I joined the revolution today and I have to tell you - it was an amazing feeling!!! I was in line at our local grocery store and handed the cashier $20.00 and thegiftrevolution.com card and said "I want you to do me a favor. I want you to put this $20.00 towards the next customer's bill and give them this card."
She was absolutely stunned and said, "Do you want me to say anything in particular?"
I just said, "Just say that the customer ahead of them wanted to put $20.00 towards their tab and asked you to give them this card!"
I rushed out and I just felt the most amazing joy!
$20.00 is not a lot of money to many people! I don't know anything at all about the people who were next in line - it may have been a nothing (as far as dollar value goes) gift to them, or it may have actually been a huge help to them right now - I don't know!!!
I just know that the random act of kindness has the power to shock and surprise people and develop an awareness that if we try, we truly CAN change the world!!!
It also is such a great and rewarding feeling to just do something nice for someone for no reason... I hope it put a smile on their faces anyway - It sure put a big, fat one on mine!!!
:-)
GO GOD!!!
2008-11-09 19:38:10
A Few Gift Cards
Joseph Mate, 43, Stow, US
This morning I went out to distribute a few gift cards. I found out that not everything is going to have great responses to this giving.
The first stop was Starbucks. Thanks to FRC, I had a Starbucks card that I could give away. I pulled into a Starbucks drive thru, briefly explained that our churches were having an event, and asked if I could dontate the card to the person behind me. The person at the window replied "that's awesome".
My next stop was Lowes. Earlier this year, someone left an unopened weed wacker replacement spool. I asked Lowes if I could return it there and have the amount put onto a card. I felt great, the value on the card was twice as much as the Starbucks card, I should feel twice as good giving it a way (I was wrong). I went to Customer Service, briefly explained that our churches were having an event, and asked if I could dontate the card to the next person who checked out at their register. The person replied "oh, that's just a merchandise credit. I don't know who'd want that. Anything purchased with it could only be returned for another merchandise credit." I left the card anyway and headed home to reset before giving more cards away later today.
2008-11-09 14:05:56
The Cape and the Pizza
Omayra Fernandez, 39, West Park, US
It was Halloween and my niece and I were sitting outside giving out candy. We weren't in costumes but I was wearing a long black dress and I had found one of the kids' old capes and I threw that on for effect. A family approached. The children's costumes were homemade and the child that approached me was a boy, probably 9 or 10. He had on dress pants and a dress shirt, white make-up on his face, red on the sides of his lips, and his hair was slicked back. I asked who he was and he answered unenthusiastically, "a vampire." I said, "Oh yeah! That is awesome!" We told him it was very creative and that he looked great. He walked away looking down at the ground. As he reached the end of the driveway I said, "Wait a minute. This would go great with your costume." I took off my cape and I tied it around his neck. He looked so happy. His parents were so grateful. It was an awesome feeling! A TheGiftRevolution card would have come in handy but I pray it inspires them to do something nice for someone else. It inspired my niece a week later. My niece is a college student who has been staying with us. Her mom gives her an allowance for gas and parking but it is hardly enough for her to buy herself a cup of coffee every day. That night, she overheard her grandmother saying how she hadn't had pizza in a long time. She went out and got her a pizza. Her grandmother was so happy. It's CONTAGIOUS!
2008-11-09 07:48:19
Two number one please...
Arturo de la Mora, 47, Cooper City, FL, US
I went to a Peruvian fast food restaurant and I got my Gift Revolution card on hand, and I said... ok... let my part on this revolution to start... so I asked Please, Two number one... then when I paid, I gave the card to the cashier and I asked to give to the next person who orders a number one (Is the most popular on that restaurant) and tell him that he has been reached by TheGiftRevolution.com. The cashier smiled and told me "You know... this is awesome, more people should do this" and I just replied yes... and you can too.. so I gave them a couple of cards... Let's see where is God going to take us... this is just a start.
2008-11-08 18:15:24
Starbucks Card
Valerie Baker, 28, Miami, US
A friend and I were eating at a restaurant last night. As we were getting ready to leave, I saw a man sitting alone. I don't know if he was waiting on someone or was truely there alone but that didn't matter. I happened to have had a Starbucks gift card with me so I walked up to him and said, Excuse me, Here is a $5 gift card to Starbucks just for you." I handed him the gift card along with the Revolution cards, told him to have a nice evening and left.
Not much of a story but the man went from lookng somewhat bored to a smile on his face. Whether he drinks coffee or not, the smile made the whole gift worth it.
2008-11-08 10:52:11
Trip to the pharmacy
Leann, 47, cooper city, US
On a typical Friday of running errands, I stopped at a local pharmacy to pick up a couple of things for an elderly friend. After giving the cashier my credit card to pay for my purchase I asked her if she could do "me" a favor. I gave her a $20 bill and asked her if she would apply that to the next person who came in to pick up a perscription. She looked kind of shocked and said sure and then said wow what a nice thing to do. I'll never know what happened but it was really fun to do.
2008-11-08 10:34:52
Supermarket gift opportunity
Diana Garrido, 43, Pembroke Pines, US
Just one day after finding out about TheGiftrevolution.com I go to Publix supermarket to just buy a few items. To my surprise, because it's never happened to me before at this location, an elderly man approaches me and flat out ask me if I can spare some change. I asked if he needed to buy food, which he said yes. I said, come with me so I can get you a Publix gift card. During the few minutes of getting and paying for the card I found out that he has no family here and can't work because he is disabled. While we were in line to pay the store manager came up to us and ask if this man was with me. I kindly reply yes although I can tell that he wasn't too sure of my answer, but left us alone. I gave the elderly man the gift card and my only TheGiftRevolution.com card I had on me and told him that if he had the opportunity to give a gift to do so and to let any friends know about TheGiftRevolution.com. Quicky the cashier ask me what is that all about, and I reply that is TheGiftRevolution.com were the purpose is to get as many people worldwide to give whether is as small as a smile, an dollar amount, or anything else. She replied, Oh how great is that!
Then I go on to my mini grocery and my first stop is the deli. The lady that is helping me all the sudden reclines against one of the machines and closes her eyes. I quickly ask her if she is okay. She replies, no, my chest is hurting. I said to her if she needed to sit and perhaps get help. She said no because it's been happening for a while and I need to work. She finished my deli order, and since I'm not a doctor all I could tell her was that I hope you feel better. She smiled at me and said thank you so much. My gift to her was my genuine care and concern for her.
2008-11-07 21:19:44
Assistance
Mark Pratt, 38, Tamarac, US
A lady was walking by my office today,she had some papers in her hand. She walk by,then turned around and came inside. She asked,"Do you have a fax and a copier I need to copy and fax documents to a company for a job." I made the copies and faxed the documents for her, she was so happy,she offer to buy a drink at the store. I said it's ok. While she was walking away satisfied that she got the documents sent, she turned around and said "God bless you my friend".
She did returned and give me a can of Pepsi and a snack, and again while she was leaving she said "God Bless yo my friend"
What I learnt in that instant was, you give a gift unexpectantly a gift will be returned to you.
2008-11-07 18:20:32
A Little Inspiration...
Clay, 42, Thomasville Ga, US
I stopped by a hospital room today and delivered these Little Debbie cakes to inspire a gentleman that was on his death bed. A little gift brings lots of hope. You should have seen the smile on his face as his body is filled with cancer, but his heart was touched with love. He allowed me to pray with him which was awesome!
2008-11-07 15:27:14
One Loaf - Nine Hearts
Don Holz, 48, Weston, US
This week nine people in my office were told that their jobs were ending. They were given a 60 day notice. As I write this they have 58 days left.
Just outside my office is a local bakery where this morning I stopped bought a "pan con queso" or a loaf of cheese bread. In the office I sliced the bread into 9 pieces, put the slices on paper plates and brought one to each of them. Their smiles and sincere thanks nearly brought me to tears. These people are losing their jobs. But a small slice of bread touched their hearts and made them forget the inevitable, even if only for a moment.....
2008-11-07 13:48:32
Iliana Malek, , TOULOUSE, FR
2008-11-07 10:21:00
The Security Guard
Cristian Garcia, 29, Miramar, US
Every time that I'm going back home there's somebody opening the gate for me at my complex, hundreds of people, hundreds of cars, every day serving the community and not expecting anything from anybody this guy is always there...so that night I decided to do something for him. I went to get some food to my favorite restaurant and I got a Cheese Cake for him. When I gave it to him he was actually surprised, he even thought it was a prank!. I felt so glad when he said "thank you". you know what, I'm sure I made his night, he got inspired...and I can't wait for my next opportunity during the revolution.
2008-11-07 00:14:54
the FRC ipod shuffle
Joseph Mate, 43, Stow, US
A few weeks ago, there was the one year birthday party for the FRC Internet Campus. During each service, an ipod shuffle was given away to the first person who could answer a random question about the service. I paid close attention, but missed out on the first ipod. I was nudged to keep trying until I won ... while also being nudged to give the ipod away. I won the ipod during the second service.
So, now I needed to find someone to donate it to. I asked a few non-FRC members from my Facebook friend list.
One of those friends had been having a difficult year. I knew this from reading her Facebook blog. With seven days, two of her cats died, and some people stole $100,000 of equipment from the small business that she owns. Her job as a landscaper has her working hard all day; repairing her newly-owned older house has her working hard all night.
I mailed her the ipod today, and it is due to arrive on the 10th.
2008-11-06 22:13:08
A Great Tip - Beaver Creek, OH
Steve Patterson, 34, Beaver Creek, OH, US
We went to a restaurant that is very close to our house. With so many colleges in the area many of the wait staff are college students. We thought what a better way to have a gift revolution then to leave a Tim Hortons coffee gift card in the sleeve with our bill with of course a giftrevolution.com card. Hopefully besides a great cup of coffee our server could pass the gift revolution on to others.
2008-11-06 10:15:23
Dinner for Four - Ft. Worth, T
Stephanie Smith, 37, Ft. Worth, TX, US
Tonight was an ordinary weeknight. I was out having dinner at Chili's with some of my friends from church. We were chatting and getting ready to leave when I remembered the Gift Revolution cards that were in my purse. I had told my friends about it a week earlier and they wanted to participate, but I hadn't given them the cards. So we started talking about how it works. I gave each of them 2 cards and started to explain it... and then it hit me. I need to show them, and this is a great chance to do so. I looked around the restaurant and saw a man sitting with 2 small children. I assumed it was a dad out having dinner with his daughters. Then a few minutes later, a lady joined the table. I kept watching the table from a distance without being awkward or obvious. I noticed the waitress that was helping them, and I saw her walk to the kitchen. I jumped up as my friends started to get really excited about what was to happen. There was a group of wait and kitchen staff standing in the kitchen chatting. The waitress I wanted to speak with had her back to me. I got the attention of a young man who could see me and motioned for the waitress to please come speak to me. I had gotten all of their curiousity. She came over and I asked her about the table she was waiting. She told me it was a husband, wife, and their 2 young daughters. I asked her if I could please pay their dinner bill in exchange for her giving them a Gift Revolution card and asking them to pass on the revolution. She got a big smile on her face and immediately said yes. I asked her to please not let them know before they were expecting their check. Then I went back to my table. She brought their bill to me and asked what it was she was supposed to say again and if she needed to do anything. I said to please just give them the card and ask them to pass on the revolution. She smiled and handed me the bill. The check for the family of four was minimal, but I noticed the staff that had seen me earlier whispering, looking at me and my friends and glancing at the family at the table, and smiling. Of course, my friends were very excited for what I was doing and how excited I was for getting the chance to do it. So I paid the check and left the waitress a nice tip for her help. As my friends and I walked out of the restaurant while the family was finishing their dinner, I couldn't help but think of the multitude of blessings this may bring and the seeds it may have planted for something down the road. The staff at the restaurant, my friends, those 2 little girls and the kids they would tell the story to, and the parents and the friends and family they would tell... even if this gift only results in the smile on the waitresses face, the curiousity of the staff, and the excitement my friends and I felt, it was totally worth the small price. Something tells me there will be so much more to come from it whether I know how it ends or not. I am so excited to get the chance to pass on the revolution again tomorrow while I'm out with my coworkers for a team lunch. I'm not going to announce what I'm doing. I'm just going to do it and know that God will use it.
2008-11-06 10:12:21
Gas Cards in Beaver Creek, OH
Steve Patterson, 34, Dayton, OH, US
On Sunday evening Kirsten and I thought of a couple of things that we can do to pass the Giftrevolution.com on to others. First thing we did was head to our local Speedway gas station here in Beavercreek Ohio and bought some ten dollar gas cards. We then stopped at Walmart which never seems to be uncrowded and just walked up to two individuals and suprised them with a Giftrevolution.com card with the gas card inside. We just moved to the Dayton area just a few short months ago and there is not many other places that have been harder with the economy then here. It seems like there is a plant closing each and every day and recently Dayton was #1 on the list of most dying cities in the U.S. We thought what better way to share God's love than to pass out gas cards which is what everyone needs. When approached each of the individuals that were given the cards were suprised by the gesture and once explained that this is a gift revolution and that to pass it on to others I could kind of sense the Christmas spirit in their face as well. Hopefully this small gesture can lead to these individuals to pass it on to others and the revolution will just snow ball.
