An 8-year-old girl performs 600 acts of kindness. Here’s why

We’ve all heard of paying it forward: doing a good deed for someone else in hopes that they’ll keep it going for another lucky stranger. It’s an amazing concept: sometimes, it just takes one little act of random kindness—a free cup of coffee, a door held open on a crowded elevator—to inspire us to be better people.

8-year-old Alex is hoping to make the world a better place not with just one act of kindness. . .but with 600. Proving that the biggest, kindest heart in the world is in the littlest vessel, Alex has been performing 600 acts of kindness to celebrate the life of her grandmother who died two years ago.

It all started back in September 2013, when tragedy struck: Alex’s grandmother, Linda, passed away. March 22nd, 2014 would have been her 60th birthday.

But instead of mourning, Alex and her mother, Sarah, decided to honor her life with 60 acts of kindness.

“We bought coffee, ice cream, donated various things, went to IHOP and left a very cool tip for one of our waitresses, and we ended the day by going on a toy shopping spree for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital,” Sarah told Q13 Fox. But that wasn’t enough for the dynamic duo. “Alex had so much fun that day,” said Sarah. “You could see the joy on her face, so we said, why not add an extra zero and go for 600?”

They created an Instagram account, @actsoflovingkindness, and for the next year, the two documented their acts of kindness using the hashtag #forlinda.

The Instagram account shows Sarah and Alex leaving amazing tips, placing scattered shopping carts back where they should be, and volunteering at the Rescue Mission, to name a few.

And around Christmas time last year, the Elf on the Shelf (named Crystal) adorably provided kindness assignments for Alex to pursue.

But it’s not just Alex and Sarah who are striving to honor Linda. Sometimes, the whole family gets involved and makes it an amazing group activity.

In a week, on March 22nd, Linda’s birthday will be coming up. It will be Sarah and Linda’s 600th act of kindness, and they’re going big, according to Q13 Fox.

We don’t know what number 600 will be just yet. . . but we’re sure it will make our hearts grow five sizes bigger than they already are.

Give Sarah and little Alex a follow at @actsoflovingkindness to see what’s in store for next week.

Images via Instagram