With one of the days off that ARG generously provided at the beginning of the year, I decided to take my car to be serviced. I drive infrequently these days and my four month old battery has been losing enough juice in 3 days without driving that I’ve had to get a jumpstart from myRead more
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I just ran up to CVS with my son to go to the ATM machine to get him cash, he is going to Lake George this weekend with a friend of his who is in our Covid bubble. I wanted to walk, he wanted to drive, so we compromised and took the Suburban. On theRead more
With no end to virtual learning in sight, one of the teachers at our school sent out a plea on Facebook for a second monitor. Staff was only given a single laptop and when they were presenting in Teams, they couldn’t see their students. I reached out to the technology coordinator at the school toRead more
My neighbor takes care of her three grandchildren. Due to new COVID-19 school regulations, she needed to acquire a laptop for her grandchildren to use for homeschooling. So, I used my Random Act of Kindness funds to help her purchase a new laptop for her “students”. – Stephanie EvansRead more
I reached out to a distillery that is around the corner from me. They have been supplying Manassas (especially Old Town Manassas) with hand sanitizer to businesses. I donated my money to the next person who is in need of sanitizer. I am not out and about much to find someone to do a randomRead more
I was at the grocery store yesterday morning, doing my weekly shopping. I was checking out when I heard the clerk say to the young woman in front of me that her card was declined. She pulled out another one & he said um that doesn’t have enough to cover it either, so I askedRead more
Here are some photos from the mass pie peeling/production that I managed to accomplish in one day and on a covert solo mission. 😊 It was insane, but so much fun! Over 200 pounds of apples peeled in under 2 hours…I call that successful. It took about 2 hours on the chop/cook, then about 3Read more
We have been shopping for supplies every other week for the Friday ASPAN breakfast/lunch program at our church for a couple years, but work schedules have kept us from doing much else. Now that we are working from home, I gave my husband a few kid free hours to focus on work (it is hisRead more
Fall of 2018 Sammy and her friend Julia built this pantry as part of their Girl Scout Silver award project, it is installed on St George’s property on 9th Street North between Nelson and Oakland in Arlington. Immediately after placing it we discovered that when presented with an easy option to help others people areRead more
Mike donated funds to go towards lunches to feed people in need. I added to the funds. I reached out on Saturday for friends to donate. We raised over $6000 that will now allow us to make over 2000 meals! I was able to partner with a couple local restaurants to bring back furloughed employeesRead more
This week was supposed to be spring break for kids in Arlington. We have 4 families on our street with young kids ranging from 3-8 and I’ve noticed that the novelty of our new reality is wearing off (for my kids at least). With fun family travel plans cancelled it seems like a lot ofRead more
Sometimes, I step out of the house to drop off lunch or dinner for Brandon and his roommates. He has four roomies, who are also chefs and all have been laid off. As I was walking in to pick up my take out for them, I saw a homeless man sitting a few feet awayRead more
A special thanks to Wendy, Mark Oden, Meredith, Mike, Kristen, Cassie and Kelly! May the love and generosity you showed to strangers come back to you over and over again. I spent every penny collected on the last drop off we will do for now. Thanks to those of you who reached out to help.Read more
I wanted to share with all of you what happened since yesterday that is pretty amazing…Some sunshine amidst all this gloom. Mike Shonholz sent me a text about 5:30 yesterday wanting to know how he could help with efforts assisting others in need. After a few texts and a quick call we had a plan.Read more
If you are looking for a random act, please consider your local schools. There are many children and families that depend on going to school in order to eat each day. Not just breakfast and lunch, but food is also sent home by these programs to feed other family members. Loudoun County has opened schoolsRead more
I went into the nail salon where I’m a ‘regular’ for a manicure and happened to see one of my children’s former teachers. I’ve known this woman as a teacher and also as an acquaintance. We’ve run into each other socially over the years and we have some friends in common. Last March, she sufferedRead more
We have a hypothermia shelter with only 12 beds in Falls Church. My partner and I pick up a volunteer shift each month. Usually we are there 5 – 11:45 to check people in, dish up dinner & play cards, chat, etc. and giving things would be weird. This month he picked up an overnightRead more
I passed over the random acts of kindness bill to the lady who comes and cleans our floor and I got a hug which I was not expecting. That gesture and the smile from her was amazing. Please keep up the good work. Happy Holidays to you and the ARG team! -an ARG ClientRead more
I had to go to traffic court today for an expired registration. After debuting in my first court appearance and getting out with no charges, I was walking back to the parking garage and encountered a frazzled young mom carrying a hefty 3 year old. She put him down and he started wailing so IRead more
November 27, 2019 “Mission accomplished! What a day and experience! With only a couple of deliveries left for today, we managed to cook and personally deliver meals to several dozen families. Some we found out were added to our list and were not aware the school had selected them. I can’t put into words theirRead more
“I was in the grocery store this weekend and saw an elderly gentleman navigating the aisles in an electric wheelchair. I gave him my RAK $20 and wished him a happy Thanksgiving. He didn’t have much to say but I hope I made his day.” -Linda MechlinRead more
“About a month ago I was at the local Peets Coffee shop and was waiting for my Café Latte, and a group of young teenagers came in, they looked just like my girls. I paid it forward and asked the barista to cover their drinks and gave her my ARG RAK $20. Thank you, ARG,Read more
“On Friday night my wife and I went out to drop our daughter in Rockville at her cousin’s house and decided to find a place to eat dinner. We went over to Stella Barra, a pizza restaurant nearby. We sat at the corner of the bar as the wait for a table was very long.Read more
“My sister and I went to Outback last night and I saw a family with a really happy baby. I’m not sure why this made me choose this family but I paid for $20 of their bill.” -Alysia NguyenRead more
“We have a neighbor around the corner from us who is in his mid-sixties and has fallen on difficult times. He’s in-between jobs and working with AARP on doing a resume refresh as well as MS Office training to help make him a better job candidate. When things are particularly challenging he does odd jobsRead more
“I had the opportunity to talk with an incredible Uber driver not that long ago. He was positive and engaging, and though I usually like to ride in silence I found I couldn’t help but respond when he started a conversation. Having come from Ethiopia he talked about the opportunities he was pursuing, and hisRead more
I was having lunch with a friend at Silver Diner, and as we were getting ready to pay, I noticed a young couple with a baby in a carrier at the table across from us. Without thinking much about it, I got up and walked over to them with my $20 and attached “Random ActsRead more
ARG recently rebranded this summer, rendering hundreds of new mugs glasses that we had ordered with the old logo obsolete. Enter Kimberely Evans, who called around to her contacts to see who could use them. Area YMCAs often provide after school care for less privileged working families and parents out looking for jobs. Kimberly droveRead more
My RAK story is not an exciting one but it is dear to me. I often visit Chesapeake Beach, MD , there is a little store there that hires young kids to help you take your groceries to the car and load them. It’s like the good ole days. Now keep in mind these kidsRead more