Boston Bloggers Do Good

On July 14, nine Boston area bloggers came together to spread some good mojo in the city.  In conjunction with 77 kids by American Eagle and The Motherhood, 77 bloggers in 11 cities set out to do random acts of kindness in their local communities. I loved the idea; sometimes we forget that it’s the little things that make a difference on a daily basis. Activities included writing letters to the troops, making cards for kids at a local hospital and distributing backpacks filled with school supplies. Along with some of our kids, we handed out small packs of Silly Bands to kids at the New England Aquarium. We asked the kids to keep one or two, and share the rest with friends. It was a simply way to get them thinking about doing kind things for other people.

As with any undertaking of this size, things don’t always go as we intend. We had originally planned to do a different project, but were forced to drop it at the last minute when things didn’t gel with the host organization. Logistics got more and more convoluted until we no longer felt we were meeting our mission to commit random acts of kindness. So, Silly Bands it was. And, as it turns out, it was a fun morning. It was nice to see the excitement on the faces of the kids receiving the Bands, but I was even more touched by the engagement of some of the bloggers’ kids who participated in the event. And that’s really what it was supposed to be about.

Our Do Good Day “kits” came with all sorts of goodies, from t-shirts for our kids to thank you notes for partnering organizations. To help us in the mission they also contained 77 brand new dollar bills in sleeves that have tips for good works you can do for little or no money. Since my kids weren’t present on Do Good Day, and since handing out money in public venues is typically met with suspicion, I brought my dollars home to distribute in other ways. And I have been having fun with it… leaving a dollar in a restroom and on a chair in a waiting area. And talking with my kids about their own ideas. It’s just another opportunity for me to foster an ethic of service in my children.

Participating Bloggers:
Angela Tseng www.mommybytes.com
Jodi Grundig www.multitaskingmommy.com
Christine Koh www.bostonmamas.com
Nirasha Jaganath www.mommyniri.com
Jennifer Leigh www.jleighdesignz.com
LZ www.mymessyparadise.com
Audrey McClelland www.momgenerations.com (We were also joined by Audrey’s mom, fellow blogger Sharon Couto)

Thanks to:

• 77 kids by American Eagle (American Eagle has a strong philanthropic component)
• The Motherhood
• Barefoot Books (for supporting our original project idea with product donations)
• The New England Aquarium (for not kicking us off property!)

Disclosure: Bloggers participating in Do Good Day received compensation from American Eagle and The Motherhood.

*This article was originally posted on Quirky Fusion.