Kindness Counts 2020

Thanks for your reply. Did you just buy the pick up sticks on Amazon? (Thinking of doing this at one of the parks near our home) =)

I'd imagine there are some on amazon but I didn't buy any, the people who brought them already owned them! I just provided gloves and garbage bags

I bought mine at the Dollar Tree. This was 2 yrs ago but I think I have seen them there recently. I typically just use gloves and a bag to get some squats in. I also bought gardening gloves from Dollar Tree when it was hard to get disposable back in March. They work great for big stuff but harder on the little.

Thanks guys! Happy Friday! Have a nice weekend (working, or not)!

Human Resources, Workforce Learning, Enterprise-Wide. We held a virtual staff meeting on 10-28 and opened up with a segment called "Moments of Joy". One of our colleagues asked us to submit to him random acts of kindness we had each recently taken part in. He shared this during the meeting and everyone's faces lit up. One colleague remarked that it gave her ideas for the future and another realized she does more random acts of kindness than she thought. It was an uplifting activity.

What a great idea to do with the grandkids!

I love this! Thank you for sharing. I think your team touched on a huge sticking point, that kindness and joy don't have to be a huge production. It can be something little that over time and with many people can make a big impact. I would love to hear what some of the ideas shared are!

I do not have a photo of the activity our team did since we are all working from home at this time, but I did want to share what we decided to do this year. Our two teams (Secretarial Operations and Practice Operations Training and Recruitment), which consists of eight individuals, decided we wanted to help animals this year. Our two groups were able to collect $400 which we divided between two of the local shelters in Rochester. Both of these organizations had amazon wish lists so we were able to purchase items such as food, cleaning supplies, toys, treats, etc. for furry critters. We chose to do this because we either all have pets, grand pets, or just love animals and we wanted to help out these wonderful organizations who provide shelter and care to animals and work tirelessly and selflessly to provide them a home. The positive outcome is that it provided these organizations the ability to continue to help animals and ensure these animals have food and proper care.

Thanks for your kindness! I’m sure the furry critters appreciated it as well.

Selections from a Quarantined Kitchen is an employee community cookbook to inspire hope, create camaraderie, and raise donations for a local nonprofit. Individuals from many departments including Laboratory Medicine, Marketing, and Research Services contributed to this cookbook for charity.

Over 50 recipes were shared for colleagues to try during the holidays. Donations went to Dorothy Day Hospitality House, a volunteer-led nonprofit that provides temporary shelter for homeless in downtown Rochester, MN. The activity raised $1,434 from 113 colleagues through the generous purchase of 175 paperback cookbooks, 24 digital cookbooks, and additional donations.

Please read the attached story for pictures and details.