Seven for Sophie

This morning I saw a wonderful event on Facebook.  It was  called Seven for Sophie.  I friend of a friend of mine suffered a great tragedy earlier this year.  She lost two little girls in a house fire.  Today, May 15th, would have been Sophie's 7th birthday.  In honor of Sophie, they inspired others to do seven random acts of kindness today.  I decided it was a wonderful idea and began thinking of things I could do.  The possibilities were truly limitless.


Since most of my volunteering is with dogs, I decided to go outside of my box.  I tried to think of something else near and dear to my heart that could help bring a smile to others today.  I immediately knew what I wanted to do.  My random acts of kindness were inspired by my sister in law, Katie.  She was truly a kind person that did so much for others.  Back when Ben & I were just dating, she would call me just to chat when Ben was out at sea because she knew I was all alone in a strange place.  She was a wonderful person that I wish I could have gotten to know much better.  I know we would have been close.

Katie passed away in 2010.  She lost her battle with an eating disorder.  She was only 27.  My mother-in-law, Paula, has been truly inspirational since Katie passed away.  She took her grief and used her experience to help others.  Paula became very involved with NEDA, the National Eating Disorder Association.  She has organized two walks to raise awareness and thousands of dollars to benefit NEDA.  She is an amazing woman, and I am proud to call her family.

One thing Paula introduced me to was Operation Beautiful.  Their mission is simple.  They leave post it notes in random places to inspire others to see that they are beautiful.  They want to spread positive body image to the masses.  Everyone is beautiful!

I decided that my seven acts of kindness would be to leave seven Operation Beautiful post it notes around town.  It was a very fun way to spend my lunch break today.  It was also a great way to put me in a better mood.  Encouraging and helping others is a great way to feel good about yourself no matter what kind of day you are having.

Below are the post it notes I left around town.  I hope at least one person smiles after reading one.  I really hope several people smile from them and maybe even put up their own post it notes somewhere!

A gas pump

A newspaper vending machine

A Red Box

The bathroom at the grocery store

The change machine at the car wash

The bathroom at my work

An ATM

My seven acts of kindness just happened to turn into eight on my way home from work.  I saw a middle aged male hound dog in the median of the highway.  I immediately stopped and got him.  Luckily, he was wearing a collar with a tag!  I immediately called the number and his dad came to get him.  Hollywood was his name.  He had been missing from his family for three days.  I brought them back together.  It was a wonderful feeling.  A man in the parking lot where I met Hollywood's dad saw what I did, and he told me, "God Bless you!"  Who knows....maybe I inspired him to pass on an act of kindness.

How will you pass it on?

I truly enjoyed these acts of kindness.  I did it for you, Sophie.  And for you, Katie.  I hope your inspiration makes others smile. 

As always, please consider adopting your next best friend from your local shelter or rescue group.  You most certainly won't regret it!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Laura