MY STORY

One day I went for a run. While I was running I found this small piece of paper on the ground.

I almost ran right past it but I decided to pick it up. After I opened it up, I was a bit surprised.

I felt lucky, and decided to take it home. On my way home, my mind was racing trying to think of what I would spend my new-found fortune on. Nice dinner? Rent payment? New running shoes?

The Solution

My final decision was simple. I would use the money to help other people. The next week I took the money to the bank which was offering a special $100 bonus for opening a new account. I turned my $100 into $200 overnight. I decided to help 100 different people at $2 each to help make their day and spread the joy that I originally felt.


This began what I call the 101 Happy People Project



#63

At the DI, I found a Curious George shirt, and knew it would be perfect for my roommate.

#62

We bought a get well balloon for our friend in the hospital.

#61

My co-worker kept having her nice pens stolen, so I bought her a few of her favorite pens.

#51-60

I brought Gushers and Squeez-Its to our intramural softball game- so that my team could have treats after the game, just like little league.

#50

Donated $2 to the tipping bucket

#49

On another cold and rainy day, a cold wet woman was begging for spare change.  She got some chicken nuggets and warm cookies from McDonalds.

#48

While at the register, the cashier asked me if I would like to donate $1 to support the troops.  I did.

#46,47

I learned a lot about service today.  As I was having a very rough day, I asked my friends to go out for ice cream with me.  I ended up buying them a root beer float and some frostys. 


The sweet treats didn't cheer me up, but rather the good company and the feeling I get from helping others is what did the trick. It sounds cheesy- but I have found that when we have personal problems, the solution is seldom found by only trying to help ourselves.

#45

My roommate was feeling very sick, so on my way home I stopped by the store and grabbed him a can of chicken noodle soup.

#44

I bought 20 snack packs for a little over $5 and shared them will all my classmates on the last day of school.

#43

I wanted to get a thank you gift for my friend who wrote the original article in the Daily Universe.  I found a board game with her name on it at the DI.  We played it and learned a surprising amount about geography.

#42

My friend knows spanish and the only books he will read are Calvin and Hobbes.  I found an old Calvin and Hobbes book at the DI in spanish.  Perfect match.

#41

I found an old VHS tape from the DI. The movie's title was the same name as my friend.  I bought the movie for fun, we watched it, and it was actually a ridiculously funny movie.

#39-40

I have a pen pal who got engaged, so I sent $5 of McDonald's bucks in the mail along with a letter to the happy couple.

#38

Picked up Bee Money and got him some J Dawgs for lunch.

#37

Got some bran muffins from the bakery for a hungry man on the street.

#36

Donated another $2 to the tipping bucket

#35

I bought a stamp to Argentina to write a letter to an old friend.

#33-34

Brought bakery bagels to the office.

#32

Bought $2 of chocolate cinnamon bears for the next in line at the candy store.

#31

Brought a McGriddle breakfast sandwhich and apple pies to my friends in the morning.

#30

I donated $2 again to the tipping bucket.  This time to build wells in Cambodia.

http://tippingbucket.org/

#29

I paid for a donut for whoever came next in line at the bakery.

#28

I bought a loaf of french bread and can of soup for a dollar each for a homeless man outside the grocery store.

#27

I brought some Spongebob-shaped graham crackers to my friend at work, just to say hi.

#26

We asked a nice man to take a picture of my friends and me in the big city. We repaid him with a box of those super-frosted cookies for him and his family.

#25

Helped billions worldwide by donating $2 to Wikipedia.

#24

Purchased a bottle of chocolate milk for the next customer in line.

#23

Paid for $2 of chocolate covered cinnamon bears at the candy store for the next lucky customer.

#20-22

Brought McDonald's apple pies to work for 3 of my co-workers.

#19

New argyle socks for my older brother.

Everyone loves new socks!

#18

Purchased a single serving of egg nog at the store and asked the clerk to hand it to the next lucky Christmas shopper.

#16-17

We anonymously placed $3 of quarters on top of two different laundry machines in town.

#12-15



We dropped off four quarters to each of four different gumball machines across the mall along with a note that said "enjoy a free gumball today!"

#10&11

At the Dollar Theater we secretly bought two movie tickets for whoever came next in line.

#9

After seeing a very cold and homeless man, I bought him 3 cookies and 2 apple pies from McDonald's for just $2.

#8

Donated $2 to the Tipping Bucket again to give bikes to children in Thailand to get to school.
http://tippingbucket.org/

#7

I bought some chocolate milk at the store and had the clerk anonymously give it to the next customer who came through.

#6

I got a bar of dark chocolate for a friend for her birthday.
because all girls love dark chocolate, right?

#5

I secretly paid for a cupcake and told the person at the register to just give it to the next lucky person who would come through the line

#4

Donated $2 to The Tipping Bucket to help provide clean water in Uganda.
check it out- http://tippingbucket.org/

#3

My friend's roommate was having a pretty tough day.  My friend and I ran to the thrift store searching for something to cheer her up. We found a funny mug as part of an inside joke that we knew would make her smile.  It did.

#1,2

The first two people I decided to help were two homeless men sitting outside Wal-Mart. It was cold, dark, and beginning to rain.  I ran to McDonald's and bought them a 6-piece chicken nugget, 3 cookies, and 2 apple pies to warm them up