MSC 05 3410
Scholes Hall, 229
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Phone: 505-277-0952
Fax: 505-277-6099
ovpsa@unm.edu
The Division of Student Affairs will once again be spearheading the celebration of Random Acts of Kindness week on the UNM campus, Monday Feb. 11 through Friday, 17, 2013. Several events are planned for the week, some of which have been done in past years and some are brand new!
Kindness goodies at various locations around campus
Valentine card creation station to benefit UNM Children's and Carrie Tingley hospital patients
Donate blood at the ASUNM Community Experience Blood Drive
Feb. 13 & 14, 2013
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Student Union Building Ballroom C
Help us help New Mexico's hungry by making a donation to the Roadrunner Food Bank during our Random Acts of Kindness Week charity drive!
They are in need of: boxed meals, canned entrees, canned fruit, canned meats, canned vegetables, cereal, macaroni and cheese, pasta, pasta sauces, peanut butter, jelly, rice, soup, and sugar.
UNM Donation locations coming soon, or you can donate online at www.rrfb.org.
This year, Random Acts of Kindness Week will be celebrated February 11-15, and what better way to celebrate than by spreading kindness, respect and civility, while also focusing on safety! Too often we hear about incidents of aggression, violence, bullying and insensitivity. This year we have been impacted by numerous shootings and violent incidents which have led to injuries, deaths and suicides. How can we combat this? What can each of us do?
I would like to encourage each of us to put more emphasis on kindness, respect, civility, and safety on campus! To that end, I am leading the charge to promote positive behavior and finding ways to demonstrate kindness, respect, and safety. Kindness begets kindness. We should all be aware of our surroundings and help each other whenever possible by paying attention and responding to those around us that may need our support or assistance.
When we choose to be kind, we are energized and hopeful. Being kind to each other isn’t difficult or profound and doesn’t take much extra time or money—it just takes awareness and conscious thought from each of us. Some of the smallest acts of kindness: giving someone a compliment, sending a friend or co-worker a note of thanks, holding the door open for someone, volunteering at a shelter, or sharing your smile can go a long way. And if you want to do more, a few extra dollars could treat a friend to a cup of coffee or a movie, or help your favorite charity. Be a role model and show others how easy this can be! It will reduce your stress level and lift your spirits.
It always feels good when someone is nice TO you, but it feels even better when YOU are nice to others! Let’s put up a fight to achieve kindness, respect, courteousness, while focusing on safety! “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." -Dali Lama. Be Kind and Pass it on to Others! You can enrich the world with kindness, one step at a time. Make a difference!
For more information, go to: http://studentaffairs.unm.edu/random-acts-of-kindness.html or http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/
Kim Kloeppel
UNM Interim Dean of Students and Student Affairs Planning Officer
1. Send someone a hand written note of thanks.
2. Make a card at home and send it to a friend.
3. Adopt a stray animal.
4. Put some coins in another student’s parking meter.
5. Buy a coffee for a student or co-worker.
6. Walk your friend’s dog.
7. Give a compliment about your server to their manager.
8. Volunteer at a shelter.
9. Give Blood.
10. Mentor a child.
11. Treat a friend to a mid-week movies.
12. Give a huge tip to someone when they least expect it.
13. Hold the elevator door open for someone on the shuttle.
14. Give up your seat for someone.
15. Talk to a homeless person and have a “normal” conversation.
16. Pick up some trash around campus
17. Compliment a co-worker for their excellence.
18. Babysit for a friend.
19. Give another driver your parking spot.
20. Donate to charity.
21. Tell all your co-workers how much you appreciate them.
22. Buy an inspirational book for a friend.
23. Let someone go ahead of you in line at the SUB eateries.
24. Do something nice for yourself.
25. Smile a lot.
Numerous scientific studies show that acts of kindness result in significant health benefits, both physical and mental. Here are some key points:
Submitted by Dorene DiNaro
It has been all too common lately to hear stories portraying the Albuquerque Police Department in a less than favorable light. Therefore, I wanted to share a very positive experience I recently had with an Albuquerque Police Officer—a random act of kindness by a wonderful person made a little boy’s day and wanted nothing in return. To me, the following picture speaks for itself, but here is the story anyway.
My husband, our 3-year-old son and I were out for a walk with our dogs yesterday afternoon in our Albuquerque South Valley neighborhood. We saw a police officer who was out on a regular neighborhood patrol going in the opposite direction. My son pointed to the car and said to me, “Mama, there’s a wee-eww car!” He calls police cars “wee-eww” cars because that’s the sound their sirens make. The officer must have seen my son’s excitement and so he turned his car around so that he could pull up next to us.
The officer (whose name I didn’t get) rolled down his window and said to my husband and I, “I think I have some toys in here,” and proceeded to get out of his car with a bag full of toys. As you can see by the look on my son’s face, this was a wonderful experience for him and he gave the officer a big hug. Such a small act of kindness made my son’s day.
I think the world would be a far greater place, if we each made even the smallest effort to make someone else smile!
I have always been huge dog lover and always donate to the ASPCA. I already had one 5 lb chihuahua at home, that I had had for a couple of years and was not looking for another dog. Before moving to New Mexico on one of my trips here to visit my parents, I heard about how a box of puppies had been left on their neighbors doorstep and how one of them had a broken paw that they could not afford to get fixed.Their neighbor ended up bringing the puppy over and she was the ugliest little thing you could imagine. She was skin and bones with all her ribs sticking out and was almost completely bald and had very dry skin and sores down her back, and she also had a crooked left front paw that she stood awkwardly on. She had the saddest eyes like the dogs on the ASPCA commercials, and was very fearful. As soon as I saw her I knew I had to take this poor puppy home. She rarely left my arms for the rest of my trip. I began rubbing aloe on her back and that helped with her dry skin and sores. I made arrangments to get her back to Connecticut with me. Once there I took her straight to the vet who was unable to fix her paw because it had already started healing and found out that her hair loss was from not eating regularly and would grow back once she was eating properly. She immediately took to my other chihuahua and loves having a big sister. She has never missed a meal again and her coat has come in a beautiful tan with a red stripe down the middle of her back and tail. She hasn't gotten any bigger than 3.5lbs and still has a crooked little paw but runs just fine. Her crooked little leg makes her look like a bull dog when she is standing there trying to look tough. She gives me kisses every night before we go to bed and shows me in some way almost every day how grateful she is to have a home. Rescue dogs are very special dogs. Unlike my older dog who has never known what it is like to be hungry, rescue dogs are grateful for any kindness and trust me they show it.
I try to live by this rule as much as possible; what goes around, comes around. Leaving a nickel in the water bottle machine may help out the next person who is a nickel short, which we all know is a bummer. My biggest random acts have come from medicine. I became an paramedic so I could help others in need, in their worst moments. Lying on a steel gurney is a scary place to be, when people cannot, or refuse, to see you. One case sticks out from the others, in regards to this topic. During my ambulance time, I responded to a call in which a woman had hurt herself. Upon arriving on scene, I assessed the situation, and sent the crew to the hallway. My patient and I talked; I encouraged her to clean the bleeding wounds she had, then I bandaged them for her. I rode to UNMH with the transporting crew - I knew that ride would be about the last 20 normal minutes she would have for a while. We had a very easy going conversation, and when we arrived at the hospital, I stayed until she checked in. On the way out, she placed a hand on my shoulder, looked at me, and said thank you. Pay it forward, the golden rule, whatever you want to call it. Those who are strong have an obligation to help the weak.
I stopped at Circle K one morning to get a soda and overheard a gentleman talking to the cashier (and I eventually got involved in the conversation). He said he stays at a shelter but they have to be out by a certain time each morning. He said he was standing outside a business after leaving the shelter a few days earlier and a man came up and started talking to him. He told the man about staying in the shelter and having to be out by a certain time each morning and that he didn't have gloves and his hands were so cold. The man opened the store and told him to follow him and took him to where the gloves were. He told him that he was the manager of the store and told him to pick out any pair he wanted. He said he picked out a pair of gloves and his hands are now warm when he is out in the cold. As we all talked he said how grateful he was to that manager. A pair of gloves seem like such a small thing, but to that gentleman it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him.
Submitted by Rachel Stone
Stefanie Rotunno is a person in my office who is always willing to listen to my stories and give advice. We were talking about cooking the other day, and I told her that I can NEVER get my pinto beans to turn out right. They are either to bland or too firm; I had given up. She then proclaimed that she makes THE best beans ever! She briefly told me what she does to make her beans sublime and I made a mental note. A couple of days later, Stefanie brought me some of her fantastic beans!!! And she was right, they were great! What a nice thing to do because that afternoon, I did not need to wonder what to have for lunch. Thank you, Stefanie!
Click the post-it note on the left for thank you notes you can use to show your co-workers you appreciate them.