100 Good Deeds - Jewelry Giveaway

This post is brought to you by Everywhere Agency to talk about Macy’s and The 100 Good Deeds Bracelet. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #KudosForKindness #100GoodDeeds

This past weekend, my daughter, Amanda, had her bat mitzvah. She studied for 9 months for this day, learning Hebrew, learning about torah, and learning about our ancient ancestors and what it means to have faith. She also learned that our struggles in the past aren’t much different that our struggles today, and that we need to not only be aware of the similarities - we need to take responsibility for helping each other. There is a Hebrew work (tzadakah) which means “charity” and it is our obligation to go out into the world and make it a better place. There is another work (mitzvah) which means “good deed.” Traditionally, when we do something good for someone, we call it doing a mitzvah.

These good deeds, however, are meant to be anonymous. We don’t go out and shout from the rooftops how wonderful we are that we donated to charity, that we helped someone in need. Charity is something personal, quiet, respectful. It should be something we do regularly, but without expecting any fanfare in return.

I learned about #100GoodDeeds recently and it touched my heart in a big way. Mary Fisher, an artist and jewelry designer created the 100 Good Deeds bracelets because she believed that a “good deed” means we’ve gone out of our way to help someone and that it only counts if the deed remains anonymous. The bracelets are beautiful, but also a reminder to the wearer that every day is a chance to go out and do a good deed.

Do good, one deed, one bead, one act of kindness at a time.

The bracelets can be purchased at Macys.com in a wide variety of colors. Each bracelet is handcrafted by vulnerable women in Africa, Haiti, India, Bali, Indonesia and the United States, many who are HIV+ and are helping to support their families, meaning that the very act of purchasing one of these bracelets is your chance to do a good deed.

My favorite thing about purchasing the Good Deed bracelet is that you know exactly who crafted it for you. Each package contains the name of the woman who made the bracelet and the country where she lives.

What good deeds have you done lately? It’s easy… things as simple as:

• Anonymously paying the rent of a single mom who’s down on her luck.
• Sending flowers to a lonely elderly neighbor who rarely receives visitors.
• Leaving clothes, toys, food, etc. on the doorsteps of struggling families in the neighborhood.
• Paying for the order of the person behind you in line at Starbucks.

I thought a lot about who I know who does a lot of good deeds and I kept remembering my mother telling stories about my grandmother who always helped out in her community. I never knew any of this, of course, because everything she did was anonymous. She never asked for thanks, never shared what she was doing… and that to me is the epitome of tzadakah. I see a lot of her in my own daughters and how they go out of their way to do nice things for others. My daughter, Amanda, whose bat mitzvah it was is named after my grandmother. Amanda has the biggest heart I know… and she is always going out of her way to help everyone. She is the first to volunteer, to donate money, to stand up and speak out on an injustice. She makes me want to do more every day and I want her to always have that quality in her heart and spirit. I want her to wear her 100 Good Deeds bracelet proudly and always remember that it only takes one person to make a difference in the life of someone else. In fact, I’ll be purchasing bracelets for ALL of my daughters as a reminder to live life to the fullest and when you can lend a hand… you lend a hand.

“Never be so busy as not to think of others.” – Mother Teresa

The bracelets can be purchased at Macys.com for $30 each and the colors are fabulous. The pieces will soften with wear and are all handmade using an adjustable nylon braided cord and 100 glass beads with a rubber ring.

You wrap the bracelet around your wrist 3 times (there are different sizes depending on your wrist size) and you can adjust to fit by sliding the knot along the cord closer to the “1GD” in the photo. Each time you do a good deed, you can move the rubber ring one more bead closer to the “1GD” button.

Now it’s your turn. I have a 100 Good Deeds bracelet to give away. All you have to do is tell me in the comments on this post WHO you would give a bracelet to and why. I’ll be selecting one of the answers on July 1st.

Please share this post and also share a photo of your bracelet on social media with the hashtag #100GoodDeeds.