Happy 2012! It’s a new year with new opportunities. To help us all get started on the right foot, I’d like to share a new twist on the “random acts of kindness” idea.
We’ve all heard a version of the “pay it forward” concept. For example, last Thursday morning as I pulled up to the drive-thru window to pay for my breakfast biscuit, I took the opportunity to pay for the car behind me, leaving her the message to simply “Pass it on.”
At an event later that night, I was having a conversation about this sort of thing with Katy Fenbert, an insurance agent in the metro-Atlanta area. She shared a wonderful idea with me that I’m passing along.
Remember the old rhyme about pennies bringing good luck? Katy decided to start deliberately leaving her pennies in surprise locations. It’s one thing to find a penny on the counter at the convenience store, but Katy places them strategically in places where people might need a boost of hope, however small.
There are plenty of places where people may have just received some troubling or difficult news. Hospitals, courthouses, doctor’s offices, funeral homes… I’m sure you could think of a dozen more places where a little good luck could brighten someone’s day. It doesn’t even have to be a particularly gloomy spot, although it’s nice if you can find a way to do it.
I don’t believe in luck, but I do believe in boosting people’s spirits. When I heard this, I was inspired to think about where I could leave a penny – face up, of course! – and possibly bring a surprising moment into someone’s day.
Leave a comment and tell me someplace you strategically hid a penny for someone to find! I’m leaving one on the window sill here at Starbucks right now.
2 Responses
What a great idea Joe! I’ll have to comb through my pennines, pick a few shinning ones to put in my pocket, and leave the “luck”. A simple and fun way to make someone’s day!
I find lots of pennies, and other random coins when I am litter picking in my village. The kids throw them away because they don’t want to be bothered with them. I will polish them up and leave them for others to find them.