Ron Kim Day

“I was visiting my daughter in Oxford, England. For a few days, I stayed in her campus flat. Next to her college’s gate, there were two streetmen sitting on the ground almost daily. My daughter said they were her “buddies”. I call them Mark and Don here. When I passed by them, whoever was there, I offered them changes now and then. That day I read Carrie’s posting about the Ron Kim Day, I thought about Ron. One day, shortly after I returned to office from cancer treatment in the hospital, Ron walked in with a big bouquet of flowers and a big smile. He sat down and we had a most pleasant chat. Somehow Ron knew all the words that could lift the spirit of a struggling person. He made my day and made me feel again the wonderfulness of life and people. With that thought, I stopped when I saw Mark. I didn’t just say hi and hand him the coins, I squatted next to him and talked with him. He was quite chatty and smiled a lot, telling me what’s going on with him during the day and about his recent hospital stay. As little as this might mean, I hoped at that moment, this man felt comfort that his existence was noticed and there are people who do care about him.”

“I gave my own money to the owner of a toy store in my town and asked her to use it to pay for the next customer’s purchase—when it was a kid buying something.”

“We picked up trash on the beach, we paid the bill for a woman and her son getting breakfast at a homemade donut shop and my mom gave the man at the gas station a good tip for filling the tank.”

“While we were back- to- school shopping at Target my mom bought a Target gift card when we were in the check out line. I gave it to a mother and her child that was walking into the store as we were walking out. She looked so surprised and happy.”

“It was a beautiful day here today and as I was walking, I noticed a letter carrier sitting in his truck on a break. I imagined this man’s work and what it means to him and his family; I thought about the history of the Postal Service as one of the most diverse work forces in the US (historically and still today). My brother also works for the Postal Service so I felt a connection. On my left was a Starbucks so I went in to purchase a gift card and immediately went out to give it to the man in the truck. His initial look of surprise was replaced with a huge smile and hearty “Thank You!” which will keep me smiling for days to come. I am certainly the one to benefit the most from this simple gesture. Thank you for the inspiration.

Location: Rockville, Maryland”

“ Many of my former 5th grade students (now in their 20s and 30s) have done me the honor of letting me be their Facebook friend. Today, as I looked at some of their pages, I felt so blessed to have known them. I also felt incredibly proud of them. So, today, I posted on Facebook a thank you for allowing me to be friends with them and for inspiring me to face another group of students in a few days. The kindess has boomeranged as they comment back to me. Choosing kindness is the greatest gift.”

“Great Day to remember and honor a great guy! Also a great way to remind us all to act like Ron did every day of his life.

Today I brought doughnuts to the Pediatric ICU waiting room and left a sign “compliments of Ron Kim”. Left a lot of folks asking who he is/was and gave me a chance to tell people about him. While at Dunkin Donuts (a Kim family favorite) I left $20 to pay for the next customers to get their stuff free and said my name was Ron Kim. 👍”

“This morning we woke up early to order and pick up breakfast sandwiches for some of our friends! All of us have been working hard this past week preparing freshmen orientation trips for our school. Our friends were all happy and thankful to get a yummy breakfast. They also loved to hear about Ron Kim Day and now they are spreading kindness in honor of Ron today, too.”

“We were at the pool and called to order a pizza for our lunch and decided to order an extra one for the life guards...you would have thought we had given them a million bucks.
♡♡♡♡♡ IN RON’S HONOR.
Sending love to you on Ron Kim’s Day. Xoxo”

“On Saturday I spent time with an old colleague who is becoming a friend. She is grieving a very painful place in her marriage and really just needed a listening ear and a friend to tell her she is on the right track (she is!) and love her. I did my best to do that for her during our time together and plan to continue to regularly reach out to her as she moves through this difficult place.
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“I made a donation to Save the Children in honor of Ron.”

“Lunch by the roadside
It was a hot and sticky August day. Not a day to lay down fresh asphalt but there they were; men at work. My son and I were walking our dog when one of the men asks if there’s a store nearby.” What kind of store?” I say. Like a 7/11 where I can buy food and drink. Nothing near I’m afraid. He adds “ I didn’t know where they were sending me today. I should have brought my Igloo. Light switch in my brain. Let’s do our Ron Kim day today. I told him to wait there, I would be back in 30 min with some lunch. After walking back home I got in the car and drove to the nearest restaurant, got a fat sandwich, soda, water and chips. He was so impressed I didn’t want his money. We chatted a while, about his wife back home in Jamaica, the kids growing up American and what a great cook he was. And was I married, cause he sure made the best goat curry I could ever eat. Then he thank me again and again and we said goodbye. It was very sweet. It made my day. Now to think I almost got a goat curry out of it. ;)”

“We adopted a cat whose human mom died of cancer and did a neighborhood trash clean up.
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“I didn’t venture out yesterday as originally planned, so I have all 50 of them with me to drop them in spots this week.http://amyelomawidowsjourney.blogspot.com/ ”

“The gift of being together
Ever since I read about this a few weeks ago, I’ve been thinking about what my partner and I can do to show kindness and generosity in honor of Ron Kim Day. The right opportunity presented itself this past weekend when my partner and I took 9 members of our family on a tubing trip in Harpers Ferry, WV. It was a spontaneous trip and it came together beautifully. We were touched by our family’s willingness to drive an hour or so each way, and to get up super early to get there on time! We are so happy that we decided to do this for our loved ones and that we were able to spend a day enjoying the beauty and calm of nature together.”

“I found myself at Brookside Gardens on Ron Kim Day. It was kind of planned but mostly an opportunity to take my grandkids to see the butterflies. It was an extra special visit knowing it is one of Ron’s favorite places.

After a picnic and hike and sending prayers and well wishes to our loved ones while we walked the labyrinth we headed over to the butterfly exhibit.

While we were standing in line to get the tickets I overheard a young mother with two young ones telling them “I didn’t know it cost money I’m so sorry but we can’t go”

I asked my three-year-old granddaughter Sophia if it was OK if we gave our money to that family so they could see the butterflies.

At first she hesitated knowing this would mean she couldn’t see them herself. But it didn’t take long (and possibly some of Ron’s magic?) for her to see and share the love.

So fitting....”

“ACT of Kindness
Very small, but, Carrie, as you say, no act is too small. Here’s mine; when I have a relatively inexpensive service done that usually requires a tip, I try to give a little extra when I can afford it. Not because the service was outstanding, necessarily, but because I want the worker to have a better day. “RON KIM DAY!” —What a positive memorial, Carrie you handle your situation with poise, grace and aplomb. “BRAVA” to you.”

“Flowers always bring comfort and smiles!
I was very aware of Ron Kim Day on Saturday, August 22, but never had anything happen that I could do as a random act of kindness. But, on Saturday, one of the couples in my Sunday School class told us that their son had lost his job after 20 years...he has a wife and 3 kids...and they were very concerned and sad. I had provided altar flowers that day in honor of my mom and sister’s birthdays and I knew my mom would love to have them on her dining room table for the next week. Upon leaving the church, I decided that this couple could use a big bouquet of bright sunflowers, zinnias, sedum and cosmos that all came from my garden. I caught them just before they were leaving and they were delighted!”

“A Cup of Kindness
I was sitting in a hospital waiting room were my husband is being treated. Their act of kindness—new, interesting magazines. I read as we waited until I heard a man sitting across the room from me, talking on a cell phone and coughing. The cough got thicker and louder and the man looked more and more uncomfortable I spotted a water cooler in the waiting room. I got up, filled a plastic cup with water and brought it over to him. He reacted with surprise, followed by delight. He slowly drank the water and then thanked me over and over again.”

“My heart feels for you today and Ron is oh so proud of you and all the love that I know if pouring out today.

My Kindess story unfortunately I cannot really post a photo. You will know of my Gift of Kindness when you arrive at Camp Widow in Toronto, Canada. For those of you who do now know about Camp Widow - is widows and widowers who have lost someone who they planned on spending their rest of their lives together come together for an amazing weeking of togetherness, love, joy, hopefulness and can share stories, laughter and be one family. Carrie when you come to Camp Widow in Toronto - you will see that there is something for you there. I can’t share on this page - then it would not be a surprise.
Sending so much love to you today and I so wish that I could be coming to Toronto to give you a huge hug. Sending love and lots of hugs to you on this hard day. Love you my widda sister so much.
Hope Matters #LongLiveLove

(The wonderful surprise was a tribute tile
”

“So honored to participate in Ron Kim Day this year. What a fantastic way to honor his memory. To celebrate I let someone with a huge cartful go ahead of me in the grocery line. : )”

“Random ripples of positive energy in the cosmic pond

Message: Ron created waves of positive energy around the world with his actions and interactions in his much too short life. It is wonderful and fitting that his legacy of spreading positive energy and kindness continues with Ron Kim Day. This year, inspired by his memory, we made contributions to these people and an effort to help a whale:
http://www.gofundme.com/walshywolfpack
http://www.gofundme.com/Mateiko
http://www.gofundme.com/ydng9w
https://www.crowdrise.com/SpermWhaleRescue/fundraiser/tedcheeseman/1/return/success/success

Love you my friend, wherever you are.”