Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Day 12: Garden Seed Giveaway - 30 Days of Kindness

Garden Seed Giveaway was Day 12 of 30 Days of Kindness, and for this act of kindness we literally sowed seeds of faith looking for good soil and receiving hearts in our Oneonta community.

In upstate NY, it may still be too early to plant your garden, but with the days getting longer and the snow melting quicker, Spring is on everyone's mind. To encourage people to focus on the warm weather, we thought it would be a nice gesture to pass out free packs of garden seeds.

We were able to setup on a downtown sidewalk in front of a newly remodeled mini shopping mall at Ford & Main. Thanks to a pleasant free gift wrapping acts of kindness at the same location last December, the owner of the property was happy to have us back to set up once again at his location. It was also nice to visit with the store owners on the property and watch the hustle and the bustle of city hall just accross the street. 
 
After a morning of seed shopping, Laura headed to downtown at 12 o’clock in order to reach the lunch crowd and catch the warm part of the day. By 12:30, she was setup and giving away seeds and Kaler joined in on the outreach during his lunch break. There was a lot of traffic, the sun was out, and the location was perfect!


We were impressed with the amount of young men and women interested in gardening. Some of them seemed like pretty hardcore organic types complete with dreadlocks and piercings. One girl beautifully clad in, I’m assuming, homemade knit accessories, explained to us the seriousness of politics making it difficult for small farmers to sell their produce and stay financially afloat. Another young lady was inspired by our 30 Days of Kindness and took a calendar to pass on to her yoga class. She wanted to spread the kindness and lead her class with some of our AoK projects. One young man drove by, saw the sign, yelled thank you to us out of his car window, then called his buddy telling him to stop by to get some free seeds

All-in-all, the seed giveaway was a hit. About twenty people of all ages received a packet of seeds with a kindness card and message of God’s love. We almost gave away every packet. In addition to this, we met one young man who is interested in helping and attending our church and we hope to see him again soon!

We met some nice hippies. We met people serious about visiting our church. We met families with children. We met one religious guy who did not like the idea of a new church in Oneonta and wasn't afraid to tell us, followed by another religious person who donated $40 for us to keep up the good work (which more than enough to cover the giveaway!). Every time we do an act of kindness, we never know who we are going to meet, which makes it an adventure! AoK = Adventures of Kindness!  

Check out our 30 Days of Kindness calendar and contact us to join us our next kindness adventure.

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