So yesterday I started the Year of Giving. My first day of a year-long journey into exploring the act of giving and the meaning of altruism. I chose December 15th as the starting date. It marked three years since my mother died from heart disease. She was one of the most generous people that I have ever known; rarely ever doing things for herself…with the exception of getting her hair done, which she really liked. She always thought of others first and certainly serves as an inspiration to me.
I had a rather busy day yesterday, ironic for someone who is unemployed right now. In the morning I went to the gym, tried unsuccessfully to get an actual human being from the unemployment office on the phone, and did some job searching. Before I knew it it was noon. I grabbed a quick lunch and hustled down to a meeting. As I navigated my way down Connecticut, I wondered if I would see someone that I would feel compelled to give my first $10 to. I was running late and decided to do it afterwards.
After the meeting I had about a half hour to find the first person of my Year of Giving! I decided to check out Dupont Circle…I met a guy there named Jerry once (more on him some other day) and thought he would be a good recipient of my first $10. He wasn’t there, but I did see a man sitting by himself who looked really lonely…so I approached him. Now I had to figure out what I was going to say. I think I said something like, “Hi…can I sit down here. [long uncomfortable pause then while I figured out what the heck to say next] Then I just kind of blurted out, “I would like to know if I could give you $10.” He asked me to repeat what I had said. I did, then he looked at me funny and got up and left. Strike one.
I then started walking South where I spotted a man standing by the bus stop on Connecticut Ave. He appeared to be in his 60s. I don’t know what drew me to him, but I thought I would make my second attempt. I was a bit nervous and asked him which bus came by that stop. Then I explained that I was starting a year-long project to give $10 to someone every day and that I wanted to give my $10 for today to him. The gentleman, I later found out that his name was Ed, responded without hesitation that he could not accept my offer and that there were many people more deserving of the money than him. This was precisely one of the things that I hoped would happen. That people would think of others before themselves! And although I was thrilled that this happened, I still needed to find someone and I was running out of time before I needed to go and pick some friends up and give them a ride to Silver Spring. So strike two!
Then I spotted a man on the corner of 21st and P with a small bench and some shoe shine equipment. I approached Knox, a black gentleman bundled in winter clothes with just the knot of his neck-tie sticking out of his jacket. He later told me he was 50 years old, he looked much younger. I asked him if he would accept my $10. He hesitated and then agreed. He struggled to come up with an answer when I asked him what he was going to do with my $10. The alcohol that enveloped each of his words gave me a hint though of where it might go. I explained that I was not going to judge him on what he chose to do with the money, that it was his and up to him what he wanted to do with it.
We chatted for a while…he spoke of the struggles that he has had and his attempts at staying sober. “I’m about 50/50,” he said when I asked how his sobriety was. He said he occasionally goes to AA meetings, but admitted that there had been times he had got himself some eggnog before the meetings. Eggnog! What?! The last thing I would think of that a guy who wanted to get his alcohol fix for the day would want is eggnog! I laughed…and he assured me that the eggnog was good. He told me that he was probably going to buy some eggnog with the money. Oh well.
I explained what I was doing. He smiled at one moment and said, “maybe some of your readers want a shoe shine!” Please visit Knox at the corner of 21st and P if you need a good shoe shine or want to know anything about eggnog.
I had to get going. Before I left, I took a picture of Knox in front of his shoe shine stool and wished him well. I told him to stay healthy and he said he would try…and warned me of the dangers of eating chocolate bars and “peanut chews.”
UPDATE: February 23, 2011
I caught up with Knox in 2011 – click here to read the update with him and see how he is doing.
Great start! I love this project, and I can’t wait to read all the stories!
I suspect you’ll have to get better at dispensing with your $10 quickly when you become employed again!
What a great project! I’ll look forward to reading your posts daily.
What a wonderful project! We look forward to reading all your blog posts. Hope this inspires lots of people to do good things also.
This project sounds… magical? I don’t know what it sounds like but It’s amazing. I had to start at the beginning (I’m so far behind) but if I ever do something like this, I’d like to know where to start! Thanks for being an inspiration (and thanks to NPR for getting me to this site).
Jake K.
“saw” you on NPR…couldn’t resist checking out your blogging! i am looking forward to reading all of your posts 🙂
I’m inspired. I have a lot of reading to catch up on. June 15th I will definitely be joining you and others with a giving moment and story. I’ve already posted the article I found about you on my FB page and I hope others see it there and are also inspired. God Bless you, Annie
I just found this on AOL today. I will be reading until I catch up to the current day. This is great…I love these kind of stories. I once tried to give a Target gift card away (in the Target store) and was treated like I had the plague! People do not understand “getting something for nothing in return”. I remember reading about the Secret Santa who gave away millions in his journey through life until his death a couple of years ago. May God bless you on your caring and compassionate journey.
I just read an article about this project when I logged into my email at aol.com and immediately upon reading the article sent the link to a friend. It fascinates me that somebody who has been unemployed would get the idea to give a daily gift of $10 randomly. Actually the experience sounds really awesome for anybody who gets involved. I think this a great way to get involved with other people around you and start something revolutionary. I’m so glad I read the article on aol because hearing about this has really captured my attention. I think that if I were to receive $10 for this purpose I would give it to a homeless man who I always see in my area. He has the ever so popular cardboard sign with writing on it, but his sign always makes me smile. Whenever I pass him I enjoy reading a message the goes something like “Every day the choices that you make come back to you” and then some elaboration with an ending that goes something like “Please make good choices and have a beautiful day.” His sign used to encourage people to come and talk to him in the same kind of way you and some of your recipients have talked. I have always kind of wanted to stop and talk to him, but never had the time or courage to do so. I feel like he is a kind soul and doesn’t ask for much. He probably deserves the $10. Another thing I might do with the money is buy some flowers. I had an idea a couple months ago to buy some flowers and give two out to everybody I see. I would tell them that one is for them and one is for them to pass on but have not had the time or courage to do this either. Maybe you should try this. Maybe not. I’m not sure it’s your choice, but whatever you choose I hope the good you are doing comes back to you!
I absolutely love this idea! I love being able to help people in any way possible whether it be just smiling at strangers, stopping to ask how someone’s day is going, or actually giving something away. Sort of like the movie Pay It Forward. If everyone took the time to help out one person per day even if it is just holding the door open or helping someone put their groceries in their car we could get people back on track and not focused on all of the negativity in the world. Thank you for inspiring me!
Thanks for the love! Pass it on…. Reed
[…] did an amazing job portraying Ivory, a Street Sense vendor who I met on Day 49. He also portrays Knox, my first $10 recipient, who by total coincidence was shinning shoes outside the theatre – a […]
[…] the stage version of the project. Thanks for coming out to support the show! Oh, and as always, Knox, from Day 1, was outside shinning […]
[…] So I started on December 15, 2009 – the three-year anniversary of her passing. I gave away $10 that day – no strings attached – and did it every day for the next 364 days. You can check out the journey for yourself – here’s a link to Day 1. […]
I just found out about your project and it has inspired me to create my own version of it. Starting today I will begin a year of patronage by sponsoring a new artist every day using the Patreon web site. Wish me luck.
I am looking forward to reading more of your blog posts.
That sounds like a wonderful idea. I’m glad you left a comment as I was unaware of Patreon…I need to check them out further. I am currently launching two initiatives that give individuals experiencing homelessness a platform for their artistic talents. If you have interest in learning more, let me know and I’d be happy to share that with you. I’m looking forward to following your journey!
[…] Sandridge didn’t just give the money away, but he would also ask the person’s name, have a conversation with them about their life, and learn what they intended to do with the money. Then after returning home, he would blog about that day’s person. Even in the rain, snow and bitter cold, Sandridge did this day in and day out for the whole year. Oh, by the way, Sandridge himself was unemployed at the time, after being laid off as a manager from a local non-profit. You can read about “The Year of Giving” at https://yearofgiving.org/2009/12/16/hello-world/ […]
[…] a project where he was going to give away $10 to someone every day for a year. He called it “The Year of Giving.” Sandridge didn’t just give the money away, but he would also ask the person’s name, have a […]
An amazingly kind project. I am a school teacher and have joined an initiative called the Smile Project. Each of my groups of children have £10 to spend to make their local community smile. We will be taking inspiration from your blog posts without a doubt. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for sharing Amy. Good luck with Smile Project.!