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Subscribe to RSSNewtown's heartbreak has a lot of us asking, "What can I do?" Thinking about this, I took to Twitter and asked people to imagine what would happen if all of us committed to 20 acts of kindness to honor each child lost in Newtown. I added, "I'm in. If you are, RT #20Acts."
Tens of thousands of people on Twitter and Facebook not only seized the idea, they increased it to #26Acts, to include the heroic teachers, and are launching acts of kindness big and small all over America. The acts are spreading overseas, including one tweeted from Borneo.
There are many questions about Friday's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, but one being asked by just about everyone is how to best honor the victims. In Newtown and across the country, random acts of kindness are being performed in the memory of each person lost. NBC's Andrea Canning reports.
Some changed the hashtag to #26ActsOfKindness, some wanted to increase it to 27, and 28. All good. You are in charge of this wave now.
We are curating some of the acts shared so far, as a way to inspire you, and maybe help heal us all.
Fred Rogers once said that when he saw scary things in the news as a boy, his mother would say, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."
Below, find some of the helpers.
Are you in?
Leave a Comment:
Bravo!!!
How about Act#1: stop America waging the 11 years of wars in Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. America's madmen and their war machines are killing tens of hundreds of children in those nations, too. Stop the violence. Bring the troops home.
Don't let the lawmakers twiddle their thumbs until the next kindergarten massacre
How about act of kindness #1......leave those poor people in Newtown alone, and let them grieve for their dead.
The media, screwed this entire story up right from the start. First you said the mother worked for the school, when she didn't. Then, you said there was a second shooter, and there wasn't. Then, you said the principal buzzed the shooter in the school, when in fact he did not. The shooter shot his way through the door. You gave the wrong number of casualties, and you passed along false information when what you should have done was wait for the facts, and not spread rumors, and falsehoods.
The people of Newtown Ct have suffered enough. In fact, they' suffered way too much! The only thing we can do at this point is act on their behalf if they reach out to us. But, if they don't; if they want to be left alone; then, we must show our compassion and allow them to grieve, and mourn for the people, they lost both big and small.
God have mercy upon them and keep them all throughout this holiday season, and the New Year.
How about act of kindness #1... Be kind to everyone everyday and not only when senseless acts of indescribable violence happen.
Yes, that is a proper response to such tragedies - to do good deeds for total strangers. I have been doing it lately, helping others without expecting nothing back from them.
Started my 26 acts of kindness. I gave to St. Jude's, Westchester Food Bank and Salvation Army today. It felt good to do something.
Your predjudice sucks@ Ann Curry How do you say we should have sympathy and praise 26 victims... I read where there are at least 27 victims but in your small mind we exclude one or two because you have predjudice that yhey should not be included.... We;; you have proved what the problem is, offended not one but many and chances are that you are now breeding more such incidents but segrgating whom we let into the circle....
Donated to the USO for a care package for a soldier!
To Jack-3579~~replying to your comment-The instructions about the acts of kindness were: to go and do 26, 27 or 28 (the individuals choice) acts of kindness. a person doesnt have to do 26, 1 every once in a while for the rest of your life would be the way to go though.
Thanks @AnnCurry Send a message of hope to a survivor of prisoner rape. It takes no time but means the world! #26acts
I'm in.... Already did one today by giving someone in need some cash and other items. That's one... more to come... Hope everyone sticks to it. I'd like to see what everyone does. It's nice to know about the good acts and it helps coming up with some ideas. I hope that people will include phone numbers of Newton local businesses that accept donations for the folks of Newton. One lady is buying all the coffee for the responders. Funeral expenses need to be paid and no parent should have to even think about that, psychologists and psychiatrists to help the survivors for years to come... there are just so many ways to help that I'd, for one, like to know what creative ideas other folks have come up with. Even in our own communities, just being kind to one another and folks in our communities for those without the cash to make donations...and inspiration....
Anonymous donation to:
http://www.midnightmission.org/
Awesome idea. If we could hang onto the notion of helping others more often and thinking less of what we can do for ourselves, we can make an incredible difference in our world. Even the smallest notions mean a lot to many people out there.
I would like to donate to anti-gun groups to pass common sense gun-control legislation.
Unfotunately gun control is not the answer.
Mayor Bloomberg and other push for more gun control in the wake of this tragedy, but they ignore the real ways in which the tragedy could have actually been minimized:
• A 1997 high school shooting in Pearl, Miss., was halted by the school's vice principal after he retrieved the Colt .45 he kept in his truck.
• A 1998 middle school shooting ended when a man living next door heard gunfire and apprehended the shooter with his shotgun.
• A 2002 terrorist attack at an Israeli school was quickly stopped by an armed teacher and a school guard.
• A 2002 law school shooting in Grundy, Va., came to an abrupt conclusion when students carrying firearms confronted the shooter.
• A 2007 mall shooting in Ogden, Utah, ended when an armed off-duty police officer intervened.
• A 2009 workplace shooting in Houston, Texas, was halted by two coworkers who carried concealed handguns.
• A 2012 church shooting in Aurora, Colo., was stopped by a member of the congregation carrying a gun.
• At the recent mall shooting in Portland, Ore., the gunman took his own life minutes after being confronted by a shopper carrying a concealed weapon.
More guns is not the answer, everyone walking on egg-shells because anyone can snap anytime and go postal anywhere.
We haved armed gaurds at the bank, the mall, and other places, why do we not have them in place to protect the children at school? why?
And I agree not everyone needs to, or should be allowed to carry, back ground checks and such are wonderful, deffinently need to require a permit for it to be legal.
Reopen mental hospitals, and have them where parents of mentally ill children can get help.
Individually, fight against the social philosophy of "all that kid needs is a good swat." Mentally ill children have problems as biological as type 1 diabetes; you give sick people medicine and coping therapies, not violence and shame.
@ Ann Curry -
Thanks so much!
@realist-
Lead it to some dope to bring up gun control and stirring up hate and discontent on a thread meant to be philantrophic.
How much of that is legitimate fear and how much of that is just the result of brainwashing by television? The actual rate of violent death in this country is miniscule, so I have a hard time believing that anti-gun types are motivated by first hand experience. Like, when I see militantly anti-gun people in New Hampshire, Vermont, Idaho - in the safest places on planet earth in a word - I think to myself that these people are driven mostly by what television is telling them to think, rather than by what they've experienced personally in their everyday lives.
Media is a powerful tool for creating fear. I mean, just look at what happened after September 11th.
GREAT idea. Outlaw the guns - people like the guy who did this and other criminals would absolutely turn in all their guns. Not a chance in the world that they would have illegal guns in their possession. It's like the fact that convicted felons aren't "allowed by law" to possess guns, associate with known drug dealers or other felons, etc. and you KNOW that never happens. Once they're out of prison, they are pristine human beings, who never break the law again.
Get real - take the guns away from the general population, and it just makes it easier for the scumbags to rob and kill - takes away any resistance to them at all. BRILLIANT idea.
It also is what governments do in order to become a dictatorship, which is what we were warned of before the election, but that's what the majority of people evidently want for this country.
I am a gun owner. I've owned guns for the past 40 years. That said, something needs to be done.
As a first step, you don't need to outlaw all guns, just the ones like the Bushmaster he used to kill those children. NO ONE needs a gun like that, for self protection or otherwise.
I believe in the right to own a firearm to protect yourself and family. But a pistol is more readily available to you in the case of an intruder. It is much easier to use a handgun in a confined space like your house. A long rifle is totally useless. If you want or must have a long gun, buy a hunting rifle; something bolt action with a 7-shot clip. That is more than enough for legitimate hunting purposes. You don't need, no one needs, a Bushmaster.
My daughter and I are handing out 26 bags with socks and snacks in them to homeless people on Christmas day. She is 5 and has been excitedly planning for this. It has put her in the giving spirit. I think she is more excited about this than about her own Christmas gifts. Isn't this what the season is all really about?
hot ticket your right it was interesting reading at first and then........
Criminals do not follow gun laws. If you disarm the general public, you will create many more victims.
I have always held great regard for Ann Curry- now I feel even stronger about her.
I don't tweet-- so, 1 act and counting Ann. Thank You.
RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS 26! Anonymously, www.2hands.org You can pick what You can afford and who and in what State. My Home State is Oregon. I can do this You can too!
God Bless the USA!
God Bless all the children in the USA, I will make a difference in 26 lives!
As an Acupuncturist and a member of the Connecticut Society of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine I am part of an effort to provide a free acupuncture clinic.
The CSAOM a non-profit association of Licensed Acupuncturists is providing trauma recovery treatment services to anyone affected by the event that occurred in the community of Newtown, Connecticut on December 14th. All members of the community are welcome to receive free treatment. Acupressure is available for children.
The acupuncture treatments are effective for helping people facing stress, anger, frustration, depression, fatigue and other emotional and physical pain. Therapeutic effects happen quickly and can last for a week or more. These simple acupuncture treatments have a positive transformative effect without requiring the recipient to talk about their symptoms or emotions unless they would like to.
For more info please visit www.facebook.com/CSAOMNewtownAcupunctureResponse?fref=ts
That's a great idea. Instead, I'm afraid most people will go for the psychiatrists who will tell the children and parents that they will NEVER get over the trauma, and have them on prescription drugs for the rest of their lives - also providing, in advance, excuses for more bizarre behavior (PTSD, etc.).
There is holistic healing that can actually help these people, and it's good of you to offer your services. I hope there will actually be healing that takes place for these dear souls, and not psychiatric piling on of the trauma they've already suffered.
There is holistic healing that can actually help these people, and it's good of you to offer your services. I hope there will actually be healing that takes place for these dear souls, and not psychiatric piling on of the trauma they've already suffered.--it'sme,too
Good point. More prayer for the victimised and with one of them will help bring healing. God bless you and be with you, Newtown.
I'm in!!! I suppose I've already started. I want to send a thank you note to Gene Rosen. As a mother, his story touched me. He's exactly the sort of person I'd want to comfort my children until I could get to them. I also want to send a children's book about grief to Sandy Hook. Brain-storming now for more ideas. Thank you, Ann.
I will be going to visit a new friend in a mental hospital tomorrow to bring her some Christmas gifts she asked for: A book with horses in it, and some change for snacks. #1 is done. 25 to go. I encourage everyone who is able to pass on some kindness in any little way you can. #26 Acts of Kindness In honor of the Connecticut 26.
I'm in, too! I just completed #2 by giving to two people in dire need of help. This is a wonderful idea.Thanks to all of you for the suggestions and for your inspiration.
Let's stop all the bull@!$%# and leave these poor parents and their families alone! The media must step away now. Move on. Now our Corporate Government must do the right thing and ban all guns and ammunition! Use a gun, go directly to prison. Use a gun to kill another human being, be put to death immediately!
Yes leave them alone and let them grieve.
But no, more gun control is not the answer, smarter gun laws are the answer, let the principal keep a weapon for emergencies, or allow an armed and trained gaurd at each school. There are many better solutions that are not unconstitutional.
I am so sick of the gun laws argument. The boy was mentally ill, as have been the other shooters.
The difference between "Kip" Kinkel and Adam was that Kip went after his peers, and Adam went after elementary children, and that Kip is still alive and Adam isn't. We need to get mental health hospitals and out-patient clinics available in our society, and get rid of the "hit to heal" mentality, that so many people embrace and proclaim, that spanking and slapping will fix mentally ill children. They don't, any more than spanking and slapping a child with cancer will help cure the disease.
Count it as a good deed, to point this out to the "spare the rod and spoil the child" people as you meet them, one by one. And count writing to your legislators and lobbying for mental health programs as good deeds, too.
I carry packages of soft drinks and crackers in my car and hand them out to homeless people I see in the streets of Philadelphia.
Chris, I also carry rawhide bones in my car to give to homeless with dogs. A nice unexpected treat.
27, my friends, 27 acts of kindness. An innocent mother was the first one murdered.
Stan, I'm sorry, but really? What kind of mother keeps assault weapons in her home? Yes, she was also a victim, but I can't see including her in with the innocents.
So even in the womans death you comdemn her basically? However much of a role her actions or lackthereof played in this she did not intend harm on anybody. Shame on you.
Knitwit, the kind of mother who keeps assault weapons in her home is a prepared one. I have two little boys, whom I take to the park, to museums, read to every night, sing ABC's with, and play trains with. And I have weapons in my home. I also have a small store of food (bet some Sandy victims wish they had that) and a plan in case of emergency, because they are my first priority. You bet if someone tried to break into my home, or in an extreme Sandy situation, if someone tried to raid my house for food or water, they'll be the ones to go, and not my boys. I think your nitwit (pun intended) question would be better suited if it were more along the lines of "what kind of mother takes a mentally ill person shooting and keeps her weapons and ammo available to him?" I think that's the question here, and something a lot of us are wondering.
Oh yeah! I'm in! :-)
Making up a Christmas bag for an older neighbor who lives alone. :-)
It's great to see people so willing to help, and do acts of kindness. We should always try and pay it forward.
In our pain, we look for reason. Especially in this holiday season.
We wonder why things could go so wrong. But we know for the children, we must be strong.
I our hearts we cry inside. For so many lives that so wrongly died.
In our grief, we ask for strength, to go with life, to go on with faith.
We find it together, as a family, as the human race.
Peace in the world....
We took our kids and went to Target and spent a bunch of our Christmas budget on stuff for Toys for Tots. We can't do anything for the lost kids but we could do something for other kids. It did make us feel a little better.
We took the toys to the distribution center and helped sort donations too. Why does it take something terrible to make us step up to help our brothers and sisters?
I vow to change and be more open to the needs of others.
Just as spoiled, immature teen girls practice "retail therapy" to deal with their life issues, I'd imagine that NRA members have their own "range therapy." That is, in the wake of a mass shooting, they go to shoot up some zombie or bin Laden targets, preferably with the same types of weapons used in the massacre. Would anyone put this past NRA members, especially given how they're now flocking to gun stores to grab these very weapons?
Im in, donated a horse plush to toys for tots in honor of little horse lover Jessica!
I posted an event on my Facebook asking people to perform acts of kindness and to message me and tell me what they did and how they felt after doing it. I've already gotten a bunch of responses! I have some amazing friends. As for me, I'm knitting hats. All colors, all sizes, and all designs. I'm paying for the yarn myself and using my time to do it and I will be taking them all to the local women and childrens shelter to donate them. We take so much for granted and we need to take a step back and realize that it is the little things that count. Hearing my son say "I love you", having a job to go to, puppy kisses, and the soft chill of a snowflake on your cheek. ALL of those things are the little things that mean the most. Happy Holidays!
Great idea, Cody!
I wrote to my congressmen yesterday in an effort to have them do something to lessen the chance of this happening again. I also will challenge the members of my congregation (I write their newsletter and run their website) to join in this worthy tribute to those killed in Newtown.
This is a great idea, but let's not stop at 26. Why do we only help others and offer kind words after a tragedy? If 26 is all you're willing to do, then that's still good. But I challenge everyone to make this a lifestyle change... do something for at least one person every single day. It doesn't have to be much; a kind word to someone in pain works. But push yourself to do more each day to help bring love and compassion back to the world. Don't show love only after a tragedy. Show it year-round. Imagine what this country would be like if everyone who is doing the 20 or 26 acts would continue throughout the year.
My prayers are with the families and friends of those killed. May God watch over and offer them strength in this difficult time.
Got an email this morning... not sure how I got on this list (perhaps just being a pta member??). My first 3 things are going to be: 1. Making 26 snowflakes. 2. Sending a $26 donation 3. Sending 26 condolence cards. I am going to begin by sending the love where it is most needed right now.
December 17, 2012
It is with heavy hearts and the deepest sympathy that we express our condolences to the families and communities affected by the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. We have watched with profound sadness, pained that school violence has again claimed so many beloved students and educators. As you read these words, the families in Newtown, Connecticut are enduring unspeakable heartache and loss. Together let us pray that they will receive the comfort they so desperately need.
National PTA and the Connecticut PTSA pledge our unwavering support to the Newtown community. In the past few days, we have met with PTA leaders of all of the schools in Newtown, including the Sandy Hook PTA, and community leaders who have requested our help in supporting the families. For those of us who are looking to be of assistance in the aftermath, we share the following projects in need of your support:
Welcome Students to a Winter Wonderland
When school resumes for Sandy Hook, it will be in a new building. Parent-volunteers are working to ensure that the students are welcomed back by a winter wonderland with the entire school decorated with as many unique snowflakes as possible. We encourage senders to be as creative as possible, remembering that no two snowflakes are alike. Please make and send snowflakes by January 12, 2013 to the Connecticut PTSA address at the end of this email.
Donating and Organizing Fundraisers for Sandy Hook Elementary School
Donations will be accepted indefinitely to the Connecticut PTSA “Sandy Hook Fund” to provide ongoing support to the community. Please send checks to the Connecticut PTSA address listed at the end of this email. Group fundraising projects may include walk-a-thons, spirits days, pajama days, etc., which may be scheduled at your convenience.
For student-run coin drives, please submit all donations by February 14, 2012.
The Newtown community has requested only monetary donations at this time. For service or product donation inquiries, please contact newtownboe@gmail.com. To contact Sandy Hook PTA, please email sandyhook@ctpta.org.
National PTA Advocacy
Toward the end of the week, we will be prepared to share with you how best to advocate for school safety at the state and federal levels in response to this tragedy. As we said on Friday, National PTA prioritizes the protection of children in all schools and believes it is fundamental to learning. We have several position statements and resolutions related to school violence and child safety, which we will package and share widely very soon. Rest assured, we fully plan to engage our powerful network of nearly 5 million dedicated members to make a difference on this issue.
Resources
Many parents may feel at a loss about how to approach the subject of school violence with their children. For information on helping your child cope, discussing issues of violence and hate, and keeping your school safe, please visit our website at PTA.org/schoolviolence.
Thank you for your generous support and dedication to the children and families of Newtown, Connecticut.
Warm regards,
Betsy and Jim
Betsy Landers
National PTA President
Jim Accomando
Connecticut PTSA President
Please send all snowflakes and donations to:
Connecticut PTSA
60 Connolly Parkway
Building 12, Suite 103
Hamden, CT 06514
National PTA
a town of 6 digit income ppl dont need your money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!they already whored off of the taxpayers to pay for their brats to go to public school let the lanza father pay for all of it wheres all the funeral ppl offerin to do it for free, do u ppl have any idea how much those greedy fvcks make? youppl are a steamin pile of bleedin heart dopes