The story of a 7-year-old Wisconsin boy whose random act of kindness inspired others to do the same is burning up the Internet.
It all started when young Joshua Thorson decided to put his $1 allowance on a random person's windshield with a note.
Jim Pfifer found the money and the note, which read, "This is a dollar I made doing my chores and I wanted to do something special with it, so I'm giving it to you. God loves you. My name is Joshua. I'm 7 years old."
Touched, Pfifer donated the $1, along with $10 of his own, to the YMCA's Strong Kids campaign. Later, when he told the story at a fundraiser, donations totaling $3,000 poured in -- all because of one young child's generosity.
Joshua's mother reportedly suggested after he cleaned his playroom that he give his allowance to someone else to learn a lesson about doing something nice without any expectations.
This weekend is a great time to do that. Saturday is the Great Kindness Challenge, presented by Kids for Peace. For the day, the group hopes to get more than 1 million children around the world performing as many acts of kindness as possible from sunup to sundown. The goal is to inspire children to a lifelong commitment to service and kindness.
The movement's website (www.greatkindnesschallenge.org) even offers a Great Kindness Challenge Checklist, which features 50 acts of kindness to choose from and includes acts such as simply smiling at 25 people, donating food to a food shelter, having a lemonade stand to raise money for a good cause, picking up trash or planting a tree.
As the site says, even the simplest acts can make a big difference in someone's life. And kids just might be amazed at how fun it can be.
