Small Business Today Magazine SEP 2014 ELP ENTERPRISES | Page 31

EDITORIALFEATURE

Calculated Acts of Kindness:

Putting Thought into Giving Back
By Aimee Woodall  

I

n June, an anonymous donor using a Twitter account encouraged people to sit in
the lobby of the cafeteria at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and commit random
acts of kindness. People showed up. They
brought gifts for children, small cash donations and snapped pictures with the patients.
That’s heartwarming, right? Our faith has
been restored in humanity again!
There is something about random acts
of kindness that appeals to us; something
that makes us want to click that share button on Facebook or perhaps start a Twitter account where we hand out money
to strangers. It’s heartwarming, unique,
kitschy, and it makes us feel good. But does
it actually do anything? Shouldn’t we spend
our time, if we actually cared as much as
we say we do, planning a bit more?
In the case of asking people to show
up at M.D. Anderson on a whim, people
had to be turned away because it could
possibly put patients with compromised
immune systems in danger. Random acts
of kindness may make you feel good, but
we’re here to tell you that the power of
social media can be used to create real
change and make everyone feel good. All
you have to do is be a bit more calculated.

1.Find out who needs help.

Social media can be a great starting point
to dig into what organizations or causes
need assistance. Many nonprofits and social organizations will ask for help or donations through Twitter and Facebook and
their websites should have an area with
information on volunteering. The worst
thing you can do is try to help an organization that simply doesn’t need the help.
Focus your attention elsewhere — time
is precious.

There is something
about random acts of
kindness that appeals
to us; something that
makes us want to click
that share button on
Facebook or perhaps start
a Twitter account where
we hand out money to
strangers. It’s
heartwarming,
unique, kitschy, and it
makes us feel good.
1. Reach out to the organization you want
to partner with.

This may seem like a no-brainer but for
some (see the previous example), it just
isn’t. Many organizations will have restrictions, including legal ones, on how you can
help. Look for a point of contact at the
organization you want to help. Many of
these groups need help but your help will
be much more successful if there are open
lines of communication.

2. Ask the organization what their needs are.

It might be great that you want to show
up at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday to donate teddy
bears for the children’s charity, but guess
what? They are closed on Tuesdays and
they just received a lifetime allotment
of teddy bears from Toys R’ Us. Beggars
can’t be choosers, we firmly believe this,
but there are ways you can help more
efficiently if you work with the organization collaboratively on what help best
suits their needs. Approach them with an

idea, get input, and it can almost certainly
be guaranteed that your efforts will be 10
times more effective than going at it alone.

4. Use social media to spread the word
and gather volunteers.

Once you have met with the organization,
assessed their needs, and developed a collaborative game plan, the real magic of social media can come to play. Social media,
in many ways, has become the new community bulletin board. Utilizing the proper
channels to gather a group through your
own personal network and other engaged
citizens in the community is how social
media can become useful in this sense.
You’ve got your plan; now assemble the
troops and activate!
It’s true that random acts of kindness
have their place. They remind us of our
humanity, inspire us, and, on occasion, initiate change. But we shouldn’t rely on
the, dare we say it, lazy attitude of simply
posting an inspiring link on our Tumblr or
tossing a few quarters in the donation jar
at a gas station counter.
It’s time to get working. It is time to seek
out inspiration. And it is time to plan some
acts of kindness. Only this time, those acts
will be less random and a lot more powerful.

Aimee Woodall is the owner of the Black Sheep Agency, a Houston-based creative agency specializing in
non-traditional publ X