friend.

I badly wanted to donate blood but couldn't because of the liver virus that I have so I offered to hand out leaflets.

The parents of people I know very well are in the middle of a divorce. I told my friend to give her siblings my information {cell phone no e.t.c} and told them and her that if they needed to talk to someone that I would be there for them day or night.

I redecorated the sitting room in our house. It was something on the family's big to do list before selling in a couple of years. I took it upon myself to do the entire room after having fun choosing colours!

I organised all the saved files into appropriate folders on the main computer in our house. I did it to make the computer more accessible for my parents and also to ensure privacy as people would know whose folder was whose.

The lights on the crossings near me are out of sync. This means that while it's safe for one set of people to cross there are still cars passing through. An old man, two days ago, didn't realise this and got knocked over by a bicycle. He cut his head and hand. I was at the crossing with him coming towards me. Another guy asked him if he wanted an ambulance whereas I took him to the nearest shop, got him to sit down and have some water to calm down.

I've been driving my mum shopping and to all her appointments because she hurt her back earlier this week. I also gave a lift to an old neighbour who was back in town to see what changes had been made to his old house.

Our new neighbours moved in yesterday. I went round and introduced myself to them on behalf of my family. I told them a bit about the area as well as they had come from abroad. I also invited their little children round to our garden to play with my young cat who they had met earlier and had taken a real shine to.

I'm very good at calligraphy and have offered my services to create the place names for the tables at my brother's forthcoming wedding.

I taped a documentary on the History Channel for a friend who i knew who would be interested but was away on holiday at the time it was on.

My dad got headhunted for a Business Manager job vacancy for a German company. His interview was the day after he was informed. He needed someone to update his C.V. really quickly so I sacrificied watching The Nanny Thursday afternoon to do it for him!

I met my old personal tutor from school at the local gym. She informed me that they needed someone to talk to the 16 year olds there about life after school i.e. the first few years of university. They couldn't manage to find anyone so I volunteered.

I pet sat my new neighbours' rabbits while they were away this week.

I met the old lady who lives a few doors away from me at the local supermarket. Not all of her shopping could fit in her trolley so I offered to carry the excess bags for her and walk her home.

Whilst I was out at the cinema on Friday night, a girl asked me if she could borrow my phone to send a text to her dad to pick her up. She had run out of credit and had promised her dad that she would contact him as soon as the film she went to see had finished. I obviously lent it to her.

I donated money to CAFOD which stands for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development.

I helped deliver leaflets about a blind charity to people in my road and the road next to it.

I babysat a baby girl for my neighbours opposite when they were urgently called to their son's school.

My third brother has been trying to get a job for the last couple of weeks. He has no money at the moment and so is unhappy. I gave him enough to buy a return ticket to see his girlfriend {whom he hasn't seen for 2 months} who goes to University in another city.

My aunty/godmother had a baby boy this last wednesday. Her and my mum fell out in a big way a few months ago. Despite being advised by my brothers not to, I sent her a package of baby things and a card congratulating her and her husband

I helped my friend this weekend deliver leaflets which were promoting her dad's business to several of her local streets.

I helped a freshman find their way to their economics class when I started back at uni on Monday.

My neighbour opposite locked herself out yesterday morning by accident. It started to rain so i invited her in for some coffee whilst she waited for her husband to come back with his key.

I bought lunch for my friend at uni today to celebrate the fact that she passed her driving test this morning :)

My cousin who is currently staying with us was admitted to hospital last Monday with an aneurism. This wasn't diagnosed until the Wednesday. My family and I were holidaying in a remote part of Scotland this last week. I managed to get a ticket back on Tuesday and spent from then to Friday at hospital with him seeing that his family were in Colombia. I sat with him, talked to him and held his hand while he was prodded and poked with needles which he hates. When I got home I spent the best part of 2 hours calling his dad in Colombia, his mum in Canada and my family in Scotland telling them all exactly what was going on. I even sat for half an hour with surgeons when they explained the operation to me. I also despite having a huge day at uni with tests came to visit him late at night in intensive care. I just wanted him to know that people were there for him until his mum was able to arrive on the Saturday {yesterday.}

I donated £5 to the NSPC {National Society for the Prevention of cruelty to Children.}

I baked my cousin's favorite pie and took it to him while he was in hospital.

I bought theatre tickets for mum and her sister so that they could have a break from helping to look after my sick cousin.

I helped my neighbour move out from across the road. I helped him shift boxes into his car.

I told my brother I loved him and thanked him for taking care of me when I had the flu this week.

I prevented a fox from attacking my next door neighbour's rabbits.

There is a family that just moved to Ohio that started going to our church about a month ago. Her husband had beat her and her 5 children so she packed up and left. She is on food stamps but has been struggling to pay the rent and they just don't have what they need to live. The church is helping her out financially as much as they can but I wanted to help as well. So I decided to go through all my toys and give them to the children. I was saving them for when I have kids but they need them more. The five children are 4,6,8 and 10. All of them are girls except the six year old. So it works out perfect. I'm a poor college student and don't have alot of money to spare but I thought this was a way I could help.

About a year ago my parents left the church that I have grown up in my whole life. Seeing as I was 21 at the time I stayed at the church so I could be with my friends. However through this past year there has been alot of tension between my family and I b/c I chose to stay. My Mom especially was upset b/c we no longer went to church as a family. For her and my Dad's sake I left all my friends and now go to their church. I've also started a College class ABF since there was nothing for my age group on Sunday morinings. It's nothing like where I used to go, we averaged around 100 college students every Sunday. And the one that I started is only up to an average of 20. But It's worth it to see my parents happy again. :)

This was the contest

A lot of people have written to me over the years and said, "My vote doesn't count because one person can't make a difference." I have been thinking about that a lot lately, because I do believe that every action starts with one person and that one person's actions can effect change in the world. So we are going to start a website movement that all of you can participate in and see for yourselves, that one person, can make a difference. I believe that kindness begets kindness and the more that you do for others, the more others will remember & acknowledge that, and in turn, pass it on. I believe that human potential is the greatest source of energy that exists for change. There are many "kindness" movements, and in effect, that is what I am asking that you do here; random and deliberate acts of kindness toward one another and in doing so, I think you will find that one person can and does make a difference, I promise it will make you feel good and I believe that you will find that people will be kinder to you and to others, in return. . .and you can win free "stuff!"

Scientist, environmentalist, writer David Suzuki author of "The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature" and "The Sacred Balance: A Visual Celebration of Our Place in Nature" writes "One cannot give up hope; incredible things do happen, and no one can know what the final contributing factor might be . . . individuals can create sudden shifts in popular understanding and social action. No one can predict when that critical point will be reached when one additional grain can be the final agent that will cause an enormous shift. Each person, group or organization working towards a different world may seem powerless and insignificant, but all of them can add up to a force that can become irresistible."

Though an act of kindness is reward in itself, we are going to have tangible rewards for those of you that choose to participate in our "one person's kindness can make a difference" movement. As we have done before, you can win a prize in different categories and choose the prize that you want to win with your entries. The difference will be that each act of kindness that you do and write to us about, can be a separate entry to win. If you want to write about acts of kindness that you do, but do not wish to be considered to win a prize, you can do that too. Just put "no prize" at the top of your email as the category.

How will we know that you really did the act of kindness that you are writing about? Because I have the greatest fans in the world and I know that you will be honest!! You can do random acts of kindness and you can do deliberate, well thought out, planned acts of kindness. If you are a kid, get your famillies, your parents and grandparents and friends involved. If you are a parent, involve your whole family & your friends. Do something as a group with your office mates or your neighbors. If your act of kindness is a planned, deliberate act of kindness, take photos and send them in and we will post some of them on the website.

If you don't know how to get started, we are going to give you some suggestions to point you in the right direction at the end of this (scroll down). Be creative with your hearts and your imaginations.

"To laugh often and much: To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded. " - Ralph Waldo Emerson

For each entry you send in, pick the categories that you want to enter. Pick your first choice and your second choice category, (or put "no prize" if that is your choice) put that at the top of the entry along with your name and where you are from:

This is very important. With so many to read you MUST limit your e-mails to 250 words or less. This will be strictly adhered to. NO exceptions. Anything over 250 words will be disqualified. It MUST be 250 words or less, but you may send in an email for each separate act of kindness that you do. Just limit each email entry to 250 words or less.

The entries must be in an email and not in an attached file. If you send an attached file, we will not read it and your entry will be disqualified.

Just to make it clear, this 250 word limit applies to the entry itself. The part with your name and where you are from, what categories you are entering are separate and not counted as part of the 250 words.

You will know that we have received your entry if you get an automatic reply email back from us telling you that we have received your entry.

To keep it honest and give everyone an equal chance, you must include:

Any personally identifiable information will be used solely by Shaughnessy Productions. Your name, where you are from and the winning entries will be posted to the website. IF you are the winner, at that time you will need to give us a full postal mailing address in order to receive your prize. It cannot be emailed. All entries become the sole property of Shaughnessy Productions.

PLEASE carefully read ALL of the rules and make sure you have followed them BEFORE you send in your entries. Each separate act of kindness can be entered to win, and you can choose different categories for each entry. Your entries MUST meet all of the rules.

Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself. - William Faulkner

All my best,
Charlie

George Washington Carver said, "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these."

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