Iowa Woman Celebrates Birthday with 34 Random Acts of Kindness, One for Each Year

URBANDALE, IA -- Perhaps you encountered a pixie of a woman buzzing around the city on her little red scooter over the past month, wondered what she was up to when she dashed into a Laundromat and left a bag of quarters behind, plugged a parking meter or handed a complete stranger a gift card.

Or maybe you didn’t see Katie Jones at all, but were on the receiving end of one of her 34 random kindnesses – like the parent who found a container of disposable wipes in the family restroom at an Urbandale SuperTarget store. along with her quickly-becoming-trademarked card:

“Hi, my name is Katie. In celebration of my 34th birthday, I’m doing 34 acts of kindness. Enjoy the kindness and try to pass kindness along in your own way.”

Another of her kindnesses was to leave a copy of Will Bowen’s “A Complaint Free World,” a 21-day challenge to “stop complaining and start enjoying the life you always wanted.”

It must have worked for Jones, though it’s hard to imagine the perky young woman, a medical support assistant at the Veterans Administration Hospital, ever complaining.

She was inspired to celebrate her 34th birthday on May 16 with 34 random acts of kindness after watching the 2011 documentary “happy,” a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata featuring real-life stories and interviews with leading scientists on what makes a person happy.

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For her 31st birthday, Jones organized a Make-A-Wish Foundation event in Fort Dodge, where she grew up. Her father, who died when Jones was 17, was a Schwan’s delivery truck driver, and she tagged along with him and inherited from him the gift of giving for the pleasure of making others feel happiness.

That’s one of the takeaways she hopes others will glean from her example.

“You don’t need to be part of an organization or anything beyond personal motivation,” Jones said. “It’s cool to know that I can just do things all by myself.”

When she cleaned out a closet and gave some cherished treasures to a young neighbor, she asked what the young girl planned to do in response. She promised a thank-you note, but it gave Jones a chance to offer some kind tutelage on the tradition of paying it forward.

“That would be very nice,” Jones said she told the girl, “but I want you to do something nice for someone you know.”

She also wants people to understand that charity is not a seasonal fad and that it isn’t necessarily a grand act tied up in IRS benefits.

“We are all connected, and it’s OK to care for your community without having to be political or go through a nonprofit or charity organization,” she said.

Jones tried to fly under the radar with her random acts of kindness as much as possible.

“I didn’t want to make it about me,” she said.

From the disposable wipes and gift cards to flowers to a box of chocolates dropped off to firefighters, the kindnesses cost Jones about $300. But the warm feelings that come with selfless generosity? Priceless.

In an April rainstorm, she offered an umbrella to a stranger, who looked curiously at her, then said, “God bless you. Thanks.”

Now that it’s all over, she plans to treat herself to a gift – a tattoo with Jones’s birthday mantra:

“Be Kind.”