MISSION: Ice Cream, You Scream, We All Scream for...Kindness!

With summer officially over (but only by a couple of days), I thought I'd give one final shout-out to the time of year during which we all indulge in cold, refreshing treats: lemonade, iced tea, and...ice cream!

Affiliated Agent H of Ontario, Canada really used her creativity and kind heart to share not only the deliciousness of a local ice cream shop, but the opportunity to help out a small business owner.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this mission!

Date: Friday, 20 August 2010

Location: various stores; Orangeville, Ontario, Canada

Time: 11:30 a.m.

Affiliated Agent H shares a little bit about herself and tells us about her first mission:

Hi Secret Agent L (Laura!)

So it's done.... my first mission of random kindness.  It felt WONDERFUL!  Before I tell you about my mission I thought I'd share with you a little about me.  I'm a stay-at-home Mom to 2 sweet little ladies (3 years old and 9 months old) and my family is really important to me.  So is being able to teach my girls compassion, empathy and kindness..... so when I was directed to your blog by a friend of mine I knew it was the perfect opportunity for me to not just teach them but to SHOW them how little acts of kindness can not only make you feel good about yourself but more importantly can make someone else feel really great about themselves.

I asked my 3 year old what she would like to find if she were just out and about somewhere one day and her first reply was "ice cream!"  I thought about this for a while because I wanted her to feel connected to the whole process....but how the heck was I going to leave ice cream out to brighten someone's day?!  Then I happened to be reading our local paper and a letter to the editor caught my eye.  It was a new local business women who had written in to voice her concerns about not being allowed to participate in our community's annual bash held downtown along the main street because her business was located outside the parameters of the downtown core.  She was upset because she felt like as a new business here in Orangeville the town should try to help promote rather then shut out like that.  What is her business you ask?  She operates an ice cream store!  A light bulb went off in my brain and I knew exactly what I was going to do!  Not only was I going to brighten someone's day with a tasty treat I was also going to help promote a small business women's company right in our own hometown.... perfect!

I have had an ice cream cone from her store before and it was very yummy.  Her business is called "I Scream for Ice Cream" and part of the reason that her ice cream is so delicious is because she actually makes all of her ice cream right in the store fresh every day!  

So here is my mission:

I went and bought 5 gift cards from "I Scream for Ice Cream", each one good for one free kiddie cone of your choice of flavour (a $2 value per cone).  Then I stopped at a mom's favourite store for a mission on a budget...the Dollar Store. 

I bought some pink and green ribbon to help dress them up.  I had some blank note cards at home that were perfect....a green border with a nice pink flower at the top....it's like they were made just for SAL. :)  

I wrote out a little note on each, placed a gift card with each one and attached your calling card to the outside of each envelope with the ribbon. 

I told my 3 year old that we were going on a secret mission that day and she insisted on wearing her super hero leggings (as she calls them)  I think she is under the impression that secret missions are only carried out by super heroes.... I love how their minds work at this age.  I snapped a picture of her leggings before we got into the truck....

I wanted to drop my gifts off at stores that I know other moms shop at a lot so I picked (surprise, surprise) our local grocery store (Sobey's) and our local dollar store (The Dollar Store).  I spend a LOT of time in both of these locations....so much so that some of the employees will say hi to us by name.  What can I say.... the life of a stay-at-home mom can get pretty lonely so I like to spread our errand running out throughout the entire week. :)

I dropped 4 cards off on random shelves in the grocery store, sticking to the product sections that I knew other Mom's (or parents in general) would be browsing or at the eye height of smaller children.  I took pictures with my cell phone after each drop (except for one of the grocery store ones....I almost got caught leaving the card on the shelf and had to pretend to be looking for something else on a different shelf...)  I found out that it's also hard to try to blend in when you have a 3 year old following you around asking you where you are going to leave the treats for people, lol!

I was not able to witness any of the gifts being picked up but I did have to go back to each store later that night because in my excitement of the mission I forgot to grab something that I needed from both locations and they had all been picked up!

All in all it was a pulse racing, heart filling adventure and I hope to continue spreading random acts of kindness in our community with my little "super hero" helpers!

Thank you for being such a great inspiration!

Thank YOU, Affiliated Agent H (and your Super Hero Helper!) for being so aware of your community and how a simple act of kindness can help out so many people!  I LOVE this mission!

MISSION: Aircraft and Awesomeness

Maybe it's because I pulled 7 Gs.

Maybe it's because I broke the sound barrier.

Maybe it's because I went 750 mph.

Maybe it's because I totally rocked my flight suit like nobody's business.

But I TOTALLY love military aircraft.

So this mission? Yeah. I'm all over it. Affiliated Agent GM of Kansas (by way of New York State), who is an aircraft maintainer on the KC-135R Stratotanker (read: crew chief that makes the pilots look good) rocks.

Date: Wednesday, 25 August 2010

Location: Chicopee, Massachusetts

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Affiliated Agent GM tells us about his mission:

I'm on day 3 in Chicopee, flying out of Westover ARB, MA. Today was a rather cloudy, cool day, which for a naturally born and raised New Yorker brings wonderful memories of my childhood.

After completing a mission and having a drink with the aircrew, I decided to drop my "kindness package." I made my way over to the Big Y grocery store, next to the Hampton Inn that I was staying at and couldn't decide how to make my drop. It wouldn't have been good to do it outside because of the drizzling rain.

I then remembered another agent who slipped their package into one of the grocery carts.

Since many of the carts were outside, I placed mine into a basket, quickly snapped a picture and left.

Too bad we're not allowed to take the "getaway vehicle" until Friday when our temporary duty to Westover ARB ends.

Affiliated Agent GM? We love you.

Lots.

Also, take a look at some video that Affiliated GM shot during his real-life mission:

MISSION: Coolin' Off.

I love ice cream. I didn't always, believe it or not. But once I started dating my boyfriend, the Ross-a-tron, I quickly learned how amazing--and delightful--ice cream really is. Whenever we celebrate something (a good semester, a good day at work, a Tuesday), we have ice cream. And not just any ice cream. We almost always have Breyers Cookies & Cream, topped with Smucker's Special Recipe Hot Fudge and Reese's Pieces.

It's so good it should be illegal.

Affiliated Agent M of Houston also sees the importance of ice cream in daily life, especially during the hot summer down there in the south!

Date: Friday, 13 August 2010

Location: Kroger parking lot; Houston, Texas

Time: 3:00 p.m. CST

She tells us about her first mission:

It has been really, really hot and humid here in Houston lately. It’s typical summer weather for us, but that certainly doesn’t make it easier.

When it’s this hot I always feel bad for retail workers at stores with carts. I see men and women of all ages corralling up carts that shoppers leave in the parking lot. It’s hot work that’s typically unappreciated.

I decided to help one of these workers cool off with a gift card to Cold Stone Creamery. After work I stopped at a nearby Kroger grocery store. I found a cart that had been left way far out from the store, away from the corrals.

I tied my gift onto the basket so that the employee who ended up walking way out there would find a fun surprise.

This was my first mission and I really enjoyed it! Can’t wait for mission 2.

We can't wait for your Mission #2, either! Thanks for your kindness and for thinking of those people who do the jobs we take for granted. Way to go!

MISSION: Groceries and Goodies

I live near one of the nicest grocery stores in Pittsburgh: the Giant Eagle Market District. It's clean, stocked to the brim, and even has a live cooking area where shoppers can sit and watch expert chefs make delicious dishes while using microphones attached to their smocks. It's very fancy. Even on the days when the store is crowded, the lines are slow, and I'm thwarted by other shopping carts at every turn, I am so thankful that I have the ability to buy the food I need when I know there are so many people who go without.

The grocery store can be stressful, as I indicate above. Those long lines, those crowded aisles, those high prices...it all can take its toll on the shopper and his or her experience. Affiliated Agent N of Northbridge, Massachusetts, has probably experienced just that! So to help remedy the same situation that someone else might encounter, she decided to do her mission of kindness at her local grocery store.

Date: Thursday, 12 August 2010

Location: Shaw's Supermarket; Providence Road; Northbridge, Massachusetts

Time: 12:07 p.m.

Affiliated Agent N shares her excitement with us:

For my mission, I decided that greeting cards would be best for making someone's day better. I bought two cards, both filed under the "Thinking of You" section. I wrote a short, encouraging message in each one and filled the empty spaces with inspirational quotes. In each envelope I also included a longer message (with instructions for it to be read later) where each sentence starts with "I hope you know..." with things like "you're beautiful," "the world is lucky to have a person like you," and "your imperfections make you beautiful."

I decided that the best places to put my cards would be in the entrance of the local supermarket. Because of how small my town is, Shaw's is where a lot of people go to grocery shop. I thought that because it was around lunch time, there wouldn't be many people shopping there. I was wrong. I had to stand outside the entrance, pretending to talk on the phone or look for something in my bag.

When people weren't around I walked in to the area where shopping carts are kept and put a card on top of one. Further inside the store there's a stack of shopping baskets so I put the other card inside one and casually walked back out.

I had so much fun with this! I felt like a spy and all I could think of were the looks on the faces of the people who found my cards. I can't wait to do this again!

Well done, Affiliated Agent N! I would have loved to stumble upon your kind gift!