‘It can make somebody’s day’: Sauk County woman spreads kindness through community participation
SAUK COUNTY, Wis. — It’s the season of giving, and one Sauk County woman is taking that to a whole new level to keep spirits bright even beyond the holidays.
Tracy Thompson is a real estate agent and loves helping people. She wanted to take her love of helping others to the next step by starting the random acts of kindness campaign in Sauk County.
Thompson said she got the idea from Michael Thorne, a mentor who lives in Canada. Thorne had a similar idea, which Thompson tweaked to bring his idea to her town.
“There’s been so many times in my life where people have done kind things for me and I just know how good that feels,” Thompson said.
Thompson printed 50 metal act of kindness cards that she introduced at a chamber of commerce meeting one week ago. The cards have already begun circulating and creating a domino effect in town.
“It gives me goosebumps when I hear or see stories around my town,” Thompson said. “My hopes are this card keeps popping up months down the road.”
The act of kindness can be whatever someone wants it to be.
“It can be shoveling someone’s sidewalk, it can be vacuuming someone’s car, it could be baking cookies for a neighbor,” Thompson said.
It costs $0.00 to be kind. One woman in Sauk County is paying it forward this holiday season, but hopes her acts of kindness will have a domino effect, lasting for months to come. Hear the story of how powerful simple acts of kindness can be tonight at 10 on #News3 ! pic.twitter.com/YOWpY6NcMR
— Jamie Perez (@JamiePerezTV) December 20, 2018
One of the originators of the cards, Thompson’s neighbor, Cortney Dean said, “I think it’s such an amazing idea for our community and it’s so simple. Kindness is so simple.”
Dean started the momentum by giving the owner of John Joseph Coffee, John Brennan, a $20 bill and told him she wanted to pay for however many customers’ coffee that $20 could cover.
“I know this is something very small, but I think it can make somebody’s day,” Dean said.
When Brennan received that money, he said he was “blown away and it was a very nice way to start the day.”
Brennan then paid it forward by purchasing coffee for every teacher at the Sauk Prairie Bridges Elementary school Wednesday morning.
“It’s great because I think it’s starting a dialogue for kindness,” said Jody Kopp, the school secretary and lunch lady.
Many other random acts of kindness have come out of this campaign, including someone giving hot chocolate to school crossing guards, paying for someone’s meal at a restaurant, paying for someone’s gas, etc.
While the campaign is based in Sauk County, you do not need to live in Sauk County or have a card to participate.
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