Well, friends, another Endure4Kindness (E4K) event is in the books! It was another wonderful weekend of challenging ourselves to go the distance with kind acts, all while raising money to fund even more acts of kindness in the future.
Getting Physical
As E4K takes its inspiration from charity runs, a number of participants took that to heart and pushed themselves to do physical challenges. For example, IT Officer Lauren Angelini ran a 10K on the first day, and did even more running on day two. She finished the weekend having run an impressive 13.3 miles. Whew! And Project Manager Rea Niessen spent her E4K weekend hiking through Scotland. She did stop to take (and share!) some absolutely beautiful photos from her hike. Thank you, Rea!
Celebrating the Season
With autumn landing in North America, it was no surprise to see E4K campaigns centered around fall and Halloween. Our Executive Director Rachel Miner joined the NYC Friends of Random Acts group to decorate pumpkins together. They also raffled off a number of donated prizes like jewelry, sketches, and painted rocks to those who donated to their fundraising campaign. AMOK Program Coordinator Jean Hayes seized the opportunity to do some reverse trick-or-treating with her kids, collecting candy for the troops while having fun with her family. And supporter Claudine took her E4K baking to the next level, whipping up batch after batch of Halloween-themed goodies to donate to various organizations in her community. Yum!
Knitting and Crafting and Rhymes, Oh My!
Every year we see such a variety of crafty and artistic endeavors, you all never cease to amaze! From cute little bees to friendship bracelets to toys for pets, the world is definitely a cuter place for your efforts! Class Act Program Coordinator Ruby Curtis (along with her two adorable youngsters) did a massive Make & Donate-athon, making papercrafts and jewelry to hide around her town for strangers to find and enjoy.
Meanwhile, the Outreach Department got into the E4K spirit in three different countries: Outreach Manager Kristin Lindsey did lots of sewing projects in Canada, Outreach Officer Paulina Fangel joined Rachel and the Friends of Random Acts in NYC, and Outreach Officer Nicole Kirby did a kindness marathon in the U.K. with her husband. Go team! Supporter Caitlin brought the bling for this year’s E4K with her eye-catching bedazzle-a-thon. We do love shiny things! And so did the lucky winners of those dazzling raffle prizes, we are sure. And our own Co-Founder and Board President Misha Collins took a more artistic approach this year by reciting poetry online, much to the delight of fans.
It’s All Fun and Games Until…
Okay, it was ALL fun and games for Canadian Regional Reps Rowan Meredith and Darsey Meredith as they embarked on a two-day Dungeons & Dragons livestream campaign. Donors even got to take part, by choosing a number of items for the players to use in the game! E4K supporters also had fun reliving tons of convention memories through the lens of fan photographer Monica Duff. She shared never-before-released photos of many of our favorite people as incentive to donate, and the Supernatural fandom jumped at it!
Making the World a Kinder Place
We could not finish this event recap without a shout-out to Communications Officer Holli DeWees, who spent a cold and rainy E4K weekend with her kiddos picking up trash and litter around her hometown. We are willing to bet she was listening to Dmitri’s E4K Ukulele-a-thon while she was working — Dmitri posted tons of videos of songs he learned and sang just for E4K. He sure inspired us!
Looking Ahead
Endure4Kindness is our major fundraising event. Money raised through E4K allows us to financially support many acts of kindness all over the world. But if you were not able to contribute during E4K weekend, it is not too late! We gratefully accept donations all year long. You can even set up recurring donations if you like! Please know how much we appreciate everything you do in support of our mission to bring more kindness into the world.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s E4K! For more stories and photos, check out the #E4KRA19 hashtag on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
