We've heard the Enrons of the world file for bankruptcy. Massachussets based Malden Mills did the same -- but for entirely different reasons. In 1995, when the Malden Mills caught fire, the CEO and owner of the family run business decided to continue to pay his thousands of idled workers for a full six months! It was a decision that ended up bankrupting the three generation old company, but Aaron Feuerstein, the CEO and owner, says: "Maybe on paper our company is worthless to Wall Street, but I can tell you it's worth more." Watch this inspiring video as Aaron shares his rationale for making the ethical choice.
Showing posts with label acts if kindness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label acts if kindness. Show all posts
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Would You Help A Little Lost Robot?
In New York, we are very occupied with getting from one place to another. On the way, imagine you encounter a tiny, cardboard skinned robot making its own way down the streets of New York City, asking for help. Would you help this lost little robot?
Tweenbots are human-
dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.
Given their extreme vulnerability and the possibility that no one would be interested in helping a lost little robot, I initially conceived the Tweenbots as disposable creatures which were more likely to struggle and die in the city than to reach their destination. I set out on the first test with a video camera (see link to video below) hidden in my purse and walked far enough away that I would not be observed.
The results were unexpected.
Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to their far-away destination assisted only by strangers. Every time the robot got caught under a park bench, ground futilely against a curb, or became trapped in a pothole, some passerby would always rescue it and send it toward its goal. Never once was a Tweenbot lost or damaged. One man even turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, "You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.”
The Tweenbot’s unexpected presence in the city created an unfolding narrative that spoke to the power of a simple technological object to create a complex network powered by human intelligence and asynchronous interactions. But of more interest to me was the fact that this ad-hoc crowdsourcing was driven primarily by human empathy for an anthropomorphized object. The journey the Tweenbots take each time they are released in the city becomes a story of people's willingness to engage with a creature that mirrors human characteristics of vulnerability, of being lost, and of having intention without the means of achieving its goal alone.
--posted by hiteshee on May 17, 2009Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Pass on an Angel
Years ago, I was in a doctor’s office and saw a sign that said “Kindness. Pass it on!”
So I started doing more acts of kindness as often as I could. I was amazed at how much it brightens others’ lives.
One of my co-workers’ sister was sick. She shared with me one day how much her sister loved angels. I bought her two angels and gave them to her to give to her sister.
She did and she told me her sister was so happy. Just a small act of kindness.
Here are some ideas that were on that sign: give a flower; listen with your heart; visit a sick friend; clean a neighbor’s walk; say hello; call a lonely person; plant a tree; help carry a load; thank a teacher; leave a thank you note; let another go first; encourage a child; forgive mistakes; drive courteously; and share a smile.
— Melissa Jeffries-Deans, Greensboro
So I started doing more acts of kindness as often as I could. I was amazed at how much it brightens others’ lives.
One of my co-workers’ sister was sick. She shared with me one day how much her sister loved angels. I bought her two angels and gave them to her to give to her sister.
She did and she told me her sister was so happy. Just a small act of kindness.
Here are some ideas that were on that sign: give a flower; listen with your heart; visit a sick friend; clean a neighbor’s walk; say hello; call a lonely person; plant a tree; help carry a load; thank a teacher; leave a thank you note; let another go first; encourage a child; forgive mistakes; drive courteously; and share a smile.
— Melissa Jeffries-Deans, Greensboro
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Heart of Town
How one man proved that small kindnesses add up.
By Harry Stein
My family first encountered Wally Urtz, the gentle, self-effacing manager of our local supermarket, on a blustery day nearly 20 years ago just after we'd moved to Hastings-on-Hudson, a New York City suburb. As my wife made her way to the store's exit, juggling her groceries and two small children, Wally hustled up beside her. "I'll get those, young lady," he said brightly, taking her bags and leading her to the parking lot. Now that may seem like no big deal -- except that these days things like that so seldom happen.
Our story, it turned out, was typical. Among Hastings's 8,000 residents, almost everybody had at least one about Wally's decency and generosity. There were the times he'd reach into his own pocket when someone was short; the times he'd show small kindnesses to someone who'd just lost a loved one or who was in the midst of divorce; the many, many times he'd put himself out for older people.
"He just appreciated that when people get older, their lives get smaller -- they don't drive, their friends have passed on -- and how much it means to be treated warmly," one woman, Kathy Dragan, said. "When my mother was in her 80s, it was a treat for her to go to the store. Wally would call out to the butcher and say, 'You give her whatever attention she needs.' She'd tell me, 'He's kinder to me than some people I've known all my life.' "
Yet few of us fully understood what Wally meant to the civic life of our community -- until he was assigned to another store 20 miles away. In its unfathomable corporate wisdom, the Food Emporium chain had decided to replace 67-year-old Wally after 26 years due to "operational issues related to operating a store the size of [the one in] Hastings."
No one could believe it. Word spread quickly. Neighbors called each other seeking solace. Some plotted strategies for bringing Wally back and staged protest marches outside the store. Others flooded the local newspaper with angry letters. The mayor took up the cause. Even the police tried to set things right.
A grocer seems an unlikely figure to set off such an emotional outpouring. That he did shows the remarkable effect Wally -- a man of endless warmth and good humor -- had on people.
The police say no one was more helpful -- that at Halloween, he was the only merchant they never had to tell not to sell eggs and shaving cream to teens, and that his keen knowledge of the town made him especially adept at spotting criminals. "He's probably made more arrests than anyone who works here," Lt. David Bloomer said with a laugh. "Not just shoplifters, but people who'd show up with stolen credit cards. He was uncanny."
Bloomer added that "we'd often have kids who needed a job -- not honor students, kids in trouble, who'd been before the judge -- and Wally would hire them every time. Nine times out of ten, it probably wouldn't work out, but he never hesitated."
Betty Hudson, pastor of the Grace Episcopal Church, agreed: "He was always willing to take risks on people. He used to say to me, 'You and I are in the same business -- the people business.' "
One story I heard about Wally stands out: Once, in the 1980s, an elderly woman shopper, unapologetically racist, refused to be checked out by the only cashier on duty, a 16-year-old black girl. Wally gave the woman a choice: be checked out by the girl or not at all. But the teen, badly shaken and in tears, said she couldn't work the register. Wally took her aside.
"You're not going to let her get the best of you," he said. "There are some tough challenges in life. Learn to deal with them." Then he stood by the girl as, laboriously, item by item, she rang up the older woman's purchases.
That girl, Nicole Gamble, is a prosecutor in Manhattan now. When I told her about Wally's transfer, she was stunned. "How could they do that?" she exclaimed. "Don't they realize how rare that kind of character is?"
Rabbi Edward Schecter of Hastings's Temple Beth Shalom said: "In his quiet way, he was a towering moral figure in our community. I don't know that there are any others -- no elected officials, no clergy. In Jewish mystical tradition, the question is asked, 'Why does God sustain the world in light of all the evil in it?' And the answer is, 'It's because of the 36 righteous.' Anyone who thinks he might be one of the righteous by definition is not. But Wally -- he is one of the righteous."
As if to confirm the rabbi's view, Wally himself sounded baffled about all the controversy. "All I was doing is my job," he said, crediting his parents and his deep religious faith for making him what he is. "You're selling groceries, but what really matters is your relationships with people. The way people are in this town, that was easy."
Sadly, the push to bring Wally back failed, though not totally: He was assigned to a store closer to his home -- the store where 40 years ago he met his wife, when he was a clerk and she a checker. "Don't worry, I'm doing fine," he said. "If you treat people right, things usually work out for the best."
Sociologists and academics like to bemoan the loss of community in daily life. In his book Bowling Alone, for instance, Robert D. Putnam fondly recalls "the grocery store or five-and-dime on Main Street, where faces were familiar," and laments how today's "suburban shopping experience does not consist of interaction with people embedded in a common social network."
For those lucky enough to know him, Wally Urtz was a one-man antidote to all that.
By Harry Stein
My family first encountered Wally Urtz, the gentle, self-effacing manager of our local supermarket, on a blustery day nearly 20 years ago just after we'd moved to Hastings-on-Hudson, a New York City suburb. As my wife made her way to the store's exit, juggling her groceries and two small children, Wally hustled up beside her. "I'll get those, young lady," he said brightly, taking her bags and leading her to the parking lot. Now that may seem like no big deal -- except that these days things like that so seldom happen.
Our story, it turned out, was typical. Among Hastings's 8,000 residents, almost everybody had at least one about Wally's decency and generosity. There were the times he'd reach into his own pocket when someone was short; the times he'd show small kindnesses to someone who'd just lost a loved one or who was in the midst of divorce; the many, many times he'd put himself out for older people.
"He just appreciated that when people get older, their lives get smaller -- they don't drive, their friends have passed on -- and how much it means to be treated warmly," one woman, Kathy Dragan, said. "When my mother was in her 80s, it was a treat for her to go to the store. Wally would call out to the butcher and say, 'You give her whatever attention she needs.' She'd tell me, 'He's kinder to me than some people I've known all my life.' "
Yet few of us fully understood what Wally meant to the civic life of our community -- until he was assigned to another store 20 miles away. In its unfathomable corporate wisdom, the Food Emporium chain had decided to replace 67-year-old Wally after 26 years due to "operational issues related to operating a store the size of [the one in] Hastings."
No one could believe it. Word spread quickly. Neighbors called each other seeking solace. Some plotted strategies for bringing Wally back and staged protest marches outside the store. Others flooded the local newspaper with angry letters. The mayor took up the cause. Even the police tried to set things right.
A grocer seems an unlikely figure to set off such an emotional outpouring. That he did shows the remarkable effect Wally -- a man of endless warmth and good humor -- had on people.
The police say no one was more helpful -- that at Halloween, he was the only merchant they never had to tell not to sell eggs and shaving cream to teens, and that his keen knowledge of the town made him especially adept at spotting criminals. "He's probably made more arrests than anyone who works here," Lt. David Bloomer said with a laugh. "Not just shoplifters, but people who'd show up with stolen credit cards. He was uncanny."
Bloomer added that "we'd often have kids who needed a job -- not honor students, kids in trouble, who'd been before the judge -- and Wally would hire them every time. Nine times out of ten, it probably wouldn't work out, but he never hesitated."
Betty Hudson, pastor of the Grace Episcopal Church, agreed: "He was always willing to take risks on people. He used to say to me, 'You and I are in the same business -- the people business.' "
One story I heard about Wally stands out: Once, in the 1980s, an elderly woman shopper, unapologetically racist, refused to be checked out by the only cashier on duty, a 16-year-old black girl. Wally gave the woman a choice: be checked out by the girl or not at all. But the teen, badly shaken and in tears, said she couldn't work the register. Wally took her aside.
"You're not going to let her get the best of you," he said. "There are some tough challenges in life. Learn to deal with them." Then he stood by the girl as, laboriously, item by item, she rang up the older woman's purchases.
That girl, Nicole Gamble, is a prosecutor in Manhattan now. When I told her about Wally's transfer, she was stunned. "How could they do that?" she exclaimed. "Don't they realize how rare that kind of character is?"
Rabbi Edward Schecter of Hastings's Temple Beth Shalom said: "In his quiet way, he was a towering moral figure in our community. I don't know that there are any others -- no elected officials, no clergy. In Jewish mystical tradition, the question is asked, 'Why does God sustain the world in light of all the evil in it?' And the answer is, 'It's because of the 36 righteous.' Anyone who thinks he might be one of the righteous by definition is not. But Wally -- he is one of the righteous."
As if to confirm the rabbi's view, Wally himself sounded baffled about all the controversy. "All I was doing is my job," he said, crediting his parents and his deep religious faith for making him what he is. "You're selling groceries, but what really matters is your relationships with people. The way people are in this town, that was easy."
Sadly, the push to bring Wally back failed, though not totally: He was assigned to a store closer to his home -- the store where 40 years ago he met his wife, when he was a clerk and she a checker. "Don't worry, I'm doing fine," he said. "If you treat people right, things usually work out for the best."
Sociologists and academics like to bemoan the loss of community in daily life. In his book Bowling Alone, for instance, Robert D. Putnam fondly recalls "the grocery store or five-and-dime on Main Street, where faces were familiar," and laments how today's "suburban shopping experience does not consist of interaction with people embedded in a common social network."
For those lucky enough to know him, Wally Urtz was a one-man antidote to all that.
Monday, April 27, 2009
"Pay It Forward" - What does it mean?
How to Pay It Forward
The world can seem like an unfriendly, threatening place, yet we all want safety, health, and happiness for ourselves and our loved ones. How can one ordinary person -- you or me -- make a positive difference in this world? One way is the practice "paying it forward." While the steps might be simple, the outcome could change the world.
Steps:
The world can seem like an unfriendly, threatening place, yet we all want safety, health, and happiness for ourselves and our loved ones. How can one ordinary person -- you or me -- make a positive difference in this world? One way is the practice "paying it forward." While the steps might be simple, the outcome could change the world.
Steps:
- Be attentive wherever you are for opportunities to help someone. Perhaps you have an elderly or disabled neighbor who is too proud to ask for help with their yardwork or maybe you're in a restaurant and see someone who looks like they could use some kind stranger to pay for their meal. You can change people's attitudes about the world through your unobtrusive acts of kindness.
- Do something nice for someone you don't know (or don't know very well). It should be something significant, and not for a person from whom you expect a good deed -- or anything at all, for that matter -- in return.
- Spread the word. If the person thanks you and wants to "repay" you (that is, pay it "back"), let them know that what you'd really like is for them to pay it "forward" -- you'd like them to do something nice for three people they don't know, and ask those three people to do something nice for three more people. The idea is to consciously increase the goodness of the world.
- Pay it forward. When you notice that somebody has done something nice for you, make a note in your mind to practice three acts of kindness towards other people, as described in Step 2.
Tips:
- The "pay it forward" concept was popularized with the book Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde, which was later made into a movie with the same title, starring Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, and Kevin Spacey.
- Even small acts, such as paying the bridge toll for the car behind you when you pay for your own, counts. If it makes the world a friendlier place, you succeeded!
- Practicing the "pay it forward" principle will make you alert to unexpected kindness from strangers toward you, and you may find yourself becoming more grateful for everyday kindness and consideration from people you don't even know.
Wikihow.com http://bit.ly/14dDk4
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Children Watch and Learn From Us
Teenagers! What can I say? My daughter is 12. Sometimes she is a crazy bundle of fun and sometimes she seems to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. This was one of her down days.
She was bored and sad (and making a meal out of it!). Every time she complained about being bored I would suggest something she could do, but there were always bucketloads of reasons why she couldn't do any of them. The suggestion that she might enjoy tidying her bedroom just provoked a look that reminded me of thunderclouds -- she's been good at that look since she was two!
I was getting a little fed up with all this negativity, but I kept my patience. I gently suggested that possibly the very best way in the world to have a good day was to try and make it a better day for someone else. Then I suggested a few kind deeds she might like to do.
To my amazement, she seemed interested. Not so much in the kind deeds as in what I had said. When she spoke there was no hint of sarcasm or teenage attitude. Just honest-to-goodness curiosity. It was like my little girl had just come back into the room. "Does that mean that every day is a good day for you?" she asked.
Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
I told her it did, we talked some more, then I left the room. I had to because I was welling up.
We all share good stories on this site, but they are only a snapshot of life. I have plenty of less nice aspects of my personality. I'm only too aware of them and they constantly bother me. But my daughter, who knows me better than most, seemed to think I spent every day making the day better for others.
Oh, wow!
Our children do watch us, and while our best (or worst) example often doesn't seem to have any visible effect on our children (especially teenagers!) that doesn't mean we should stop trying to be all we would want them to be. We teach our children through our lives. Helpothers http://bit.ly/sPkIZ
She was bored and sad (and making a meal out of it!). Every time she complained about being bored I would suggest something she could do, but there were always bucketloads of reasons why she couldn't do any of them. The suggestion that she might enjoy tidying her bedroom just provoked a look that reminded me of thunderclouds -- she's been good at that look since she was two!
I was getting a little fed up with all this negativity, but I kept my patience. I gently suggested that possibly the very best way in the world to have a good day was to try and make it a better day for someone else. Then I suggested a few kind deeds she might like to do.
To my amazement, she seemed interested. Not so much in the kind deeds as in what I had said. When she spoke there was no hint of sarcasm or teenage attitude. Just honest-to-goodness curiosity. It was like my little girl had just come back into the room. "Does that mean that every day is a good day for you?" she asked.
Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
I told her it did, we talked some more, then I left the room. I had to because I was welling up.
We all share good stories on this site, but they are only a snapshot of life. I have plenty of less nice aspects of my personality. I'm only too aware of them and they constantly bother me. But my daughter, who knows me better than most, seemed to think I spent every day making the day better for others.
Oh, wow!
Our children do watch us, and while our best (or worst) example often doesn't seem to have any visible effect on our children (especially teenagers!) that doesn't mean we should stop trying to be all we would want them to be. We teach our children through our lives. Helpothers http://bit.ly/sPkIZ
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Lasik for Good Deeds in Washington DC
Eye doctors of Washington offering free LASIK treatment for good deeds
April 21st, 2009
It's a totally different stroke played by one of the most respected vision care facilities in the area.
Washington, DC LASIK facility, who last year sponsored the successful Destroy Your Glasses contest, is sponsoring a new contest “Changing the Way People See the World” to encourages individuals in the area to do anything positive that helps someone else, and capture it on video.
Each person that submits a video will receive a $1000 discount on LASIK, and the winning entry will be awarded a 100% free LASIK eye surgery procedure.
In addition to rewarding those who enter videos, Eye Doctors of Washington’s Washington, DC and Maryland LASIK practice will donate a free pair of glasses to charity for each video submitted.
Participants may videotape any good deed of any body. They can videotape themselves, a friend, a family member, or even a stranger doing something positive for someone else, and the “good deed” can be either big or small.
Contestants can submit their videos from now until May 31st, 2009.
The initial batch of entries will be judged on creativity, uniqueness, and authenticity, and whether the “good deed” is clearly and adequately shown in the video.
The top five finalists will be announced on June 1st at www.edow.com, and voting can be implemented directly on the website between June 1st and June 12th. The winner will be chosen on Monday, June 15th.
April 21st, 2009
It's a totally different stroke played by one of the most respected vision care facilities in the area.
Washington, DC LASIK facility, who last year sponsored the successful Destroy Your Glasses contest, is sponsoring a new contest “Changing the Way People See the World” to encourages individuals in the area to do anything positive that helps someone else, and capture it on video.
Each person that submits a video will receive a $1000 discount on LASIK, and the winning entry will be awarded a 100% free LASIK eye surgery procedure.
In addition to rewarding those who enter videos, Eye Doctors of Washington’s Washington, DC and Maryland LASIK practice will donate a free pair of glasses to charity for each video submitted.
Participants may videotape any good deed of any body. They can videotape themselves, a friend, a family member, or even a stranger doing something positive for someone else, and the “good deed” can be either big or small.
Contestants can submit their videos from now until May 31st, 2009.
The initial batch of entries will be judged on creativity, uniqueness, and authenticity, and whether the “good deed” is clearly and adequately shown in the video.
The top five finalists will be announced on June 1st at www.edow.com, and voting can be implemented directly on the website between June 1st and June 12th. The winner will be chosen on Monday, June 15th.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Contest #3 Winner
Congratulations to Just 1 Good Deeds Contest #3 Winner: Fern C. of PA
You can still watch the inspiring video "Stimulus Package" and let us know what you think. http://bit.ly/WeN0Z
Heres what some people had to say:
"Inspiring because it is not dead ended and keeps on giving. That is real charity." Linda G. NYC
"Meaningul and postive to see people helping each other in a way that makes feel supported and encouraged even if the dollars are a short term relief that won't necessary keep a business from closing. It is true that we often lose sight that every $2 dollars can add up and make a cumulative, measurable difference. " Jackie D. CA
"Its nice to regain faith in the human spirit" Dan L. NJ
"Nice to know that people are doing good deeds" Sharon S. NY
Thank you to all the contestants for participating. Don't forget to "Pay it Forward"
North Dakota sets an example
Fargo, ND and surrounding areas were hit hard and are still at risk, but North Dakota residents are setting an example with acts of random kindness.
"The generosity is so common that even as thousands of people are driven out of their homes by the overflowing Red River, most storm shelters are virtually empty."
"Locals don't consider the outpouring of kindness at all unusual"
See the full story here: http://bit.ly/Ld18
"The generosity is so common that even as thousands of people are driven out of their homes by the overflowing Red River, most storm shelters are virtually empty."
"Locals don't consider the outpouring of kindness at all unusual"
See the full story here: http://bit.ly/Ld18
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