By Donna Boulieu, senior product & pricing analyst, for our Random Acts of Kindness blog series

My husband, Bruce (HRG’s art director), and I joined in HRG’s Random Acts of Kindness (RAOK) Challenge again in 2016 after having fun and getting a lot of good vibes from our experiences the previous year. We hadn’t quite decided how to share the money yet when we were out running errands on a Saturday and noticed a gentleman struggling to get his wheelchair up the ramp at a fast food restaurant. Bruce stopped the car and hopped out to help the man up the ramp and through the door. Bruce wished him a good day and handed him $10 of our RAOK money to buy himself lunch. The gentleman initially refused the money until Bruce told him about the Challenge and why we participate; then he gladly accepted the money with a smile and a handshake.

Later that day, we came across a $5 barber shop and thought it would be fun to gift a few holiday haircuts. Bruce walked in with our pooled $50 and came out empty handed. He was able to buy haircuts for the entire shop including a couple with three young children! There were smiles and “thank yous” all around, and most likely a lot of stories told later about “the haircut man!”