The adorable child you see in this post is Benjamin Wheeler.
Benjamin, age 6, was one of the children who was senselessly gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 15, 2012.
He reminds me of both of my sons. Much like G, Benjamin liked helping his dad with projects around the house, playing soccer and listening to the Beatles. Like Biz, he was a “spirited boy whose love of fun and excitement at the wonders of life and the world could rarely be contained.”
Read more about the Sandy Hook vicitms
Why am I telling you this?
Because after the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary, a fellow Global Team of 200 member asked what we could do as bloggers and social media influencers to help. In our Facebook group, we tossed around some ideas and decided to each pick a victim of the tragedy and write a post in his or her honor on a particular date.
I chose today because it is my birthday.
In each post, we’re offering up at least one idea for a simple act of kindness anyone can complete. An act of kindness inspired by the victim. While we loved Ann Curry’s #26Acts, we were concerned that after a short period the kindness would just fizzle out and we’d go back to our regular lives.
So, we’re posting these ideas in January in hopes of keeping the kindness thing going.
We’re also taking it a step further and including #27Acts because we thought Nancy Lanza should be included as a victim as well. (If you disagree with this inclusion, that’s fine too. We had a pretty good discussion about this and think it’s up to each individual.)
In honor of Benjamin Wheeler, consider performing one of these acts of kindness:
- Shovel your neighbor’s walkway or help take groceries in the house
- Gather the outgrown sports gear from the garage and closets and donate it to your local rec department or school
- Volunteer to share your musical talent to a local nursing home
- Smile and encourage someone with as much energy and vigor Benjamin had
- Send your condolences and kind words to the Wheeler family
What other acts of kindness could we do in honor of Benjamin?
And please do share your acts of kindness with me. It would be a wonderful birthday present to hear what you’ve done.
<3
Thank you for the wonderful ideas to celebrate his life on your birthday.
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday to you too, Alysia!
happy birthday, alysia!!
what a great tribute to benjamin!
stopping by via the SITS girls.
xo
Thanks for stopping by, Betty!
As much as this makes my heart hurt, carrying on the legacy of these beautiful children through acts of kindness is the most fitting gesture. May they live on in spirit through this kindness – now and always. Happy Birthday, Jennifer!
Thanks, Ilene. It only seems fitting to remember and honor these children through our own acts of kindness.
As a family we pray for the victims’ families… They are on our hearts so often. I love this idea Jennifer!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! 🙂
Thanks, Chris. They sure are in our hearts.
I think it is a beautiful way to remember the victims. Visiting a nursing home and sharing musical talent is one of my favorites on this list.
That’s wonderful, c! I wish I had some musical talent that I could share.
Happy belated Birthday! Love this post. I don’t have a specific post to share, but I do spend about 1/4 – 1/3 of my work time doing volunteer work for organizations that support environmental education (and have no budget).
And I have a ton of clothes waiting to be donated to a local women’s shelter…
Thanks for putting this together – it helps to see the work others are doing to keep us inspired!
Thanks, Cynthia. I write about this stuff because I know people are always looking for ways to give back. They don’t always realize that the little things we do – like donating our knowledge or our old clothes – can make a big difference.