January 20, 2014

From Janet Lynn:

This morning I paid for a woman and her young daughters breakfast. She needed more money and I stepped in to pay for it. I was thinking of our baby boys, TJ and Theo. She thanked me and hugged me. It was a warm grateful hug that made me cry. This small act of kindness has made my day :)

From Anonymous:

I donated to the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence.

 

From Anonymous:

I gave to the Richmond Peace Education Center.

From the Students at Warren County School

From A Warren County Student:

"First off let me say "RIP" to Theo and much love to the family. "When it's our time come, we will see him again." My act of kindness is being there for people just not me family but anyone whose having problems. I keep it real. I'm always that helping hand I feel as though I can make a change in the world if not I will spark the brain that will change the world.

From Aaron Harper:

Dear Mr. F.,

I've heard about what happened to your son, and I just want to say, I'm sorry for the lost of your son. I did something nice to honor him. To remember your son when he was alive we planted food for people who might not have food.

Love,

Aaron Harper

From Ahaquisa:

Dear Mr. F.,

I heard about your son. I did something nice to my brother, sister, and boyfriend. I help my sister with her problem or whatever and my brother help be nice to people. I help my boyfriend with his attitude problem. I'm really sorry about your baby son.

Love,

Ahaquisa.

From Melody Alford:

Hey this is Melody Alford from Warren County High School so Hello Mr. F., I heard about your son and I'm sorry for your lost he was so young and cute but R.I.P. Theo. Umm I do a lot of nice things for people, I'm more like a helping hand and a giver . So I guess when others don’t have I give that’s a everyday thing that warms my heart. I love kids so I love to give them and make them happy and laugh. I put smiles on loving faces.

R.I.P. THEO

From Jamarcus Davis:

Hello Mr. F.

I heard about your son, so I did something nice in honor of your son. Just a few weeks ago the librarian at my school lost some money that she needed to eat with, so I helped her find her money. It was twenty dollars. Most people would have just kept the money and not said anything, but I picked up the money and gave it to her. It felt so good.  I hope you and your family have a merry X-MAS.

Sincerely:

Jamarcus Davis

From Kylee:

Dear Mr. F.

You were very young Theo, you died young and the story I was told has done something to me. I've been doing good deeds all week since I heard about your child. I spent time in  the community, bought my mom a purse. I never met you or your child Theo. We always live.

Kylee

From Nathaniel Timothy White:

Hello Mr. F. my name is Nathaniel Timothy White, but you can call me Tim or Nate..I heard about your son. I feel your pain. Before I was born I had a sister and when she was born she died. Now let's not talk about me and my life but the thing I did nice to honor your son is to plant food for people who need it.

Love: Tim

From a Warren County Student:

I heard about your lost and I am sorry to hear that. But my act of kindness consists of given back to the ones who have less than me. The reason I am going to do this is because it is better to give than receive, and also God has blessed me with things so I will bless others with things too. So I look at it as loving my neighbors. But I hope you have a blessed holiday.

From Joseph:

Mr F.

I heard about your son. I did something nice to honor him to do on the date 12/20/2013. Me and my third period class went outside to harvest collard greens from the garden to send to different places where kids don’t have nothing to eat so I showed my respect and picked them for the people. I respect you for sending the letter to let us know about your son. I just want to say I really appreciate you for making me write this letter.

Sincerely: Joseph

From Myesha Wallace:

I heard about your son. I did something really nice to honor him and I really hope he accepts it and happy holiday to you and your family. P.S. we went to the garden and we picked collards.

From: Larissa

To Mr. F.

I heard about your son. I did something nice to honor him.

Ever since I heard about your son, it made me think how grateful I am here today so I started doing things for people like helping people with things they need like donate things to people who need it and thank god for the people and family you have in your life.

PS Hope y'all have a very merry Christmas.

From A Warren County Student:

Dear Mr. F. I heard about your son. I did something nice to honor him. I did work for my uncle by working on houses with him

From Preston:

Mr. F.

I heard about your son. I did something nice to honor him by harvesting collards for the hungry.

From Kenyahre Watkins:

Mr. F.

I heard about your son. I did something nice to honor him by making sure that people in need have food to eat this time of year. 

January 6, 2014

From Christiane Morecock:

Hi! I have a new random act of kindness. A little late, but this is a good one!

            So I am back in Ecuador, in a very safe city called Cuenca. I have a friend who was getting ready to travel South America and he started in a city called Quito about 9 hours north of here by bus. He was celebrating New Year's Eve there and from what I heard had a pretty fun night. When he was heading back to the hostel, however, his whole group noticed this girl seizing in the middle of the road. They tried to help her but she wouldn't stop seizing. So my friend walked to the corner to grab a cab to take her to the closest hospital.
As he's standing on the corner a girl walked up to him and asked him for the time. When he looked down at his wrist to checked his watch, she stabbed him (I should have prefaced this with my friend being totally OK! Don't worry. The random act of kindness is coming). Long story short, he ended up with three stab wounds: two in the abdomen and a very fortunate, superficial wound in the neck. The cops arrested the girl and her accomplice.
            He was taken to the emergency room to clean up the wounds, examine them and send him on his way. Unfortunately this attack ended in a robbery and his credit card was in police custody and he couldn't pay the $400 emergency room bill. (Side note: a billion times cheaper than the US, the ambulance alone would have been at least $2000) So a boy he met just the night of New Year's Eve, named Michael, lent him the $400 without knowing him. He just trusted my friend enough to be decent. Michael, from the UK, becomes even more impressive in a moment.
The hospital decides it's about time to release him, and he starts to feel woozy and his heart is beating out of control. He asks them to keep him a little longer. They comply. He continually gets attacks of tachycardia and he feels like he is about to pass out, so he tells a nurse what is happening and they agreed to give him a CT scan.
            My friend is suffering from internal bleeding and needs emergency surgery to repair the damage. But it seems, as we came to figure out, that Ecuador requires a guarantee of payment in these situations before they operate. They are not accepting credit card numbers over the phone from his parents, they want a physical credit card. The volunteer organization refuses to put down a credit card because they don't trust that he or his family will ever pay it back. Instead they called me because we traveled to Ecuador together. But as you may remember, I am 9 hours away on January 1st, the largest Latin America travel day of the year. They say on the phone that he is critical and they need me there right away or he is going to die and that I am wasting time talking to them on the phone and asking me why I don't have a flight yet and telling me they can't wait for me to go to the airline and make a flight they need the card RIGHT NOW!
So, I go to the airline and start begging for flights at the airlines who are open. All flights are booked. I waited on two waiting lists and cried to almost everybody in the airport, but no one is buying it. I called them back to ask my options. The volunteer organization told me my only option was to call the US embassy, they couldn't do it themselves because they were afraid they wouldn't take them seriously as Ecuadorian citizens. I called the US embassy, who was closed for the holiday, and got connected to their emergency line. I explain (in English, thank god) the entire situation and how I need them to help him. They tell me they are already aware of the situation. Michael from the UK had already called them. The embassy explained they were connected to the right people and they assured me everything would be fine and that my friend would get his surgery before I arrived to the hospital. Michael continued to call the embassy to update them on the progress and the embassy would call me so that I wouldn't have to worry.
            Michael was an incredible stranger. Maybe it was just being decent, but the volunteer organization wasn't doing ANY of what he did. I am not saying my friend, whose name is Demik by the way, would have been left for dead without him, but that's something I'll never have to find out.