50 Random Acts of Service

It’s better than a bucket list! A group of Centerville friends turned the tables on a traditional girlfriends birthday party.



Shae Oligschlaeger wanted to put on a 50th birthday party for her friend Cherrie Clay. Their celebration turned out out to be about everyone else when they came up with a list of 50 acts of service.



Shae and Cherrie were kind enough to share their list. Hopefully it will give you some ideas!

• 1. Sent texts to someone we had not talked to a long time, or who could use a lift.




• 2. Sang Happy Birthday to a friend and gave her a note and a Mrs. Cavanaugh’s candy bar.




• 3. Visited a 90-year-old shut-in in Shae’s neighborhood. Gave her some flowers and sang Happy Birthday to her (her birthday was earlier this month).




• 4. Left a note and snack bag for Cherrie’s mailman in her mailbox.




• 5. Delivered cookies and note to a friend, who invited us in to visit for a few minutes and seemed genuinely appreciative of this RAK!




• 6. Delivered cookies and note to another friend and her children.




• 7. Volunteered in a first grade class at Reading Elementary for 30 minutes. Each of us read with a student in the reading room or the library.




• 8. Left a treat and note in the faculty room at Reading Elementary. Sherri made the homemade treat.




• 9. Delivered cookies and note to a friend who had been injured.




• 10. Found Cherrie’s sons’ car in the parking lot at his high school and left a plate of cookies and a note (He would later text Cherrie saying that she was the “best mom ever”)




• 11. Delivered plates of cookies to the business office at Viewmont High School.




• 12. Delivered trays of fruit and vegetables, plus a bag of popcorn, to the faculty room at Viewmont Hight School.




• 13. Taped quarters to vending machines in the commons at Viewmont Hight School.




• 14. Placed a floral arrangement on the grave of one of Shae’s neighbors.




• 15. Placed a floral arrangement on the grave of another dear friend.




• 16. Delivered canned goods and a treat to the Bountiful Food Pantry.




• 17. Delivered several winter coats and blankets to the Bountiful Food Pantry to be distributed to those in need.




• 18. Dropped off coloring books, crayons, and paper dolls to the Emergency Room at Lakeview Hospital to give to children waiting for services.




• 19. Took 8 vases of fresh and artificial flowers to South Davis Community Hospital and asked the receptionist to give to patients who don’t often receive visitors.




• 20. Paid for the car in line behind us at the drive-thru at Wendy’s. We asked the worker to put a sticker on her bag saying “It’s Cherrie’s 50th birthday and we’re celebrating with 50 Random Acts of kindness … Enjoy!”




• 21. Gave the teenager employee at Wendy’s a card with candy on it thanking him for his work. He was darling and seemed to enjoy it!




• 22. Took a family member meal from Wendy’s for lunch.




• 23. Taped quarters and left laundry soap at a laundromat in Bountiful. The worker there insisted that we each take a bag of cookies with us – a reciprocal RAK for us!




• 24. Taped quarters and left soap at a second laundromat in Bountiful. The worker there was the first one to tell Cherrie that she didn’t look 50 years old!




• 25. Left magazines at both laundromats for people to read.




• 26. Wrote a letter to a sister missionary. Everyone wrote about their favorite RAK thus far.




• 27. Cherrie gave our waitress a card with candy on it.




• 28. At the end of our lunch, we left our waitress an extra tip and a note thanking her for her service.




• 29. We delivered a box full of candy to the employees at LDS Social Services and thanked them for helping families.




• 30. Several of us went inside the DI and gave away notecards with candy to both workers and customers there.




• 31. Gave the worker at the DI drop-off a plastic heart full of candy.




• 32. Dropped off two loaves of pumpkin bread to the fire station.




• 33. Dropped off a note and a bag of cinnamon bears to Mayor Paul Cutler at his office at Centerville City Hall.




• 34. Dropped off two loaves of pumpkin bread to the police station.




• 35. Mailed a postcard to a friend in Wisconsin.




• 36. Mailed a postcard to another friend with a fun photo.




• 37. Left four stamps on a notecard at the post office, inviting employees to give them to anyone who cam in to buy a stamp.




• 38. Handed out a $10 gift card to a young mom at Wal-Mart.




• 39. Handed out a $10 gift card to another Wal-Mart shopper.




• 40. Handed out a $10 gift card to a third Wal-Mart shopper.




• 41. Handed out a $10 gift card to a lady waiting in line at the pharmacy in Walmart.




• 42. Everyone found a place to tape a funny/kind note somewhere in Wal-Mart: on displays, signs, shelves, etc.




• 43. Left several quarters on the games and rides in the arcade area at Wal-Mart for kids to find while looking at the games.




• 44. Taped microwave popcorn to some Redbox machines with a note saying “Enjoy some popcorn with your movie”.




• 45. Gave an elderly gentleman a note with candy attached.




• 46. Filled the tube with candy at the drive-up window at America First Credit Union.




• 47. Delivered cookies to another friend.




• 48. Gave a friend’s kids packs of chewing gum.




• 49. Cherrie wrote short notes to her husband and four boys telling them why she loved them.




• 50. Cherrie wrote her parents a thank you letter.
Wendy Paul