A-Z Challenge: Random Acts of Kindness beginning with "D"

Throughout the A-Z Challenge I'll be blogging through the alphabet using each letter to create a list of Random Acts of Kindness. I've been collecting RAK ideas for some time now as I gear up to the 2016 launch of a project dear to my heart: B(e) Kind 366. I'll be performing an act of kindness every day of the leap year starting January 1st, 2016 while raising funds for World University Service of Canada (WUSC), an organisation that changed my life.

I'm starting each post with a synonym (of sorts) for kindness. I added this part to my posts because of an amazing movement I am a part of 1000 Voices Speak for Compassion. We link up monthly and blog about changing the world for the better. It's magical really. We're even on Twitter! @1000Speak

D is for Dedication

Dance – with a loved one, with a stranger, by yourself, in public, in private, in the rain! Take a dance class alone or with a partner. Play the video below and dance right now!

Date Night – plan one with someone special, plan one for someone else. Deliver a date nightbox!

Diapers – donate some, leave some along with wipes on a public washroom change table.

Ding Dong Ditch – a nice surprise for a friend, neighbour, complete stranger!

Documentary – watch one! 

Donate – money, goods (clothing, food, toys, school supplies, hygiene products), items to a charity yard sale, your time. The Stephen LewisFoundation organizes an Aeroplan donation campaign every year. Make an appointment to donate blood. Fill out your organ donor card or register online!

Drink – more water! Buy one for a friend!

Drive Thru – pay for the person behind you! 

That's it for my "D" List! Please help me build my list of Random Acts of Kindness by leaving suggestions in the comments!

Want to win some Jane Austen swag?! Who doesn't?! Check out my super fun "If Jane Austen Blogged A-Z" post and test your Janeite knowledge!

A-Z Challenge: Random Acts of Kindness beginning with "C"

Throughout the A-Z Challenge I'll be blogging through the alphabet using each letter to create a list of Random Acts of Kindness. I've been collecting RAK ideas for some time now as I gear up to the 2016 launch of a project dear to my heart: B(e) Kind 366. I'll be performing an act of kindness every day of the leap year starting January 1st, 2016 while raising funds for World University Service of Canada (WUSC), an organisation that changed my life.

I'm starting each post with a synonym (of sorts) for kindness. I added this part to my posts because of an amazing movement I am a part of 1000 Voices Speak for Compassion. We link up monthly and blog about changing the world for the better. It's magical really. We're even on Twitter! @1000Speak

C is for Care & Compassion

Candle - light one for the spirit of someone or something. Just enjoy the ambiance of the flame!

Candy - make a sign giving away free candy. 

Celebrate – a holiday, a birthday, someone else, yourself! Celebrate The Small Stuff - join this awesome blog hop!

Challenge – take one on: do something new, do a daily fiction prompt, BLOG A-Z! Check out Rebecca Horner's 30in2015 for some awesome challenge ideas.

A photo from my last planned kindness endeavour!

Cheer - someone else on, yourself on!

Cheerleader Lolli - make one and leave it for a stranger. 

Clean – for yourself, for someone else. Clean up someone’s left-behind trash.

Coffee - buy one for a friend, for a stranger, give away your free one, leave a pre-paid coffee card for studying students. 

Coins - leave some on pay phones, in shopping carts, on toy/ candy/vending machines, at the laundromat, at a fountain so someone else can make a wish, on a mall ride. 

Compliment – a family member, a friend, and most importantly a stranger! Make a Free Compliments sign. 

Cook – for a loved one, for your neighbours. Take a cooking class by yourself or with a partner. Try a new recipe!

Colour - a picture; it's calming, with a child, leave colouring pages and crayons in public places, participate in a Colour Run!

Coupons – leave them on the items they discount for the next shopper to find. 

That brings me to the end of my "C" List! Please help me build my list of Random Acts of Kindness by leaving suggestions in the comments!

Want to win some Jane Austen swag?! Who doesn't?! Check out my super fun "If Jane Austen Blogged A-Z" post and test your Janeite knowledge!

A-Z Challenge: Random Acts of Kindness beginning with "B"

Throughout the A-Z Challenge I'll be blogging through the alphabet using each letter to create a list of Random Acts of Kindness. I've been collecting RAK ideas for some time now as I gear up to the 2016 launch of a project dear to my heart: B(e) Kind 366. I'll be performing an act of kindness every day of the leap year starting January 1st, 2016 while raising funds for World University Service of Canada (WUSC), an organisation that changed my life.

I'm starting each post with a synonym (of sorts) for kindness. I added this part to my posts because of an amazing movement I am a part of 1000 Voices Speak for Compassion. We link up monthly and blog about changing the world for the better. It's magical really. We're even on Twitter! @1000Speak

B is for Beauty and B(e) Kind and Brandy (that's ME)

Bake - and share! Contribute to a bake sale. Try a new recipe!
Big Brothers Big Sisters - be one!
Birds - make feeders and/or supply boxes for nests.
Blog - to promote a cause or just to say something kind. Visit other blogs and leave kind comments.
Bookmarks - make some, leave some in bookstore or library books for someone to find.
Books - about kindness.
Breakfast - eat a healthy one, leave a breakfast pack for a stranger.
Bride and Beyond - visit the blog and support this incredible project!
Bubble Wrap - pop it yourself, make "Instant Stress Relief" signs with it.
Bubbles - blow them for fun, for children at a park or playground, take them one step further and make massive ones!
Bus - take one instead of driving, leave the amount for a fare on the seat.
Butterfly pin - make some and leave them for someone to find!

Buy - local, something to support a fundraiser. 

That brings me to the end of my B-list! I've included a few links to some of these ideas, most of which I find on Pinterest, but if you are especially interested in any of them, please do let me know and I am more than willing to provide additional information!

Please help me build my list of Random Acts of Kindness by leaving suggestions in the comments!

Want to win some Jane Austen swag?! Who doesn't?! Check out my super fun "If Jane Austen Blogged A-Z" post and test your Janeite knowledge!

A-Z Challenge: Random Acts of Kindness beginning with "A"

Throughout the A-Z Challenge I'll be blogging through the alphabet using each letter to create an inspiring list of Random Acts of Kindness. I've been collecting RAK ideas for some time now as I gear up to the 2016 launch of a project near and dear to my heart: B(e) Kind 366. I'll be performing an act of kindness every day of the leap year starting January 1st, 2016 while raising funds for World University Service of Canada (WUSC), an organisation that has changed my life.

I'm starting each post with a synonym (of sorts) for kindness. I added this part to my posts because of an amazing movement I am a part of 1000 Voices Speak for Compassion. We link up monthly and blog about changing the world for the better. It's magical really.

A is for Acceptance & Appreciation

Random Acts of Kindess Foundation

Adopt - an animal from a shelter (but only if you're serious about caring for a pet), a family during the holidays (a number of different organisations run programs like this), a star!
Advice - give some to someone who asks for it, take some from someone who gives it.
Allow - someone to go ahead of you in line, to cut into traffic.
Ally - become one! Take ally training.
Ask - before you borrow something, if you can help, if everything is ok.
Assist - someone, anyone with something, anything!

Astronomy - find out if there is a local astronomical observatory in your community (usually located at a university) and take part in a public star gazing event. You won't regret it!

Attend - a fundraiser, an advertised event.   

Some of these letter lists will include an item that has extra special importance to B(e) Kind 366. For "A" the special RAK is Art - make it for a gift or for yourself, visit a gallery, enjoy it! (I’ll be sending mail art to everyone who donates to B(e) Kind 366 in the month of May.)

That brings me to the end of my A-list! Please help me build my list of Random Acts of Kindness by leaving suggestions in the comments!

Want to win some Jane Austen swag?! Who doesn't?! Check out my super fun "If Jane Austen Blogged A-Z" post and test your Janeite knowledge!

If Jane Austen Blogged A-Z (and a GIVEAWAY)

I "borrowed" this idea from the extremely talented S. L. Hennessy over at Pensuasion. She is one of the incredible bloggers hosting the A-Z Challenge this year and to provide participants with some inspiration, she has written two Characters Who Blog posts that are just so great: Ingo Blogtoya and Blog-ementary, My Dear Watson. I am eyeball-deep in my Master's of Arts thesis right (I actually just typed "write" there initially) which is a detailed look at Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I think, speak, dream, and I would guess even bleed Jane Austen at this point so when I saw S. L.'s posts I couldn't help but consider how Jane Austen might blog A-Z. So, I am taking a break from thesising to write this post!

I'm only going to include first or last names of characters in Austen's six complete novels with a few added "extras" here and there. At the end, I'll leave a couple of fun questions for you to try and answer in relation to those "extras." As you read through, see how many characters you can place in their proper novels (Hint: The characters within each letter are listed in order of the publication date of the novels they appear in - but sometimes there is more than one character from each novel.)

----------

Original image: Holly Hayes

It will be a truth soon universally acknowledged that a reader in search of a fascinating blog need go no further than Little Bits of Ivory. After all, it's been over two hundred years since my first publication and I am more famous today than I was then! This new-fangled A-Z Challenge is rather intriguing so I cannot help but participate.

A - Anne
B - Brandon, Bingley, Bennet, Bertram
C - Cassandra, Collins, Charlotte, Crawford, Catherine
D - Dashwood, Darcy, de Bourgh
E - Elinor, Edward, Elizabeth, Elton, Edmund, Emma
F - Fitzwilliam, Ferrars, Fanny, Frederick
G - Georgiana, George
H - Henry, Harriet
I - Isabella
J - Jane
K - Kitty, Knightly
L - Longbourn, Lydia, Lucas
M - Marianne, Mary, Maria, Morland, Musgrove
N - Netherfield
O - officers
P - Pemberley, Price
Q - Quirk Books
R - Regency
S - Smith
T - Tilney
U - Udolpho, Mysteries of
V - Val McDermid
W - Willoughby, Wickham, Woodhouse, Wentworth
X - Xerxes
Y - "Yes" by McAlmont and Butler
Z - zombies, Zellweger (Renee)

----------

So, how did you do? Could you associate all of the characters with their novels?

Here's a little "extras" quiz:
1. Which novel has the most character names listed A-Z?
2. Which name is NOT one of Austen's character's? (Hint: The name is actually her sister's)
3. Place names are listed from only one novel. Which novel?
4. O, Q, R, U, V, X, Y, and Z have their own special significance. Any guesses?

If I get at least five participants via the comments in my little quiz by April 30th, 2015, I'll send a Jane Austen swag bag (includes: a copy of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Emma, and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict - so far!) to the person who gets the most answers correct!

A to Z Theme Reveal: Random Acts of Kindness

Link Up

Themes are not necessary during the A to Z Challenge, but they definitely help with keeping up to the daily posting schedule. The first time I took part in A to Z (2013) my theme was "All Things Grad School" because I was leaving to pursue a Master of Arts degree the following September. There wasn't a theme reveal in 2013, but since then the masterminds behind #AprilA2Z have made the theme reveal official!

I decided to take part in A to Z again this year (I skipped 2014) for a couple of reasons: 1. I really enjoyed taking part in 2013. 2. I have a little more time this year as my MA is in its final stages. 3. I really hope to build my blog following as I gear up to launch B(e) Kind 366 in January of 2016, a project that is very near and dear to my heart and has been a long time in the making.

B(e) Kind 366 is the inspiration for my A to Z theme so all through the twenty-six letters of the alphabet I'll be posting ideas for Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs) that correspond to each letter. I hope you enjoy them. I hope they inspire you. And I hope you'll help me to grow my list. I need 366 ideas after all! 

Positive Stereotypes, Do They Exist? ("Building Beyond Bullying" - A #1000Speak Post)

One month ago, on February 20, a beautiful project was launched: 1000 Voices for Compassion (#1000Speak). Bloggers from around the world linked up providing incredible posts that will touch your soul. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for me to come across this incredible initiative since I am spending 2015 gearing up for my own massive kindness project launch in 2016: B(e) Kind 366. To keep the momentum of this #1000Speak going a theme for the month of March was created: "Building from Bullying." After reading a lead-up post from one of the 1000Speak masterminds, The Village NEEDS Namaste, I decided to write a post about stereotypes. It might fall slightly outside the "bullying" box, but I feel it asserts a similar message nonetheless.

Identity Collage (home, language, religion)

I recently attended a workshop called "Effective Collaboration Across Differences" led by Peter Wanyenya, an International Students Adviser from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As we worked through the thought and action processes that lead from stereotypes to all out racism, Mr. Wanyenya asked us if positive stereotypes existed. We were already hyper-aware of the effects of stereotypes so we knew this was a loaded question. "Just toss out a few ideas first," he suggested, "and then we'll discuss whether they are actually positive or not." Hands shot up and the microphone travelled around as participants offered up so-called "positive" stereotypes like, "Asians excel at mathematics," "The elderly have a wealth of wisdom," "Women are very nurturing," and "Gay men have impeccable taste in fashion." These all seemed like positive things. "So what do you think is wrong with these statements then?" Mr. Wanyenya asked us.

We all sat quiet for a brief moment, pondering our facilitator's question and then a few hands went up. "Not all Asians excel at mathematics." "Not all women want children." To summarise the answers to Mr. Wanyenya's final question: All of these "positive" stereotypes are still stereotypes which makes them just as exclusionary as "negative" stereotypes. For example: if we assume that a person who is visibly of Asian decent is a genius at math and we ask that person to tutor us on the subject, how then does that person feel when they have to tell us that they struggle with math as well? The answer: They don't feel very good. And we have gone from thinking we are complimenting someone to actually making them feel inferior without even intending to. That is just one of the many examples of how "positive" stereotypes do not actually exist. I learned a lot at the "Effective Collaboration Across Differences" workshop, but this is one of the lessons that stuck with me and caused me to really pay close attention to the words I say and the actions I take.

For hundreds more blog posts on the topic of "Building Beyond Bullying" visit the #1000Speak link up!