Dan Rothermel's Page

Performing deliberate acts of kindness makes pre-teen children more popular with their peers, say scientists.

A team led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, "assigned" children three acts of kindness each week for four weeks.

After the four weeks, children were happier and more liked by classmates.

The researchers say than encouraging such simple "positive acts" could help children to get along with classmates and even prevent instances of…

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So has 29 Gifts in 29 Days changed me?

It has.  I travel through my days looking through a different lens now.  Actively I look to see how and where I might give.  Recently while in Maryland, I saw college kids walking among the cars stopped at traffic lights collecting money to fight cancer.  In the past I would ignore them and  just look straight ahead.  That day I wound down the window and handed them a bill.  Four miles away another pair of students were collecting for the same…

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My 29th gift is one I shoot to do every day but don’t. Calling my Mom. She lives 300 hundred miles south in Jersey at an independent living complex. Since Dad died 16 months ago, Mom is living the life of a widow that she had no preparation for. Married for 66 years, she and he were compatible and loving; they were comfortable with their daily routines, be they breakfast together, with eggs on Saturday morning, reading the New York Times, going to “current events” on Friday, or dining with… Continue

One of my volunteer positions in retirement is as a rounder at our local York Hospital. As a rounder, I go around to patient rooms to see how we are taking care of them. Among the questions I ask, Is there night time noise? Does the staff check in with you regularly? Would you like to see someone about spiritual care? What would have made your stay even better?



I always begin my rounding in the birthing unit. Families with newborns are often upbeat and happy with a capital H. Moms… Continue