This woman has the coolest, most ambitious idea for her birthday
Angel Velazquez of Orange County is celebrating her 35th birthday on May 11. But this awesome lady isn’t spending the day being pampered or treated. Instead, she’s using the day to give back to the community with 44 acts of kindness. That’s 44 acts of kindness in 12 hours, with a budget of $400. From buying coffee to a stranger to throwing tennis balls for dogs at the beach and purchasing gift bags for the homeless, she’ll spend the whole day doing small acts to help brighten other peoples’ day.
A few key events inspired Angel to undertake her ambitious and awesome plan, according to the OC Register. Growing up, her family struggled financially. One year, her family was almost unable to have a Thanksgiving meal, but a stranger surprised them by dropping off a bag of groceries. It was an act of compassion that stayed with Angel her entire life.
Since then, she has made volunteering and helping others a huge part of her life. She volunteers at a Huntington Beach senior center, where she helps guide craft projects, and just two weeks ago she joined a group of people feeding the homeless. It was after helping them that she decided to spend her birthday doing what she really loves — helping those in need and making the lives of strangers better.
“The feeling I get when I help people is something I can’t get somewhere else,” Angel told the OC Register, which first reported the story. “That is the best gift. Why wouldn’t you want to feel like that on your birthday?”
Although Angel planned on doing 35 acts of kindness for her birthday, she decided to increase the number after asking for suggestions on social media. She got 140, and after editing the list ended up with 44 she both wanted to and could do. So she expanded her plan and started getting ready!
Angel will be doing all kinds of things, including handing out bags of quarters with encouraging messages, giving toiletries to the homeless, and blowing bubbles for children in the park. She’ll also hand out cookies to firefighters, tape money to a vending machine, and pay for everyone’s clean clothes at her local laundromat. You can check out her entire, amazing list here—as the Register points out, to accomplish every item on her list in under 12 hours, she’ll need to really hustle.
We’re so into this idea. We especially love the item #22 on her list. “Send my parents a thank you card for being such awesome people in my life.” Aw.
(Image via)