One Million Acts of Kindness

University of Florida, Day 2

tim — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:06:34 +0000

The sandstone base to the bronze of Albert A Murphree, the first President of this University speaks volumes. With Kindness, Vision, and Wisdom, he devoted his life to the cause of education. As president of the university from 1909-1927, he laid the foundation on which the university is built. These core values are how this great man is forever remembered, because of his devotion to them.
Today the squirrels outnumbered the students 3 to 1; one of us had a field day, the other a sore wrist from holding onto a leash. I did however, have a field day in the quality department. Only talking with maybe one hundred students and faculty at the most, I made sure to make the best of it. “I hear that there is a Boston down here” were the words of Mandy who has a rescue Boston named Ladybug, she and I were trading stories when her colleague, Beth stopped by. Both of these women work directly with the student body on campus. Mandy is designing a restorative justice program and loved the tie-in with One Million Acts of Kindness; they left with one hundred plus stickers. Bogart is one gifted dog, bringing these two caring women our way. As we were ready to head back to the plaza, Bobbie a woman who was thrilled about The Kindness Bus Tour, insisted on helping the cause. Thank you to all.

University of Florida

tim — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:21:41 +0000

On Saturday, I realized one small glitch in my itinerary, I am arriving in Florida one week early. After seven months since leaving Cleveland, I finally crossed the Florida border today and I’m early. I’m early because all state colleges in Florida are on spring break this week. Whoops! Lucky for me, because of its size, UF still has thousands of students who have remained on campus. Bogart is on cloud nine with all of the squirrels on the green space where we were able to pull the bus. He even seems to have had some help treeing one of the rascals, as is depicted in today’s photo. I had the opportunity to speak with nearly two hundred students in my late afternoon visit. It is nice to have a smaller crowd with little to no pressure of rushing to class, allowing the conversations to last longer. This mission is turning out to know no boundaries as we have had more interest, in a very big way. More news on this in the very near future. I am honored.

Moms and Children

tim — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:43:15 +0000

In little over a two hour period, while sitting on the patio of a local coffee shop, four separate moms with children stopped by to get to meet Bogart and learn about The Magical Kindness Bus Tour. All four moms expressed wanting the very best the world has to offer, but were concerned what sort of world it would be.”What a great thing you are doing, don’t ever stop” was the inspiration one mom offered. Another caring mother was on her way with her two children to spend a few days with their grandfather. She expressed the want for people to connect on a personal basis, a return to small town values. I agree wholeheartedly. “Kindness is the value, when practiced continually, can help us return to those small town values”, was a family rule one mom said. “Don’t ever let a disconnection with your child ever occur, overcome any disconnect immediately” another mom offered. All four of these moms were instilling valuable lessons, by being constant role models to their children. What an insightful morning for me. Thank you moms.

VSU Day 2

tim — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:51:46 +0000

When on campus for more than one day, it is rewarding for me when students return on the days following our initial introduction. Two such students are Elizabeth and Ivey, geology geniuses on this campus. These girls rock, pardon the pun. Both of them are thrilled with becoming on-campus and off-campus ambassadors for One Million Acts Of Kindness. They are on board for living a lifetime of kindness. David, who has a future broadcasting career, is a student reporter/anchor for VSU-TV Live. He interviewed me for an upcoming segment on his station. His questions about The Bus Tour, were thought provoking and to the point. A good quality to have in any industry. The two days I spent at this campus, gave me the time to talk with nearly eight hundred students.

Valdosta State University

tim — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:50:11 +0000

Pulling into a large parking lot, to turn the bus around on this unfamiliar campus, was the best thing I did today. It was a lot to the on-campus Presbyterian Church. I was told by some men associated with the church that I shouldn’t miss the opportunity to talk to Tar, the assistant pastor. Tar is a woman with a heart of gold, after touring the bus for nearly a half hour, she said that this was just what she needed today. She is going to network the message of One Million Acts of Kindness to her school. I pulled on campus and creatively parked The Kindness Bus in a high-traffic area. The other best thing that happened was talking to Bobbie Warren, from the English Department. Before I knew it, she had talked me into talking to a classroom full of students. I love when opportunities like these present themselves. Thank you to everyone involved in this last- minute professorship. This campus had no shortage of interested students. Many were already aware of this movement, one student already had a sticker from his friend at UGA. While on campus, another best thing happened. I heard from Patti Dean, a kindergarten teacher I met last evening. She told me her family is now on their personal quest of one million acts of kindness. As I began writing this blog, Sara, one of the students from the classroom I visited today, and her friend Christina, stopped by to get a first-hand briefing on my mission. They are thrilled at the prospect of being a positive influence on this world…another best thing. The final best thing just happened, the manager at this local eatery just gave me ten free meal tickets to pass out to students on campus tomorrow…true to the Truett spirit.

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

tim — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:53:42 +0000

“Without water, agriculture ceases to exist” Bogart seemed to comprehend this quote as he guarded this source of water for today’s picture. ABAC is a beautiful campus complete with rolling farmland.
On this campus I was able to pull into a very visible spot on its western edge. I talked to as many students as I could as they made their way to class, I was even able to find a very interested Professor of History, James Galt-Brown. He assured me he had the perfect spot for his sticker; the door to his office. One of the terrific campus librarians stated that a movement like this is needed sooner than later. She sent a mass email to all faculty on campus. The highlight of the day was to be interviewed and photographed by Beverly Manning and Leahann Driscoll for the college newspaper, Stallion. During the interview we talked of all the amenities on the bus, including the flat air mattress. I was floored to see the two of them later in the afternoon with a new air mattress as they approached me in a local eatery. These two beautiful girls are now on their way to one million acts of kindness. One million thanks girls.

This is Getting Contagious

tim — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:37:51 +0000

I’ve never done something so easy and I’ve never done something so hard. First the easy… It seems that nearly everyone I have contact with, wants to see a change for the better in this world. We seem to have strayed away from core values which most of us would like to return to. A return to times when life was simpler. A time when everyone respected each other and cared for one another. A sense of neighborhood. People want a return to those times. That is why this movement is so easy. Over the last few days there have been six students who have vowed to perform one million acts of kindness in their lives. They know that this is what it will take to help this troubled world. This movement is being embraced by nearly everyone, a slam dunk if you will. Now for the hard…My air mattress has a leak which can’t be repaired…yes Bogart had a hand (paw) in it. Boy is a plywood bed hard.

Mercer University

tim — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:18:05 +0000

Spring Break is right around the corner for colleges and the Kindness Bus Tour has yet to make it to the Florida border. Yikes!! We pulled into this central-Georgia campus and were approached by dozens of students; half wanted to see the bus and the other half wanted to meet Bogart. I am finally getting used to this reaction. After the initial crowd dispersed, we were instructed to the location of today’s photo, a picture of Bogart and a seated, Jesse Mercer, a new supporter of One Million Acts of Kindness. Danae and Tiffany were happy to cross the campus to meet Bogart and learn of our mission. Today’s visit was brief but impactful to the students we met.

During the course of this past weekend, we made contact with over two-hundred people as we traveled about. Everyone wants to know about this mission. Everyone wants to be a part of this mission. While enjoying a rare quiet moment, I was asked by two high school students if I would talk to their group. I was thrilled as I made my way outside to see a very large McDonough Presbyterian Church bus filled with anxious high school students. I love the spontaneity of this mission. Thank you for the invite to talk to your group.

Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Pennies

tim — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:27:55 +0000

He made sure he was in the shadows of the side alleys. They were very visible and very much approachable. His was a face of not wanting to make eye contact; their eyes looked to seek you out. Three different faces, all three homeless. Seeing him for the first time, I was struck by the way he seemed to want to remain from the public eye. You had to look to find him. I’ll remember this grown man and the way he would stack his thirty or forty pennies in neat piles, with a pyramid of ten or twelve silver colored coins closer to his reach. Handing him a few dollars, he would hurry off to get something to eat. A temporary fix to a long-term problem. They have been on the move since Katrina took their home. This is their tenth city in half as many years. They were barely able to make ends meet when they had a roof over their heads. Every possession they owned, gone in one night. “Thank God for the Peanut Butter and Jelly kids, or we wouldn’t eat tonight.” Once a week the college students in this town help by setting up an assembly line of sandwich makers. “The line gets longer every week” one of the students told me.

Perhaps I have been blind to the fact of homelessness because of not personally witnessing it before I left on The Kindness Bus Tour. Homelessness is everywhere I have traveled. It seems to be growing as I make my way south. I hope this is due to the fact it is warmer in the south. Today’s economy is, I’m sure, taking its toll in every sector of our country. I see more and more of it and I plan on giving more attention to the plight of the homeless and I hope everyone else will too.

Emory University

tim — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:45:37 +0000

Cynthia came into the parking lot we were parked in, at the entrance to Emory. “I needed to see something like this today, and here you are. The world needs this so badly”, she said. She has plans for One Million Acts of Kindness, it sounds like something very nice. This campus is impossible in terms of trying to find a place to park. I drove around for visibility talking to students as I could. I finally settled for a place off campus which had high visibility. I chose correctly. I received a very nice email from the President of the Student Government Association, Alex Kappus. He told me of a great organization which was created on this campus by some students, three years ago, its website is www.thesynergymovement.org Alex has plans for us networking in the future. I met many people, both on and off campus. I was able to attend the Emory Wind Ensemble in the evening with a local, talented writer named Roxanne Ivey. This was a very friendly and helpful campus.