By Mary Hart, for our Random Acts of Kindness blog series

I participated in our Random Acts of Kindness Challenge the first year and wanted to get involved again in 2016 because it was a great experience. It was especially nice that we did it around the holidays, because it is what the season is supposed to be about.

I decided to try to find different opportunities this time. There was a giving tree at my church with paper ornaments that had gift ideas written on them for a person or family in need. The ornament I chose was for a family that needed baby care items. I had a lot of fun shopping, and felt good about walking into church with a big bag to put under the tree.

It was unusually nice out one day in December, so I went to get my car washed. I paid for the car behind me and checked my rearview mirror to see the reaction. It appeared to be perhaps a mom or grandma with their daughter or granddaughter and I could see the surprised looks on their faces. They were talking excitedly to one another. I hope the elder woman used it as a coaching opportunity to encourage the younger passenger to spread goodwill. We should all be doing that in our day-to-day life.

I came across another opportunity to perform a random act of kindness when I picked up new eyeglasses. They had a container for OneSight – an organization that provides vision care and glasses in underserved communities worldwide. I added $10 and the technician fitting me for my glasses said, “Wow!,” because it was the largest contribution she had seen.

My remaining Random Acts of Kindness money went into a Red Kettle for the Salvation Army.