HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NELSON MANDELA! (The Day After) @CWPFairfield @WritingProject #ConnectedLearning

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NELSON MANDELA! 

From the CWP Fairfield ISI Teachers

We learned yesterday that individuals in South Africa celebrate Nelson Mandela’s birthday through volunteering 67-minutes of their day to make the world a better place. Rather than offering a whole day off – a holiday – Mandela suggested an hour and seven minutes to symbolize the 67 years of service he gave to the country. In honor of his birthday, the students in the Young Writers’ Institute and the teachers in the ISI brainstormed a list of 67 things that could be done to bring more happiness to their communities. The following list was typed by Allanah at Lynn’s request and mailed to me. This was the listed created by teachers. It seemed like a perfect end-of-the-week post:

1. Bubble gum bliss to colleagues
2. Garage sale for charity
3. Write NPR to suggest 67 minutes in U.S., too.
4. Plant flowers in a community space
5. Volunteer at a local refugee center
6. Hold the door for someone
7. Smile at a total stranger
8. Pay it forward at Dunkin’ Donuts
9. Pray for the sick
10. Really LISTEN to a child
11. Write about humanity.  Pass it on.
12. Make a donation to a soup kitchen.
13. Recycle
14. Sit with someone who needs a friend
15. Stay after school to do an activity with a group of kids
16. Say a prayer for Nelson Mandela
17. Donate books to a library
18. Donate blood
19. Help a neighbor with their yard
20. Volunteer at your local animal shelter
21. Start a new club at school
22. Adopt an animal
23. Be a curteous driver
24. Bake for students/friends/anyone
25. Let someone cut in front of you in line
26. Clean out closets or cabinets and make donations
27. Invite a friend to lunch
28. Become a mentor for a student in need
29. Volunteer your time reading to children
30. Take your dog for a walk (helps you and the dog)
31. Give someone a massage
32. Send someone a poem you wrote for him/her
33. Dance! (It helps everyone)
34. Buy someone coffee (smiley)
35. Smell flowers/plant them
36. Make someone a homemade treat (like blueberry bread)
37. Make dinner for your mom/dad
38. Thank people who work at toll booths
39. Visit a senior center
40. Help an elderly person with groceries
41. Tutor a child
42. Clean your church
43. Give someone a ride to work
44. Cook a nice meal for someone
45. Call a friend
46. Sing
47. Buy someone a gift
48. Post on your mom’s facebook wall
49. Laugh at least once a day
50. Laugh at someone’s sucky joke
51. Leave random notes scattered for friends/roommates – especially if you go on a long trip
52. Leave a note, text, email to remind someone you still care
53. Don’t take yourself too seriously (It truly helps others)
54. Make public/shared space with friends/coworkers brighter and more friendly/communal
55. Plant a tree
56. After enjoying an activity with a child, write a story about it and make him/her the main character
57. Adopt a child
58. Love, unconditionally
59. Share
60. Remember that you only live one life and live it to the fullest
61. “Scat” like Ella, Billy, and Ms. Horne
62. Bake double fudge cream cheese brownies
63. Read globally, act locally
64. Rescue an indoor insect and put it outside
65. Make dinner for a neighbor
66. Teach someone new technology
67. Channel your inner-child