Good Deeds, Pt. 1

One of SGR’s Core values is philanthropy. In today’s hard-edged business world, it sounds a bit corny to talk about love, but the reality at SGR is that we have a serious commitment to walking the talk of our personal faith. We believe our faith is the most important part of who we are, and that it is most meaningfully conveyed in our actions and how we treat other people. SGR team members are encouraged to give back to the community through volunteerism and simply doing good. This Sunday is Good Deeds Day, a worldwide movement of 900,000 volunteers in 58 countries who will take part in a celebration of doing good. I challenge you to join me in doing 15 good deeds between now and March 15!

Good deeds, random or planned acts of kindness, big things, small things, can change the world – and can change you!

In a study published a few years ago in the Journal of Social Psychology, researchers in Great Britain had 86 participants take a survey measuring life satisfaction before and after participating in a 10-day exercise. One group was instructed to perform a daily act of kindness for the next 10 days. Another group was also told to do something new each day over those 10 days. A third group received no instructions. The groups that practiced kindness and engaged in novel acts both experienced a significant – and roughly equal – boost in happiness; the third group didn’t get any happier. The findings suggest that good deeds do in fact make people feel good, even when performed over as little as 10 days, and there may be particular benefits to varying our acts of kindness, as novelty seems linked to happiness as well.

There are a number of good things you can do for others for little or no cost. Here is a short list of ideas!

• Smile at a stranger.
• Leave a note or small gift on your neighbor’s door.
• Be a kind driver – let someone out in traffic ahead of you.
• Leave change in a vending machine for someone else to find.
• Visit a loved one in a hospital or nursing home – and then stop in a few extra rooms (with permission of course!) and be sweet to others.
• Send cards to servicemen and servicewomen deployed away from their families.
• Send a friend flowers unexpectedly.
• Volunteer for a couple of hours at a charity.
• Start a Pay-It-Forward chain at a coffee shop or fast food drive-through.

There are many more ideas out on the internet that can help you get started. Again, I challenge you to join me in doing 15 good deeds between now and March 15. That’s 3 good deeds per day between now and then! As you do your good deeds, tweet, post, and share them and tag them with #SGRGoodDeeds.

Written by:
Heather Harrison
Development Manager
governmentresource.com