day 94 : donate a bag of dog food

i am back from my volunteer shift in st paul {i biked 40+ miles round trip!}

a few months ago, we pulled a pup from doggy death-row & kept her for a week, until she found her forever family!
the rescue that we saved her through, gave us a HUGE bag of dog food. when she was being adopted, her new family said that they didnt need the bag {they used a different brand}
so, here we sit with a large bag of dog food {its weight-control, so its no good for daph}

there are so many amazing dog rescues in town that are always looking for food donations.
yesterday, i volunteered with secondhand hounds, so it made sense to give them the bag of food to be used for their dogs waiting for a home.
this is such an easy act of kindness. shelters are ALWAYS looking for donations ; towels, toys, food, leashes, ect. also, if you are a runner, there are always high-energy dogs that would LOVE a 30 min run outside!

day 92 : support a friend walking for the animals

today is all about the animals! 

this morning i volunteered with a rescue group & now i am supporting a friend of mine who is participating in a walk for animals.

my friend mckel {hey girl!} is walking & fundraising for farm sanctuary today! 

they are doing really incredible things in the name of animal rescue.

to check out farm sanctuary ; go here! 

since i am not working right now, i cant give a ton of money to mckel ; but i so admire what she is doing & her incredible heart! 

you can go here to donate to her page

image source // 

day 91 : volunteer for woofstock

happy saturday! 

each september, our neighborhood hosts woofstock ; which is a dog-centered event. there are products, fun things to do, rescues & just a bunch of dogs & dog lovers that hang out for an afternoon.

last summer we took daphne {before she was dealing with barrier aggression} & we had such a great time.

we will try it again this year, but she really, really struggles around dogs when she is on a leash.

i will be volunteering with a local animal rescue {they do really amazing things!} handing out water bottles, hanging with dogs that are looking for families & talking to folks.

if you are local, stop by the secondhand hounds booth in the morning and say hey! 

day 90 : attend a karma yoga class

i have talked before about my love of our local hot yoga studio ; but seriously, they are just amazing!
every friday night, they offer a $5 karma yoga class.
you pay $5, which goes {100%} to an awesome charity {it changes each month} & you receive a 60 min hot yoga practice.


i love the sense of community i feel when i am in class.
also, the 105* room does amazing things for my legs {and my mind!}

image found here

day 89 : give a police dog a bulletproof vest

happy friday!
*thanks SO much for all your kind comments // texts // emails about cutting off my hair yesterday! i appreciate it!*
yesterday, i spent quite a bit of time editing individual posts and updating the 'good deeds' list. you can check it out here. while i was going through all the posts, it was really fun to see some of the things i have done in the past {almost} 100 days! pretty cool.

day 89 : help raise money for purchase bulletproof vests for police k-9s

one of our local hardware shops {they are super dog friendly} is trying to raise enough money to buy one vest for a dog in the minneapolis k-9 unit.
did you know that a k-9 police vest costs OVER $2,000!?! {i had no idea!}
now through the middle of the month, if you donate money to the fund, they will give you a free 5-gallon pail AND a huge bag of homemade dog treats. {treats are sold out}

i slipped some money in the jar and left with my new 5 gallon pail.
as i did more research, i was shocked that as the largest city in minnesota, we do not have ANY vests for our police dogs. usually, they are the first to enter dangerous situations ; they totally deserve protection.
also awesome : the owners of the hardware store are DOUBLING all donations.
{very cool!}

if you are local & want to help, you can read more here.
if you are NOT local & want to help, call your local police station and ask if your local k9 unit has any vests {or if there are any local fundraisers that need some money // help}

day 88 : CHOP OFF MY HAIR

its true ; i did it!

i have always wanted to donate my hair ; but its never been long enough to do so.

recently though, it had gotten SO LONG! like, so long that when i would roll over at night, my hair would get stuck on my back & it would hurt to move.

and now that i am not working ; i told myself i would treat myself to a haircut.

yesterday, i did a bunch of research on different organizations and chose to donate to pantene's beautiful lengths program.

{and just an ethical note : pantene is owned by proctor & gamble, who do bad things in the name of animal testing. i do not support p&g, BUT in researching all of the hair donation organizations ; this is the one i chose}

making wigs and hair pieces for women living with cancer is a beautiful thing and i am happy to make my small contribution.

september 7th is 'national donate your hair day!' i know i am a bit early, but today i decided to chop it all off! 

i went to aveda & monique {hey girl!} chopped EIGHT INCHES OFF!!

i love it. its long enough to go in a ponytail & its light enough that it doesnt make my neck sweat {eww}

my job now is to package up my ponytail & ship it to pantene! {just a chunk of hair in an envelope ; no big deal...}

if you have any questions about the different donation organizations, id love to help.

and also, big 'whoop whoop' to monique! she is awesome and did a great job. 

have you ever donated your hair? would you?

day 87 : buy a stranger breakfast

long time, no post! 

here is the deal : i LOVE this project. i really do. i am proud of it & it reminds me how good & kind people are each day.

i have been neglecting this blog, mostly because of lack of time. right now, i am about 30 days BEHIND! yikes. 

so, since i am not working right now, my goal is to complete TWO acts of kindness each day for the next 3 weeks.

once i am caught up {and this page is updated} ; i will go back to one post a day.

last night, i spent a couple hours researching awesome causes and organizations and have some really awesome acts planned. woo hoo! 

so, lets get back into it! 

forgive the bad photo ; i was walking {action shot!!}

a while back, my awesome friend kate sent me four $5 gift cards for brueggers bagels. there is one at the end of my block, so i figured they would make awesome 'acts of kindness'

this morning, i walked over & sat on their patio. a young guy {my age-ish} came by with his son & i handed them a gift certificate. the dad was super appreciative! he looked at the boy {maybe 3 years old} and said 'this means, its our job to do something nice for a stranger today.'

mission accomplished! 

so simple!