The Beginning.....

Jean Cholka watched the evening news and saw a story on Bob Vortuba and his One Million Acts of Kindness Campaign. Bob describes the campaign in this way:

"Imagine… if we simply hoped for the best toward every person we come in contact with during the day. If each one of us, day by day, shared acts of kindness with those we know and those we don’t know…how would the world change? How would YOU change? How far would our kindness spread?"

In part, Bob acted in kindness by standing on street corners with signs bearing simple messages like "remember to be kind." Bob called on the community to join his effort. Jean felt a nudge from God. She prayed and reached out to a few people on Wesley's leadership team, including Sue Miller, Rev. Bill Fisackerly, and Josh Baudin. Each one felt a prompt to move forward with the project.

Sue, Jean, and a few amazing young ladies (Hattie, Gia, and Margaret) got together to make signs. The next day, Wesley was on the streets of Marco! Jean and Josh are a bit reserved, and the idea of standing on a corner with a sign pushed them well beyond their comfort zone. Rev. Bill, Sue, and the girls had no problem offering smiles and waves from the onset. Despite their reservations, Jean and Josh became lost in the moment of spreading love and kindness, and their self-consciousness faded away in minutes!

The positive reception by the community is overwhelming. We are greeted with smiles, blows of the horn, thumbs up, waves, and other expressions of love and joy. We hope that those passing us soften and consider being kind in their actions – at least for the day. Any act of kindness comes from a place within us that cares about others – a tiny expression of love. Perhaps this is a tiny step toward the part of our mission To Love People.

We know the message is simple. But sometimes the simplest message is the most needed. We are grateful to Bob for the inspiration and to Jean and Sue for leading the project at Wesley.

Your smile is needed on Marco Island! It is simple to do, requires no skill, is socially distanced and can be done just once for 15 minutes if you just want to try it out. If you would like to join the kindness team and take to the streets of Marco, click the button below or reach out to Jean or Sue personally.