Finding Purpose
One of the most effective and rewarding ways Random Acts can facilitate outcomes is to enable individuals or groups already embarking on kindness journeys to achieve their goals. This is exactly the opportunity Stacie Baldwin, Random Acts’ Regional Representative for the U.S. Central area, found to perform her recent staff act.
Stacie was looking for an act to benefit someone with different lived experiences to herself. When investigating the idea of donations of books to prisons, Stacie happened upon a news article detailing the work of a group of inmates in Licking, Missouri. The story caught Stacie’s attention because the inmates have made dozens of quilts for children in the foster system as well as local veterans. Looking deeper, Stacie found the group needed donations of fabric and materials, which set her act in motion.
The Kindness Chain
Wanting to purchase and deliver the fabric herself, Stacie first needed permission from the South Central Correctional Center as well as Random Acts to make the donation. Once approved, she was able to have some fun choosing fabrics, including the boy and military themed prints the inmates desired in particular.
“There’s a constant need for the quilts, so they always need more fabric,” Stacie says, noting the commonality between her volunteer act and the actions of the quilters. “The inmates are doing kind things for others, and in the act of doing this are bringing meaning to their own lives. This shows that no matter what your life experiences have been, you can lift yourself and others up with kindness!”
