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Day 363 – Meg P.

Posted in Gave the money to someone else, tagged , , , , , , , on December 28, 2010| 1 Comment »

Filter Coffee House, 1726 20th NW, Washington, DC

It was the Sunday before my Year of Giving Anniversary Celebration on December 14th and I was scrambling to get everything done that I needed to do.  I had taken a break from my planning to meet up with a friend of mine who was visiting from Sao Paulo, Brazil.  We went to Maggiano’s for lunch and on my way home I stopped by a small coffee shop near my apartment called Filter.  Those who have followed the Year of Giving for a long time and have superpower memory might recall that I met Mark from Day 132 there as well.

I was sitting there having an espresso scoping out the café.  I really didn’t need a coffee, but I did need to find a recipient and given that it was raining outside I figured that finding someone indoors where it was dry and warm was much more appealing than talking to someone while becoming a human sponge.

I grabbed a seat in the cozy café next to two young ladies who were sitting to my left.  There are maybe 10 tables so often times you end up sharing a table with someone else.  I didn’t know if they were together or just sharing a table, but figured I would ask the one sitting closest to me.  It turned out they weren’t together and Meg, after pulling the earphones from her ears, agreed to accept my money.  The other girl at some point seemed bothered by the conversation, or just bummed she didn’t get the ten bucks, and moved.

Meg and her husband JD with the ten dollars

Meg is a 23-year-old who lives in Takoma Park, MD and came into the city that afternoon to go to a “good coffee shop.”  She was reading Wilkie Collins’ 19th century classic epistolary The Moonstone and listening to some music while she waited for her husband JD to arrive.  Meg does some really amazing work.  She works for an organization that helps resettle refugees from conflict areas such as Somalia, Sudan, DRC, Iraq, Pakistan, etc.  “It’s very rewarding,” she said taking a sip of her latte.

Meg and her husband got married this summer and moved here after having met at Oklahoma State University.  Now a bunch of my relatives went to OU and I thought that this would be a good thing to mention.  Little did I know that you don’t want to tell an Oklahoma State alum that you are partial to OU.  We made quick treaty and she went on to tell me that she and her husband had spent time living abroad in Egypt and really enjoyed it.  Having lived in Mexico, Spain and Brazil myself, I think the opportunity to live in another country, especially one where they speak another language, is extremely rewarding.

JD arrived covered with beads of rain from the lingering afternoon drizzle.  As it turns out he left his wallet in the car and asked Meg if she could buy him a coffee.  Meg smiled and slid the ten dollars across the table to her husband.

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Day 353 – Adam J.

Posted in Alcohol, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 21, 2010| 4 Comments »

Are you unemployed and want something inspiring to do for the next seven days?  Well, I have a solution for you!  Become a Kindness Investor and give $10 away every day to a new stranger for a week and then share your experiences here on the Year of Giving. I need someone to start tomorrow!!! So please email me today if you or someone you know are up for this amazing experience.

1417 22nd Street Northwest Washington D.C., DC 20037 - (202) 835-2665

On Day 353 I went over to Books for America, a great nonprofit bookstore that I have frequented for several years.  As I was purchasing the book I decided to give my money $10 to someone working there.  Two of the clerks that I mentioned it to both pointed toward a guy slouched down behind a computer off to the side of the register.  “He could certainly use the cash,” one of the clerks said pointing toward Adam who had by now stood up and made his way over to the counter.

I gave him the $10 and he thanked me and said, “I can definitely use it.”  I asked if I could jot down a couple of notes and he invited me outside to talk to him while he smoked a cigarette.

Adam grew up in Maine and attended St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD.  “I studied Liberal Arts – what do you do with that?” he rhetorically asked.  Well, he ended up working at Books for America and told me, “This is the best job ever.”  Adam picks up donations of books around the city and brings them to the store where they are resold at lower than market prices.

“I one time went to pick up some books from this lady’s house and when I got there she was so upset about parting with her books that in the end I recommend that she hold on to them and think about,” Adam told me.  “I mean, books can mean a lot to people and I want the person to be comfortable with the donation, otherwise it’s not good for them or us.”  I don’t recall if the woman ever called back for Adam to get the books or not.

Adam, who is very thankful to be employed now told me, “The thing that really sucks about being unemployed is having to tell your friends and people from high school that you are ‘in between jobs’ when they ask what you are doing.”  This never really bothered me when I was out of work, but I know a lot of people have shared this same comment with me.

Adam shared an amazing personal story of giving with me.  When he was in high school he and some buddies decided to buy some strangers breakfast.  Their simple altruistic act of kindness lived on for years without them knowing it; until recently when he happened to be visiting one of the same friends that was with him that morning and they received a very unexpected phone call.  Check out the entire story…

My favorite part of his story is, “Her gratitude was so much greater than our generosity in the moment.”  That is beautiful.  It just goes to show you that sometimes the little things you do mean a lot more to others around you.

By the way, the 28-year-old’s ten dollars are going to be handed to a bartender at the Big Hunt in exchange for a few “Bad Ass Amber beers.”

Adam and his ten dollars

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Day 332 – Molly T.

Posted in Gave the money back, tagged , , , , , , , on November 30, 2010| 3 Comments »

Good morning!  Today has got to be a better day than yesterday…I just wish I had a few more hours in the day.

I hope to send out the invites via email today for the Year-End Celebration…still waiting on the venue to send over the agreement.  At the event we will have a small auction of a couple of items to raise money for some awesome charities.  If you know of something that would make a really cool auction item, something that could generate some interesting bidding, and you have a way to get it, please let me know.  I am also seeking items to give away to the attendees when they leave.  You know in one of those “thanks for coming” bags.  If you have a contact that could get something interesting for us to give away, please let me know ASAP.  It could be t-shirts, could be books, could be Flip video cameras….whatever!  We would need about 250 units.

Also, I heard some people were sending emails to the Ellen show to suggest that she include the Year of Giving in her 12 Days of Giving.  If you want to send Ellen a suggestion…click here to submit your message!  I even broke down last week and emailed her and asked for some help making the Year-End Celebration happen.  No response yet.  Not even the standard, “Thanks for your email.  We get lots of mail so …. ”

Molly holding the Sherman Alexie novel on the Metro. (photo: Reed)

Well today’s recipient threw me for a loop with what she did with the $10!  I met Molly 100 feet below the bustling city of Washington in our Metro system.  I was at the Tenlytown station waiting to board a Red Line train to take me back to Dupont Circle.  Molly looked like she was waiting for the same train so I thought I would ask her to be my recipient.  

Molly, who just turned 27 a week ago Saturday, is a researcher at an environmental institute here in DC.  She’s originally from Seattle which is maybe why she’s reading Native American author Sherman Alexie’s 1998 novel Indian Killer – it takes place there.

Within a minute the trained arrived and we boarded the subway car.  “I’m heading over to Capitol Hill,” she tells me as the doors close.  I looked at my watch; it was 10:20pm.  I had about eight minutes until my stop.  I hastily explained the project hoping to find out more about her, but frankly I didn’t learn much because there just wasn’t time.

She told me she was living on a tight budget so I thought the $10 would come in handy for her.  “I’m applying to law school,” Molly said suggesting that maybe she would use the money to help pay the application fees.  “Or who knows, maybe I will buy some drinks on my birthday?”  Ah, yes…I almost forgot, she was going to NYC to celebrate her birthday.  Well, ten bucks wouldn’t have gotten her very much there.  Then again law school application fees are hundreds of dollars probably, so really not much help on either front.

The metro screeched into Dupont and I nearly lost my balance as I furiously crammed notes down in my little Moleskine book.  I said good-bye and headed home. End of story, right?  Wrong.

So a few days later I got an email from Molly.  Here’s part of it:

…[it] was a rather rushed and, on my part, flustered conversation about what I would do with the money. Well, since then I’ve been thinking about that interaction a lot. And I’ve been thinking about the ten dollars a lot, too. For some reason, I can’t seem to spend it. And I can’t seem to stop obsessing about the best way to use it.  In fact, it’s starting to drive me a little crazy. So, if you don’t mind, I think I would like to donate it back to your project. Would that be possible?”

I think it is great that this experience has caused her to stop and think about it.  To think about different ways it could be used.  Certainly I didn’t want to stress her out, but she really pondered what to do with it.  Anyway, we are meeting Thursday and she is going to donate the money back to the Year of Giving and I am going to use it to help me pay for the Year-End Celebration.

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Day 317 – Willie G.

Posted in Donation, Gave the money to someone else, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 15, 2010| 4 Comments »

A couple of weeks ago I told you that I had given my $10 to celebrity…well today is the day that you find out who I ran into.

Willie Geist on MSNBC's Way Too Early with Willie Geist

An unscientific statistic that I came up with tells me that somewhere between 16-17 million people wake up and tune in to morning show programs.  I occasionally turn them on while I am getting ready, but most the time I listen to NPR.  Anyway, I watch them enough that I know a little bit about each program.  Well, I was surprised when I stopped in my local book store and found one of the hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe there.

It was the likeable and funny Willie Geist who also hosts Way Too Early with Willie Geist which is on immediately before Morning Joe for all those early birds who are up at 5:30am.  I haven’t seen that program yet…I rarely am up at 5:30 and if I am I doubt I am checking what is on TV.  Anyway, he was making an appearance at the Borders Bookstore at 18th and L Streets in DC. 

“Hmmm….would he take my $10,” I thought.  What the hell, let’s give it a try. 

Reed talking to Willie.

He was talking to a large crowd about his newly released book American Freak Show.  A long line formed to meet him and have him sign books.  I decided to wait around.  Then I noticed that his wife Christina was there.  I checked with her to see if she thought Willie would be game for my ten bucks!  She was lovely and told me that he probably would be thrilled to be a part of the Year of Giving.  Interestingly enough, I think I remember a comment in the bio section in his book that says that he and Christina met in the sixth grade or something like that…she was helping him with his homework.  Willie’s a pretty smart guy so I’m guessing he just wanted to find a reason to spend some time with a smart attractive girl like Christina!  Anyway, they’ve been married for seven years, have two children and live in New York.

So I finally get to meet Willie.  I asked him to sign a copy of his book for my father, which he graciously did.  The book is pure satire and a fun read.  It kind of reminds me of the concept of the Onion.  It takes real people and creates completely fictional occurrences, like Sarah Palin winning the 2012 election and delivering her inaugural address from the WWE’s Monday Night Raw at the Ice Palace in Tampa.  He also has a fantastic chapter on former governor Rob Blagojevich.

Jimmy "The Rent is 2 Damn High" McMillan

I asked Willie if there were any individuals that he felt got left out of the book.  There were two that got their 15 minutes of fame after he had already sent the book for publication.  “It’s too bad that I didn’t get to include Christine O’Donnell or Jimmy McMillan – ‘The Rent is 2 Damn High’ guy,” Willie explained unable to hold back a chuckle as he envisioned the stories that he could create about those two.

I explained the Year of Giving to Willie and asked him to accept my $10.  “Oh, I couldn’t accept your ten dollars,” Willie said.  “I would just give it to someone else who needs it or donate it.”  I assured him that he could do that and he accepted it.  

Willie had been there now for a couple of hours and it was after 9:00pm.  “I’ve got to get up in about four or five hours to do the show,” he explained.  He looked as if it had been a long day.  I imagine it was too…he probably got up around 3:00am, did his shows, took the train down to DC, made some appearances and now was focused on getting to his hotel.  Accompanied by his wife, three-year-old daughter Lucie who had been so well-behaved all evening, and a few personal friends, Willie slowly made his way to the front of the store.  I wished him luck with the book and said goodbye to him and Christina.

Willie said he would pass the $10 along.

By the way, I did a little research online about Willie and thought I would share the following with you.  Now 35, he was born in Evanston, IL and graduated high school in Ridgewood, NJ where he was the captain of the football and basketball teams.  He went on to graduate college from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.  His little sister is an accomplished documentary film producer (Crazy Love, Black Magic, Ring of Fire) and they are the great-grandchildren of Herbie Lewis who led the Detroit Red Wings to two Stanley Cup victories.  Check out Willie’s satirical video blog on msnbc.com called Zeitgeist!  Oh and I love this.  On MSNBC’s website it reports that he is proficient in Microsoft Word. Well done, my friend!

Note: If you live in Miami and want to meet Willie this weekend, he is scheduled to be at the Miami Book Fair this Saturday.

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Day 287 – Andrew M.

Posted in Food & Beverage, tagged , , , , , , , on October 12, 2010| 2 Comments »

I love going out and giving my $10 away.  However, I have to admit there have been a very small handful of days when I am just not motivated.  This is one of those days.  I was not feeling well and just wanted to go to bed, but I forced myself into some presentable clothes and headed out in the drizzling darkness.

KULTURAs at 1728 Conn. Ave. (photo: Reed)

I saw a man sitting in a folding chair on the sidewalk of Connecticut Avenue.  He was wearing a long sleeve shirt opened up with a white t-shirt underneath, jeans and flip flops.  His calm, easy demeanor unaffected by the light rain that fell on his shoulders.  Andrew is the owner of KULTURAs Bookstore at 1728 Connecticut Avenue which is nestled on the west side of Connecticut just north of Dupont Circle.  It’s a wonderful shop featuring second-hand and rare books as well as small but unique collection of consignment clothing.  They even sell some handmade ponchos commonly found in parts of Latin America.  I had been in the bookstore during the snowpocalypse we had last winter.  “We opened during the snow storm, so you must have stopped in during the first week,” Andrew told me.  This was KULTURAs second stint in the Dupont area.  Andrew explained that he and his wife had had a store in the area for a long time but in 2006 they packed the family up and moved 3,000 miles to Santa Monica, CA where they continued with KULTURAs. 

Andrew peering out the store front. (photo: Reed)

The rain started to pick up and we walked inside where he sunk into a chair behind a wooden desk.  “The timing wasn’t ideal given the economy,” Andrew said referring to the fact that after three years they decided to move back to DC last fall.  “It was fun though…we had a blast!”  He told me about their house that overlooked the Santa Monica Bay.  “I’d go surfing with my kids before school,” he reminisced as he propped his right leg up on the edge of the desk.

His upbringing consisted of periods of time living in DC, Detroit and Texas although he said he felt most comfortable in the Los Angeles area where he has family.  After graduating from the George Washington University with a degree in Latin American studies, he spent a year studying at the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia.  “I even took a weaving class there!” he told me.  I mentioned that I had spent a few weeks in Manizales, Colombia this year and he knew the area.

He married his wife in the late 80s and now has two children; one in high school and the other in college.

KULTURAs also sells consignment clothes and handmade ponchos. (photo: Reed)

Andrew is easy to talk to.  The conversation naturally drifted to the topic of owning a bookstore.  “I like interacting with people,” he says.  “Someone will come in and ask for a particular book and then you discover there is an entire story behind why they are looking for that book.”  I could relate to this.  It’s similar to what I have said about the Year of Giving – everyone has a story.  KULTURAs gives store credit for books that they buy.  Andrew says that can be exciting as well.  “Sometimes you find a real treasure!”

I was interested to hear his opinion about the long-term outlook for books.  It seems that technology is murdering the traditional print media.  The timeliness of news makes it a perfect subject to be transmitted via computers and handheld devices.  Magazines and books have also been threatened by Kindles and Nooks.  “I think physical books will diminish significantly,” the 52-year-old says pointing out that younger generations prefer to get their information online.  I do think books will begin to be read more on electronic tablets and devices we haven’t even dreamed of yet, but perhaps there will still be a strong attachment for some people to have a physical book in their hands.  Maybe it’s the sound of cracking open a new book or the musty smell of an old book or perhaps it’s just the idea of turning pages that attract some of us. 

An outside shot of Andrew ringing up a customer. (photo: Reed)

Speaking of books, I wandered around KULTURAs.  I saw lots of interesting books about art, architecture, cooking, philosophy, etc.  They even have a good number of books in foreign languages.  But it was Donald Miller’s first book Through Painted Deserts that caught my eye and ended up going home with me.  A friend of mine was recently talking about Miller and a conference of his that she was attending in Portland, Oregon.  She is a fan and I thought I would pick up his book and give it a chance.

As for the $10, Andrew said that he was going to use that to buy some groceries. 

When I left I realized I felt much better.  Maybe it was just getting out of the house?  Maybe the Year of Giving helped in some way.  For a half hour I forgot all about how I felt, the work that went unfinished that day, or the emails I still had to write. 

For more information on KULTURAs, check out their website or stop in and visit them at:
Dupont Circle: 1728 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Tenleytown: 4918 Wisconsin Avenue,  NW

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Day 205 – Madison C.

Posted in Food & Beverage, tagged , , , , , , on July 20, 2010| 3 Comments »

Borders at 18th and L Streets in NW Washington, DC (photo: Reed)

I am back in DC.  I went to Borders Book Store to pick up a gift for some friends who are moving back to Finland.  As I wandered around the store I found Madison searching through the non-fiction books.

I was surprised to find out that Madison was only 14.  She looked a little older and is very mature.  She lives in Virginia and is starting the 10th grade this fall. 

I asked her what kind of book she was looking for and she said that she was looking for a biography on Marilyn Monroe.  “She fascinates me; her whole attitude toward life.”  She perused the many books they had on the pop icon but I don’t think she ended up finding the one she wanted.  Or she just ran out of time since she ended up chatting with me for a while.

Madison seems like a very good student.  She is enrolled in an intensive Geometry course this summer so that she can skip it next year and move right into Algebra II.  Geometry though has not been easy for her.  She said she preferred Algebra over Geometry.  I was just the opposite.  I did really well in Geometry but nearly failed Algebra II.  She says that History is her favorite subject.  I would have to agree, it was one of my favorites too.

When she is not at school or studying, Madison likes to play volleyball and participate in her student government and school clubs.  She seems to like the private school that she attends. 

Our conversation makes its way back to the $10.  “What do you think you might do with it?”  She thought about the question and said that she would probably buy lunch for herself the following day at school.  “During the summer the school cafeteria is not open,” she explains so she has to get lunch on her own. 

photo: Reed

About this time I think I asked her if she was originally from DC and she said that she was but that she had moved and then came back at some point because of her dad’s job.  “What’s your dad do?” I asked.  I would have never expected the response.  “He used to play in the NFL,” she replies in a very humble tone.  I inquired who her father was.  I won’t mention his name here, but he was a first round draft pick that went on to play eight seasons of professional football.  For someone who grew up the daughter of such a well-known public figure she seems incredibly grounded and genuine. 

Speaking of her dad she looked at the time and said, “I actually have to go meet him now.”  I finished up my questions and we said goodbye.  She opted not to have her photo included, which I totally understand for various reasons.

What a smart young lady.  I was really impressed with her.  Just how she carried herself and the intelligent questions she asked.  We as society can sleep well at night knowing that it’s people like Madison that will become tomorrow’s leaders.

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Day 120 – Ilana S.

Posted in Something for others, tagged , , , , , , on April 18, 2010| 7 Comments »

Ilana at work at the bookstore (Photo: Reed)

Last Tuesday I was at the bookstore perusing the book shelves…something I do a lot.  I was keeping my eye out for someone to give my $10 to and found Ilana, a clerk at the shop.  

Ilana got a job at the bookstore partly because she enjoys reading and partly because she had a friend that used to work there.  I was interested in what authors she liked and she said that she really enjoyed the works of the late Douglas Adams.  Adams was the English author who was probably most famous for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  I didn’t realize it until now that Adams died in 2001 due to a sudden heart attack at the young age of 49.

I sometimes find myself reading a book that I just lose interest in and can’t finish.  I asked her if she ever finds herself reading books that she simply doesn’t like.  She said she felt that way about Sophie’s World.  Despite selling more than 30 million copies worldwide, Ilana just didn’t care for Norweigan author Jostein Gaarder’s philosophical novel.

Ilana’s real passion though is dance.  She has been performing modern dance professionally for some time and is currently involved in coordinating several Flash Mobs around town.  If you have no idea what Flash Mobs are don’t worry.  Wikipedia defines it as:

A large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.  The term is generally not applied to events organized by public relations firms, protests, and publicity stunts.

I have a feeling that Ilana would take issue with Wikipedia’s use of the word “pointless”, but I think you get the idea.  Basically she serves as a catalyst to get large groups of people together at a predetermined time and place and perform a dance in public.  Ilana took a minute to share some information about a current project.

I asked Ilana if there was anything I could post on the Lend a Hand section for her.  She said that she didn’t really know of anything that she needed but that she would really like to see some of the followers from the Year of Giving show up at some of the Flash Mobs.  So check out the website and take a moment to learn and perform some of the dances.  It costs nothing to participate.  This is a perfect opportunity for Rob from Day 117 to get back into dance!  But don’t wait; this year’s Dance is the Answer Flash Mobs end May 2nd!

Oh, I almost forgot.  She said she was going to use her $10 to help buy some food and drinks for a little get-together at her place.

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