A year of kindness

Chicagoan sets out to do good, one day at a time

02/15/2012 10:00 PM

By ALAINA BUZAS
Contributing Reporter

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ALAINA BUZAS/Staff Ryan Garcia hands valentines to Renee (left) and Lia Mimica on State Street Tuesday afternoon. Giving valentines to strangers was Garcia’s random act of kindness for the day and part of a year-long project he has undertaken to better the Chicago community.



ALAINA BUZAS/Staff Ryan Garcia explains his 366 Days of Random Acts of Kindness project to some shoppers on State Street after handing them valentines on Tuesday afternoon.

Ryan Garcia is standing at the corner of State and Madison with a huge smile on his face and one last paper valentine left in his hand.

The 30-year-old Gold Coast resident has spent the breaks in his work day passing out valentines to complete strangers with the hope that his small act of kindness will inspire Chicagoans to pay it forward.

And a few minutes ago, he saw it happen.

After handing valentines to Renee Mimica and her daughter Lia, a man approached the three of them asking for 83 cents towards a CTA day pass. Instead, Renee handed him a five dollar bill.

“That’s exactly what my goal is with this,” Garcia said with a grin. “Pay it forward.”

Garcia’s random valentines are part of a year-long initiative inspired by his recent fatherhood and the desire to make a New Year’s resolution that mattered.

“The day before New Year’s Eve I was sitting on the couch trying to think of a resolution,” he said. “I didn’t want to promise to exercise or diet. I wanted something different.”

Garcia said that looking down at his 3-month-old daughter Isla gave him the idea to start his 366 days of random acts of kindness campaign.

“This is for my daughter, first and foremost,” Garcia said. “I want her to see how easy it is to give back to others. I have a newborn, a life outside of work and a full-time job but it’s still easy to do random acts of kindness.”

Garcia said he has a history of volunteering. In high school, he worked with the Special Olympics, in college he participated in his fraternity’s philanthropic events, and most recently he’s worked with Chicago’s Off the Street Club. But he said he’s never taken on a volunteering project like this.

So far, Garcia has done everything from buying lunch for firefighters to offering free hugs to leading a discussion at a halfway house. He keeps track of each day’s random act on a blog he created, as well as a Twitter feed and Facebook page.

Garcia said he already has a list of some acts he’d like to do but is always taking suggestions from the community.

“That’s the thing I love about this. I have my list but I get excited about doing things people are passionate about.”

He said not only are people reaching out to him with suggestions, but with their own random stories of random acts.

“I’ve had Chicagoans reach out after they’ve seen me on the news and say that’s something they did too,” he said. “They’ll think of the blog and go perform a random act of kindness.”

Garcia has also had people contact him wanting to help with his mission.

“I haven’t had to ask for help. My friends and family have volunteered to donate time and money,” he said.

Even strangers have offered to help. Garcia said he isn’t sure he’s comfortable with monetary donations yet, but he appreciates everyone getting involved. Earlier this month, Garcia took a soldier and his family to a Northwestern University basketball game with tickets donated to 366 Days by the school.

But Garcia said his biggest support has come from his wife Lindsey.

“She’s a teacher so she really helps with planning and organizing,” he said. “She’s my support system.”

The support and donations have been appreciated, but definitely unexpected. When Garcia started the project, he vowed to donate a dime to charity for each follower his blog, Twitter and Facebook received.

“I thought maybe it would be my friends and family, maybe I’d have $500 worth of followers by the end of the year but now I’m over 3,500 people,” he said — $350 worth of donations just by February.

Garcia said he has also been pleasantly surprised by how people have reacted to his acts of kindness.

“Nobody questions my motives or intentions. This is kind of a cynical world and I didn’t know if people would pass on it,” Garcia said.

Despite a world of cynics, Garcia said everyone he’s interacted with has been very warm and welcoming.

And all these positive reactions are impacting Garcia, even just a month and a half into in his year-long mission.

“It makes me more patient, a calmer parent. Any situation where I would have gotten riled up, I think of my mission and it calms me down,” Garcia said.

With 366 Days of Random Acts of Kindness already having such a huge impact on his community and himself, Garcia said he is considering continuing the project even after the year is over.

“I may not blog every day in the future, but I think I’ll continue,” he said. “It’s already impacting me — it’s changed the way I look at things and look at life.”

An earlier version of this story which was appeared in print and online said Garcia already had received enough social media followers to merit $3,500 worth of donations. Garcia has 3,500 followers total, which comes out to $350 in donations with a 10-cent donation on behalf of each of them.


6 Comments - Add Your Comment



By Sara from Wickenburg
Posted: 02/27/2012 3:25 PM

It's great to see a story with a positive message! We need more of these in our daily lives! Great job Alaina!


By kris from detroit
Posted: 02/22/2012 2:03 PM

Great article. It's good to read stories about positive things.


By Matt from South loop
Posted: 02/19/2012 8:46 AM

Great article, it motivates me to pay it forward!


By Bill from Phoenix, AZ
Posted: 02/18/2012 8:43 PM

This world is short of Random Acts of Kindness. Keep it up!


By Ed from Los Angeles
Posted: 02/18/2012 5:04 PM

Great article about a very kind person.


By Mare
Posted: 02/18/2012 9:52 AM

What an inspiring article! Now I want to do the same.