What is 52 Random Acts of Kindness?

"52" is my personal journey to self discovery, wisdom, and service to my community. My goal is to volunteer or provide a service once a week for an entire year. Each week I will take as many people as want to participate and do my best to serve my community, and set an example for my foster children. I believe that no matter how lousy life seems at any given moment, there's someone out there going through something more, and that I can help with simple acts of kindness. I hope that my efforts in this project will have a ripple effect throughout my community and beyond, and others will take up the same challenge in their own lives.

It's amazing how, especially in a small town, how quickly gossip spreads. If Jane Doe was fired from her job yesterday, the whole town knows before too long. I'd like to see the same thing happen with this project, but in reverse. Instead of spreading negative stories, I'd like to encourage my community and beyond to spread happy, joyful, fulfilling stories.

What kind of volunteering do you?

I hope to volunteer differently each week. I don't want to volunteer 50 weeks at the Humane Society, however worthy that cause is. I fully anticipate my foster children will also volunteer appropriately, and I would like to make the experience as dynamic and diverse as possible to expose them to all kinds of situations. Some of the events I have on the calendar for the next 52 weeks would include volunteering at local nursing homes, Humane Society, adopting a family in need for the holidays, homeless shelter, clothing drive for Good Will, and many, many more. My calendar is not full yet, so I'm always open to suggestions or invitations. You can email me at kelleybo@gmail.com! Each week I will update my Blog, and you can follow with me.

What inspired this journey?

I feel like this whole project has been a long time in coming. My husband and I are foster parents, and we absolutely love that aspect of our lives. We try to encourage the children in our care to be the best people they can be, and always lend a helping hand. What better way to encourage that, and really exemplify that, than leading by example?

You never hear about good foster parents and foster parenting experiences in the news or from friends. You hear the heart-breaking, terrible stories that haunt you at night. I really hope to show that we are just a normal, everyday family, with positive AND negative experiences.

What honestly brought this project into fruition, however, was just lack of direction. I love being a foster parent-there's no joy quite like it. I volunteer regularly with the Rock County Foster and Adoptive Parents Association, but it still didn't seem like enough. I personally felt that there were countless kids who were "aging out of the system" who didn't possess the necessary skills to cope with real life outside of care. A good friend and I tried to work with Rock County on a program for teens that would teach them those skills. Unfortunately we didn't receive enough support to continue with that project, but one of our goals was to introduce the kids to volunteer opportunities. That's one part I was really excited about because I know I don't volunteer as much as I could and should. But in the months following the failure of our teen program, that whole concept really stuck in my craw, and 52 was born. I feel like I can lead by example for not only the kids in my care, but other kids in the system, as well as foster parents.

Do you accept donations?

Nothing is currently set up to accept donations. This journey is not about making money, or gaining monetary wealth. I will set up a Paypal account as the holidays get closer to accept monetary donations to be used for the volunteer effort, such as sponsoring a family for the holidays. No part of any donation will be used for personal gain or usage-all of it will be used in conjunction with the efforts being put forth. If I'm able to donate $200 in food and gifts for a family in need, gathering donations of another $200 or more could mean adopting a second family, or somehow spreading the wealth throughout the community to families in need.

My focus is on the community, not on my bank account I know for certain I will gain so much out of this project that has nothing to do with money.

I am, however, happy to accept donations of time if you're in my area. If one volunteer helps, imagine what 20 volunteers could do! If you have time, ideas or suggestions, feel free to contact me. The more the merrier in my book!