Starting my 29 days of giving!

[Amy Sample Ward]

I’m really excited to participate in the 29-Day Giving Challenge with Britt Bravo and many other changebloggers. Britt is always a great insiprer for do-good-er-ness and I hope you’ll join me in 29 days of giving, leading up to the US Thanksgiving holiday! I think this will be a great way to feel the giving spirit of Thanksgiving, as our new location in London, UK, isn’t naturally lending itself to celebrate this year.

DAY 1 (Oct. 30th)

The London Underground, or tube, has recently put up ads that ask when you last smiled at another passenger. As a ‘foreigner’ I quickly noticed how many people here become quite steely on public transportation, there isn’t much conversation, let alone eye contact or smiles. The ads suggest that you can change someone’s day by smiling at them on the tube. So, I started doing it yesterday as my first day of giving: giving away smiles!

The results? Well, as I’m sure you can imagine. Some people were very confused, others just ignored it, but some smiled back and passed it on! A smile can go a long way, start one today! :)

Day 2 (Oct. 31st)

Today, I guess I didn’t technically give anything away, but I put myself out there. I joined School of Everything and created my teaching (and learning) profile. This way, I can connect to people right here in Camden or around the world to share skills and knowledge that I have. This is what the site says:

School of Everything connects people who want to learn with passionate teachers in their local area. The award-wining site is free to join for both people who want to learn and people who want to teach.

Teachers register online and create a personal page giving information on their lessons, the qualifications offered and the format in which they teach - for example workshops or one-to-one sessions. Potential pupils find a tutor who’s right for them simply searching by subject, learning category and location. They can then send them a message, arrange to meet and begin learning their new subject.

I met the co-founder, Andy Gibson earlier this week so School of Everything was on my list of things to investigate. Once I visited the site, I just had to participate! Try it out for yourself, or connect with me! I’m looking forward to the connections, friendships, and all the shared learning to come!