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Courtesy Warren Tidwell
Warren Tidwell checks in on the 26 Acts of Kindness Facebook page he started to promote the acts of generosity in remembrance of the Newtown victims.
After covering the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., NBC News’ Ann Curry wondered what could be done to ease the national suffering over the loss of 26 children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary. Why not, she tweeted, commit to doing one act of kindness for every child killed there? People responded – and wanted to up that to 26 acts of kindness for every child and adult lost at the school. Now people around the country are committing random acts of kindness – connected through the hashtag #26Acts (#20Acts and others are also trending). Get inspired: You can start your own acts of kindness right now.
On the day of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., Warren Tidwell came home early from work because he wasn't feeling well. As he watched the story unfold on TV, his heartwrenching feeling only worsened. "I had to do something," the 34-year-old auto parts salesman told NBC News. He logged onto Facebook and within minutes had started a new page: 26 Acts of Kindness.
The idea was simple. Commit to performing one act of generosity for each of the victims lost in the massacre, and share the results. He posted a photo of his first act, giving a box of chocolates to an unknown woman at his local supermarket in Auburn, Alabama. Attached to the box was a note that read, "To honor the 26 taken from us at Sandy Hook we are doing 26 acts of kindness. You are #1."
He followed that act by giving a $10 gift card to hungry students at the deli, then picked out toys to give to the local firemen's Toys for Tots drive, and then prepared cookies to wrap and place on the windshields of first responders.
Courtesy Warren Tidwell
Warren's four-year old son celebrates their fourth act of kindess, donating toys to the local firemen's Toys for Tots drive.
"I felt empowered, instead of the helplessness, hurt, and fear," said Tidwell. "I can put the good back in the world that was taken from it."
As his spirit grew, so did the comments, submissions and "likes" on the Facebook page, which he handed over to NBC News to run and spread even further, withdrawing himself as page administrator, at 1,000 likes. It now has over 27,000. Watching the stories and comments roll in from around the country, was "cathartic," he said. One woman said her family was taking the money her family had budgeted for vacation and was splitting it into a $260 gift for each of her three children's teachers. Another handed out Christmas cards to strangers around town.
Story: #26Acts of kindness you can do right now
Reading these stories, "It was humbling to know I had a hand in that," said Tidwell.
26 Acts isn't Tidwell's first foray into charitable efforts. It all began in 1998, when his family returned to their home in Jasper, Alabama to find it had burned to the ground. "I know what it's like to lose everything," said Tidwell.
Living in Tornado Alley, and with a father in the construction business, by 16 Tidwell was driving relief trucks after the area's frequent weather events. He volunteered for Katrina relief efforts, and also started Toomer's for Tuscaloosa after recent devastating tornadoes. Like 26 Acts, it began as a Facebook page, but grew to involve hundreds of thousands of individuals donating millions. Using social media sharing techniques, Tidwell said, the group got food and supplies to needy rural areas before state and federal agencies were able to arrive. Six months after buying a house with his wife, Tidwell left his job to run the group, which eventually became a non-profit organization. Tidwell has handed off the group to others to run but he uses the lessons he learned to drive his new projects.
"I'm just your average Joe, John Q Public," said Tidwell, "with a belief in the power of a common goal."
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.
More:
#26acts of kindness: Nebraska woman spreads good will one dollar at a time
Inspired to act: #26Acts of kindness to honor those lost in Newtown, Conn.
Paul Simon performs at teacher's funeral
'If you do good, you'll feel good': Origins of #26Acts of Kindness
'Light amidst the darkness': Heroic teacher Victoria Soto remembered
Leave a Comment:
now here we have a true candidate for president, he is what we all should strive to be like mr tidwell your generosity has shamed all of us and its a good thing, god bless you and your family, may all of us americasn strive to even be a tenth the human being you are
Bryncft337 (or whoever you are), you sir are an idiot and the lowest of the low.
Did it really take this tragedy for some people to do acts of kindness? We should all be doing these on a daily basis anyway! Everyone I know gives and helps all the time! If people remember to do this all the time we will be better off and not just when something bad happens!!!
Niece1964 You are right. I remember during 9/11 we were all so united as Americans, and there were increases of acts of kindness, charity, and neighborliness, but then society fell back to its old ways. Tragedy should not be the catalyst for what makes humans suddenly be kind to others. If we could do this each and every day, the world may not be in half the bad state it is in.
Romans 12:9-13
Don't just pretend to love others, Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on prayng. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Ephesians 4:32
Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Matthew 5:44
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. " When Jesus told us to do this, he meant that we should do this always, and not just in a crisis! I pray for the familys through out the world, who have lost loved ones to the violence of war, crimes, and illness. God rest the souls of these 20 adorable children and their school teachers.
I just want to know why it is only 26 acts of kindness and his mother is not included, she did not do this and she took 4 bullets to her head before he went to the school I think there should be 27 acts of kindness
You wanna ease national suffering ? Give us back our second amendment rights and you'l be easing the national suffering. That means We have the right to own guns and we have the right to carry them. Your going to need that gun when it all goes to hell. And it will.
"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
George Washington
So we have armed guards at banks but not schools, therefore we care more for our money than our children’s lives. Are armed guards effective? When was the last mass murder at a bank? Going postal: the term came from an UNARMED group. I noticed that they didn’t call it going bankal!!! And I bet there are plenty of people who would like to go bankal. Therefore being armed is both a deterrent and a safety edge. The term over educated idiots comes to mind when I think of our schools.
NOTE TO POLITICIANS: If you pass a law that makes my new $1500 assault rifle illegal I will make a note of your name and vote for anybody else in November. Also note, there are 300 million guns in the US; that is a lot of votes. The term political suicide comes to mind.
Because our government refuses to protect our children I can’t help but get the feeling that they are using our feelings for our children’s safety to get us to give up our 2nd amendment rights???
Gun laws are effective?? Look at Canada: In America 80% of the prison population is black, and about the rest are Hispanic. I don’t see blacks and Hispanics in Canada, so I expect that they would have a lower crime rate. Apples and oranges comparison. Look at Mexico: Hispanic population, whole towns getting wiped out by illegal gun toting gangs. Their government threw the population to the wolves with gun control.
Why is our government loading up on ammunition while at the same time trying to pass gun laws??
Why Does The U.S. Government Need So Much Ammunition?
In my previous article, I also noted that the U.S. government appears to be very rapidly making preparations for something really big.
This week, it was revealed that the Social Security Administration plans to buy 174,000 hollow point bullets which will be delivered to 41 different locations all over America.
Now why in the world does the Social Security Administration need 174,000 bullets?
And why do they need hollow point bullets? Those bullets are designed to cause as much damage to internal organs as possible.
But of course this is only the latest in a series of very large purchases of ammunition by U.S. government agencies. The following is from a recent article by Paul Joseph Watson....
Back in March, Homeland Security purchased 450 million rounds of .40-caliber hollow point bullets that are designed to expand upon entry and cause maximum organ damage, prompting questions as to why the DHS needed such a large amount of powerful bullets merely for training purposes.
This was followed by another DHS solicitation asking for a further 750 million rounds of assorted bullets, including 357 mag rounds that are able to penetrate walls.
Now why in the world would the government need over a billion rounds of ammunition?
If it was the U.S. military I could understand this. You can burn through a whole lot of ammunition fighting wars.
But this makes no sense - unless they believe that big trouble is coming.
George Soros:
Perhaps even more disturbing is what he believes is coming after the financial collapse....
As anger rises, riots on the streets of American cities are inevitable. “Yes, yes, yes,” he says, almost gleefully. The response to the unrest could be more damaging than the violence itself. “It will be an excuse for cracking down and using strong-arm tactics to maintain law and order, which, carried to an extreme, could bring about a repressive political system, a society where individual liberty is much more constrained, which would be a break with the tradition of the United States.”
Cool idea.
He has inspired me to reach beyond my normal outreach...just imagine what this world would be like if we thought like this all the time! I'm in processs right now.
What a bunch of douch-y responses. You guys are using this man's journey to recovery as a time to push your gun agenda (pro or con), religious beliefs, bickering, and "why not all the time"'s?? I think it is great that people are inspired. I can't get the horrible images of what might of happened in those classrooms out of my mind. It makes me so sick. If helping others gives meaning or helps us as a nation, that is awesome. Take a moment to grasp the enormity of what has happened. Let go of your pettiness!
There was a time when I was heavily involved in volunteerism. Then, life got busy and I forgot how wonderful it was to feel that passion I once felt. Reading all these great humanitarian stories and finding ways to pay it forward, made me realize the importance of giving the best gift we can give to others. It can be monetary but there are ways to help make others feel they are worthy to be on this earth. Helping an elderly or disabled person do what no longer can do for themselves, compliment a cashier or service worker who rarely get acknowledgements, think about what we could have done differently in our daily interactions with everyone who crossed our path, and so on.... I'm going to journal my ideas each day and do a nightly inventory of my interactions in order to stay focused on what really makes life special.
I feel inspired!!
What a truly chump comment dude. Not satisfied with spraying your bullsh*t on every Sandy Hook or Political thread, you now have to come over and @!$%# on this guy's page too.
Grow up.
@Judd Paynter: Cool Verses, so peaceful. Thank you.
There are people who do this stuff everyday. People who work in shelters and food banks. People who deal with the homeless and poor. It's a f**ing shame the media decides to pick out someone simply because it is tied to a tragedy they want to sensationalize. And then everybody thinks how wonderful this is and posts about it. I'll give 90% of the general public a week and this will be a distant memory. Just makes me sad it takes crap like this for the media to cover these things.
JS69, your comment is strange. What I do know is that this country will NEVER forget the Sandy Hook victims just like we never forgot Columbine, 9/11 or other senseless tragedies that occur every day in America. Some of us are still honoring the victims who died yesterday, a month ago and many years ago. Don't tell everyone else what they are going to do just because that is how you act in the aftermath of tragedies.
So JS69, you're basically saying that since we can't honor every effort, we shouldn't honor any? What kinda lame-ass logic is that? Ever think that those people working in the shelters and food banks might not be doing it for the publicity?
No, what's a f*cking shame (your words) is that you're exploiting this tragedy just like the media you claim is doing except you're doing it to complain ABOUT the media itself.
This tragedy, unfortunately, WILL be lost in time. That is the point of the comment. The culture we live in moves on like nothing matters. Do you have a moment of silence for the sinking of the Titanic, the Oklahoma City bombing, or the students killed at Virgina Tech? Doubtful. The media sensationalizes these things while people like you post comments or donate money, only to forget days later. These comments DO NOT mean I am not sympathetic to the families affected. On the contrary, I think it is APPALLING that something like this is only covered and noted when it is tied to something as terrible as the shooting in Sandy Hook.
In looking at the tragedy that happened at Sandy Hook, we all feel a sense of helplessness, because there seems like nothing we could have done to stop such madness from happening.Yet, in looking at the wonderful deeds being done by so many good and decent people around this country, it is obvious there is so much we cat do, that we are not helpless, in making the world a better place, after the Sandy Hook tragedy.
Evil can reach out and try to take our sense of peace and community away from us.But by reaching out to each other, in acts of kindness, hope and strenght is restored.We are reminded that no darkness can long remain, when the light of compassion fills the heart and spreads to all it is shared with.God bless all who in their own humble way are honoring the victims through their acts of kindness.
Well, at least it's a good start.
The problem in America really does have to begin with the opening of our hearts and a genuine shift in our vision from "me first"and "what can I buy next," to let me see what I can do to help, even if it's only as simple as a smile.
This is how we will finally get to the core of our problems. One act of random kindness at a time.
The saddest thing of all is that this story has only a handful of comments, yet stories on gun control have hundreds. We as a people have all of our priorities a$$ backwards.
Please send me a friend request on Facebook. Who knows what good acts we can all do in the future together through the power of social media?
Thank you Warren for showing us the good that is still present around us.
Tidwell, YOU ROCK!!!! You seem like me....don't let anyone take your happiness away. Keep on keeping on, Man! :D
I agree with parkpapa!
Yes, first thing I noticed after the article..well, not all of us have priorities backwards..my family is also making an even greater effort this Christmas season to help children in need - just hope these acts of kindness by so many will continue hereafter.
Why must we only act KIND when there is a tragedy?? - shouldn't this be part of our everyday life??
PEOPLE branch out of your little circle - be kind to everyone everyday
When at a resaturant or store help those less fortunate. Drop by a nursing home or hospital ask the staff who needs a visitor - someone to talk to. The list goes on ...I think you know what to do....now go !
This is something that I hope will be a spark to do what you just said- kindness EVERYDAY. I know I practice it but I think it's a reminder for a lot of people that kindness is contagious and it feels good to do good. I posted that repeatedly and the original description said "26, 27, 28 acts on to infinity." I would love to see that as well! :-)
Hopefully, many people make it a point to do acts of kindness as a routine, but making these acts visible through social media right now, I think, is helping us to see goodness on a larger scale, especially since we've just seen evil on such a large scale this past week.
I know that in spite of the fact that I donate quite a bit during the holidays and throughout the year, choosing to say that certain things were to honor those at Sandy Hook Elementary School made me feel like trying to help was actually accomplishing something. Many times, I write a check for different charities, I buy a gift for a toy drive, I help a friend in need, but it doesn't feel like enough when the world needs so much. Seeing that all these small acts by so many different people can come together to make the world a little brighter helped me deal with the sorrow of the past week.
Thats what I am thinking! I myself and many people I know do these things on a daily basis. This guy just now starts and gets a headline! hehe What makes a person a seriously good person is when they do these things just because they can actually see the NEED and not just because something bad happened!
niece1964, learn how to read. The article said that Tidwell has been through a lot and has been performing MANY acts of kindness for years. Negative (and mean) people SUCK!
Why not 27 acts of kindness to include Adam's mom. No matter what opinions or speculations I personally have, this woman was a victim too-murdered by her own son. My first act of kindness will be sending a sympathy card to Adam's father, brother and other relatives C/0: Newtown Police Dept. 3 Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470 and hoping they will forward it. Adam's family is suffering too.
I agree with you but it is a highly divisive issue. I originally posted 26 Acts or 27 acts, if you choose, for a mother who lost her life as well as a son. I am doing 27 for mothers everywhere and 28 for those living in the darkness of mental illness.
You know, I don't think the difference between 26 and 27 acts has an impact on the positive that this is producing. This is one of the very few good things to come of this, if not the only one. Let's appreciate and not worry about things we don't really know about and that don't affect where the good will springs from.
@Katy - When Ann Curry originally started this movement she said 20 acts of kindness. Someone mentioned the teachers to her and she said ok, 26. Another person mentioned Lanza's mother and she said for people to do what felt right, however many random acts of kindness they wanted to do, not just 20 or 26 or 27. So your idea to include Mrs. Lanza in your random acts is as right as another person's to do only 20 or 26. You have to remember though that there are people out there who are casting blame on her for not doing more to help her son and perhaps having prevented the other killings. I personally think it is early days for people to judge her so, again, perform your random acts for as many of the murder victims as you wish and good luck.
bigtdogmom, The idea here is to do random acts of kindness. In doing so, it takes us OUT of the place of judgment. Leave that to the courts. If we are all happy we become more productive, we become forgiving, and we make a bigger difference in this world. Who knows what Adam would have been like if he hadn't somehow fallen through the cracks after high school. I'm guessing that if everyone had continually been kind and supportive to him, the outcome of all of this might have been totally different. Stop counting...just do it. The more you do, the more difference it makes, and the better you feel.
@DM - that was basically what I was saying. I hope I didn't come off as snide when I said to perform as many random acts as Katy felt was right and then said good luck. I was not being snide AT ALL. I was being supportive for someone who was thinking of the mom who has been vilified on these posts. I think everyone will do what works for them and hopefully this will take some of the sorrow and darkness that we are all feeling about these killings and shine a small light in that darkness. Sorry if you got the wrong impression from my post.
27 acts of random kindness in memory of those lost. Thank you Anne Currey for your public idea. I am truly inspired and perhaps this will help all thoses who are grieving the loss of their loved one. PAY IT FORWARD
I don't understand why people have to count- how about living everyday like its your last and treating everybody like they're your mother.The only reason we're here is to help others on this path we call life and it should be everyone's primary purpose in life to look out for their fellow man.
We are our brothers keeper.
My friends and I decided several years ago to make donations to our favorite charities instead of exchanging Christmas and birthday gifts. This year I am making several donations of $26.00 each to my favorite, Canine Companions for Independence.
Your Mother would be very proud of you. I know I am. Merry Christmas!
Awesome idea, Ill do it !
good idea !
Beautiful ... absolutely beautiful.
I'm in.
Warren Tidwell you are awesome! And a great example to your lucky son!
Why does it always take some tragedy before people start acting like decent human beings? And I say acting because it never seems to last very long.
That is right - a bunch of pretenders! Wait until all the stupid song writing and singing starts! It is going to be pretty damn PAINFUL!
Exactly! How about just acting like that ALL the time, instead of letting crapbook control you...
Everything I read up to this point said Ann Curry invented this 26 acts of kindness...well instead of some ridiculous media outlet telling me what to do I'll just continue to do daily acts of kindness as I have my entire life. I think people that have to post something like "I just gave 5 bucks to a homeless person" are pretty darn insecure and self serving. Just live your lives in a humble and graceful manner and give when you can and be the person that helps when called upon or when they see others struggling.
SteveMW and mcmunsta, I agree. Our society's culture needs to be more compassionate. It is a characteristic of our species that distinguishes us from all others. We need more and higher visibility for role models like Warren Tidwell and like Pvt. James Ryan who, realizing the value of his life, tried to live it well. Sadly, Ann Curry was removed from a very visible position at least in part because she projected a feeling of compassion. I would like to share some of the acts that I have been involved with, not for bragging rights (the posting here is anonymous), but in the hope that it will stimulate those who are so inclined.
For a departing, favorite assistant principal of an elementary school, we had 3-4 classrooms of children (about 80 kids) line up by his office and one by one present him with a single flower while saying "Thank you, Mr. -----". We presented him with a stainless steel pin that was inscribed "I Stand For Children" and recorded the whole episode on video which we gave to him so he could view it at his leisure.
My son had a difficult time in 1st grade. Years later, after he had worked out his problems and was in 6th grade, we had him write a letter to his 1st grade teacher. In it he listed his accomplishments since the time he was in her class (there were many) and thanked her for being such a good teacher and not giving up on him. He gave her the letter in person. He told her he wanted her to have something to read, if she was having an especially bad day - he had been responsible for giving her several of these. When she read it, she cried.
We had a group of children from the children's opera (that my son performed in) sing and perform skits from their operas for the children in the local hospital's children's oncology (cancer) ward.
Try to put yourself in someone else's shoes. Then be creative with your kindness.
5 mins of fame, an opportunity at the expense of the dead. This is an activity we should all be doing already after thousands of years of 'civilized' social evolution.
Exactly right! A little gimmick to get exposure - nothing more!
Sheeple! Stop letting Crapbook dictate how to behave. Grow a conscious of your own and don't let social media crap control what you do and how you think...
This isn't going to do anything. Want to stop this type of thing? Improve security in classrooms with electronic locks on all doors and give a life sentence to anyone caught with an assault weapon for any reason unless they are police or military. These little programs people come up with aren't going to solve anything.
You are going to have a hard time defining what exactly what an assault weapon is. Funtionally, they are exactly like all semi automatic rifles for hunting. True assault weapons are fully automatic, and they can still be legally owned with the proper license, but they haven't been manufactured since back in the 80's. I have NEVER heard of any kind of incident with one of them either. So you propose to give anyone life in prison for having basically a hunting rifle that looks different? I don't think so. I have owned a AR15 since 1991 along with a few semiautomatic handguns and they have never harmed anyone. I guess you think I should be given a life sentence, is that correct? It's a shame that schools have to be a gun free zone. That is a open invitation to come on in and do what you want. How about all you anti gun people putting a sign in your front yard that says,"this is a gun free home". Wonder how long it would be before you are robbed or killed. Remember, the cops are only minutes away when seconds count. I guess you could get one of those security systems where a stern voice comes over a speaker telling the intruder to "LEAVE NOW". Yea, that will make them piss their pants and leave for sure.
Another person getting their 5 minutes of exposure on the tragedy! Everyone is milking this one for all it is worth! We had had to endure endless coverage of the tragedy itself, then all the bigger than life stories - then to the coverage of every damn funeral. It keeps going on and on and on and on and on and on! The energizer bunny has nothing on media hogs and exploiters! LOL
Next - they will probably post what each victim had for breakfast the morning of the shooting - there really is not much left besides the tons of stupid songs that will be written all over related to the killing! People with their five dollar instruments and some with expensive ones, will start the song flow. It is getting irritating!
Yeah, the fallout after these kind of tragedies is getting to be too much. Random acts of kindness, pfttt, if that makes you sleep better at night I guess. Certainly isn't going to change anything.
I found this cool website while searching the web. It gave me youtube views, youtube likes, and facebook likes. Here's the link if you want to check it out
Lets concentrate on things that will make a difference. Good will win over evil. Let's spend out time doing good. A refreshing idea! Let the petty politicians fight among themselves over irelivant issues. It's over. The crazy guy is dead and the police have his guns.
What's God have to do with anything- how about being a decent human being and treating others the way we want to be treated ourselves.
This simple rule we all know would ease alot of suffering and hate in the world.
Out of everyone doing their part how many you publicly see on tv? Mr. Tidwell has done this before and even stuck with one for awhile and then turned it over to some other group to run. I wouldn't know any of you who have or are going to donate if I seen you on the street. I don't call this exploitation! You can bet there probably is some exploitation going on but unknown people walking up and paying someone else's layaway, not hardly. Seems to me that most wish to remain anonymous, mostly what I have seen is store owners describing what other people have done.
I would really like to thank almost all for keeping this on topic instead of straying like some of the other boards. For those straying to the hateful, maybe you consider donating some time or whatever you can. It might help with your outlook on life, the world's not perfect but we can improve it.
Frankly folks, I never had to have a tragedy to do random acts of kindness. I shun publicity. Do not need it, my acts are done as quietly as I can. Try paying for the groceries of an elderly lady in the check out line in front or back of you. You see really neat smiles after the disbelief wears off. Or, pay off a lay away, without recognition. Or, pay for the books for a college student one semester, without their knowing who you are, kind of fun to make 'em wonder. Or, pay for a semester of college for a deserving student, telling them it was from Santa Claus. That was fun, although I finally did let the student know "who dun it" several years later.
We all should be doing random acts of kindness, as we are able, every day God sees fit to keep us on this rock. Just think what a better place to live we would have if everyone practiced random acts of kindness everyday. May God bless each and everyone of you everyday, and smile graciously upon those survivors having to live through the Sandy Hook killings.
Haha, you know a lot of those "elderly ladies" have a lot of money socked away, right? See, that's the problem; random acts of kindness don't have to necessitate money
in case u missed the movie u need to watch pass it forward this guy just imitating it but still good cause
@Dman - I think the movie you are referring to is "Pay it Forward"
I applaud this gentleman's efforts and all the others who have so far been a part of this effort and although I dobt the reason for posting these acts on Facebook or other media is to seek pubicity but I believe Ive read somewhere that we should do acts without making them public . One should not seek for recognition of their acts of kindness . I don't recall the exact wordin but I believe it is in the bible . We should practice love and respect and come to the aid of our fellow human beings without expectation of publicity . You may have the best interests of those your helping at heart and may be sincere in your efforts but keep them to yourself , practice humility .