By John Sammarco
Too often, with our busy schedules, we lose sight of the real meaning of our holidays. It’s all too easy to look at them as just another day off, or perhaps in the case of Memorial Day, a great day for a family barbeque. With Memorial Day just a few short days away, let’s make sure that we not only honor our U.S. servicemen and women who died while in military service, but that this Memorial Day becomes a memorable one by making a small act of kindness that demonstrates our gratitude to those who make the ultimate sacrifice.
What is a Small Act of Kindness?
A small act of kindness is simply doing something thoughtful and considerate for someone else, in this case a previous or current US serviceman or servicewoman or a family member, with no expectation of receiving anything in return. Often times, small acts of kindness are made anonymously or bestowed on a recipient who may be previously unknown to the provider of the small act. Performing small acts of kindness as a family gives children insight into how good it can feel to do something selflessly to others.
What Kinds of Small Acts are Appropriate for Memorial Day?
First, it’s important to explain to your children what soldiers do for us and why we are grateful. For younger children, your explanation can be as simple as “they protect us”. Likewise, when picking a small act, it’s also important that it be age appropriate. Depending on the age of your children, here is a list of small acts that you can do together or with your friends:
- Make a family outing to a local military memorial or grave of a veteran (e.g. Arlington National Cemetery)
- Place flowers or a flag on the grave of a soldier
- Write a letter to a soldier. The website Let’s Say Thanks lets you and your kids design postcards which are sent for free to our troops.
- Tell a soldier “Thank you for serving our country”
- Contribute to, or pay for, the dinner tab for a soldier on R&R
- Drive a veteran to a doctor’s appointment
- Pay a phone or an electric bill for a family who has a parent deployed
- Ask your school administrators to invite a veteran to the classroom
- Visit a veteran that is staying in a veteran’s home or in the hospital
How Do Small Acts of Kindness Make a Difference?
Although not typically monetary in nature, a small act can have a big impact to the recipient. Recipients are very appreciative, and are often inspired to “pay forward” (rather than to “pay back”) the small act by performing another small act for someone else. In short, one small act can inspire many other small acts which in turn results in even a larger positive impact. Although there are many very good organizations and charities to assist our military servicemen and servicewomen, and their families, there are still many shortfalls and gaps in the system that can only be addressed when a person decides to make a small act of kindness.
Are you ready to make this Memorial Day a memorable one?
John Sammarco is the founder of the Small Acts of Kindness Network, a fast-growing nationwide network of over 3,000 people dedicated to assisting our deployed United States servicemen and women and their families, ensuring that they are not forgotten by a grateful Nation. By leveraging the power of social networking and Facebook®, the network quickly connects a deployed serviceman or woman, or a member of their family, that needs assistance with our members who are able to provide that assistance. The Small Acts of Kindness Network supports service members from all branches of the U.S. military.
For More Information:
SmallActsofKindness@gmail.com
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