KIND Giveaway (Closed)

Back at the beginning of December (2009), I received an email from one of the folks at the PR firm for KIND Healthy Snacks.  To be honest, I'd never heard of them.  I mean, of KIND Healthy Snacks.  So I put it aside and went on with procrastinating about all the holiday baking and holiday shopping.  You know, the usual stuff.

Two days later, I read it again, and paid a bit more attention.  Here's part of the email:

The holidays are the perfect time to spread good will and good nutrition! KIND Healthy Snacks, the unique, great tasting snack made with whole nuts and fruit, are not only delicious, they’re the only bar that can boast a mission to promote random acts of kindness this holiday season.  How KIND Bars are good for your taste buds, your body and the world:

· Enjoy the fun and festivities of the holiday without overeating.  Even one KIND Bar each day can make you feel satisfied and, hopefully, keep you from overindulging in too many holiday sweets. KIND Bars have a unique combination of healthy fats, protein and whole nuts and fruit, ingredients you can see and pronounce.  They are made with almonds, cashews, mango, cranberry and other wonderful flavors that will help you enjoy the holidays without the guilt.

· Daniel Lubetzky, founder of PeaceWorks, Inc., and KIND Healthy Snacks, is a globally recognized social entrepreneur driven to develop innovative ways to bring people in conflict regions together through food. He is now making his mark with the KINDED campaign,  a goodwill movement across the nation to inspire random acts of kindness.  Lubetsky was named one of the world’s 25 “Responsibility Pioneers” in September 2009 by TIME, and KINDED was featured in the same issue as a “New Way to Make a Difference.” 

Well that sounded cool.  So I replied to the email and asked if I could try some of these snacks so I could write about them honestly in my site.  Within the week, I received a strange package.

It was THIS big:

Hmmm...what could it be?

So I opened it, and out came this long tube...with words on it...

...and colorful little packages inside...

Yippee!  It's the KIND stuff!  I opened one end of the tube and dumped everything out. 

 
And I have to say, these are THE yummiest Healthy snack bar things I've EVER had.  They taste like...like what they say they'll taste like.  Really!  If they say, for example, "Sesame and Peanuts" on the wrapper, they taste like sesame seeds and peanuts. 

 

And you can see the sesame seeds and peanuts, RIGHT THERE. 

 

If they say "Almond and Cashew" then that's what you'll be crunching on.  They don't taste like...weird ingredients.  Ingredients that are trying to stand in for something else, like...oh, flavor.  These KIND bars are incredibly yummy, and the 8 or more that came in that tube?  They were gone in two days.  And that's only because I stashed some out of sight when I saw the way things were going that first day.

Anyway, I emailed back that I would LOVE to be able to give some away, and was told that they'd get some out to me in the next shipment.

And then - it turns out the demand was way greater than expected, and they didn't have enough of the gift tubes to send out.  I said not to worry - whenever they had some, that would be fine.  Besides, I was buried in cookies at that point anyway.

So, time passed and 2009 was heading toward 2010 when I got an email letting me know that the KIND samples would be shipping out that day!  I'd have them soon!

And I did.

And I didn't do anything.  I had them, sitting there.  Not tubes this time, but nice little boxes.

One for me, and one to give away.

I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to get this giveaway set up. 

I had the best of intentions, and I dropped the ball.

But.

I've picked the ball up now, and I'm throwing it out there to you.  (Who writes this stuff?)

Here's the deal:

In the comments section, tell me about something kind and unexpected someone has done for you OR tell me about something kind and unexpected you've done for someone else.

For example, I used to like to pay the tolls for the person behind me, back when I used to drive through states with toll booths on their highways.  It was fun.  And it felt good.  And it didn't cost much - a few quarters at a time. 

So,  it's your turn.

Oh, and WHY would I ask about good deeds and kindness?  Because that's the program KIND is promoting with these gift boxes.  In addition to the yummy snacks, you also receive a KINDED card.  It's a little plastic card that reads "You've been KINDED.  Pass it on."  Your job, if you are the winner, is to keep this card with you and, when the opportunity presents itself, do something kind for someone and give them this card.  They can go to the KINDED website, enter your kind gesture (using the code word on the card) and then they can go out into the world and do something kind and unexpected for someone else.  As these KINDED stories are entered online, you can track the card as it travels through the country or around the world. 

So let's get to it.

The contest begins NOW, and will end...tomorrow night - Thursday, January 28th, at midnight.  I'll announce the winner on Friday, so come back and see if it's you.  If it IS you, please send your mailing address to my email address - jayne (at) barefootkitchenwitch (dot) com and I'll ship the KIND samples out to you as soon as possible.

Ready?  GO!

Comments

[Margaret]

I was behind an elderly woman once who didn't have enough money to pay for the few groceries she had. It wasn't much, I paid the difference. It felt good.

Several years later I found myself in the same boat, little cash, no credit card, forgot checkbook, and the lady behind me paid the difference. That felt good too.

Thanks for the chance. Kindness helps the world go around.

[Danielle]

Last week I was doing laundry in the laundromat and another woman asked if I had change for a dollar. I had only taken enough in to one load so I smiled sadly and told her no. But I found four quarters in my car so I took them back in so the woman could finish her laundry. She told me to have a blessed day. :)

[Jenny]

I'm not bragging (honestly) but I try to do kind things as much as possible - taking an elderly friend food, to the doctor, shopping, etc., baking for people who don't expect it, taking our neighbors trash cans in, shoveling their walk, etc. Life is just way too short to not be kind.

[sarah]

On a cold and rainy night I tipped the sonic waitress $10 for my 1.50 order--she thought I was confused at first but then it really seemed to make her night!

[Jenna]

I got into an argument with a woman at the gas station one morning; I don't even remember over what, something dumb. About halfway, it suddenly occurred to me that I was being stupid, and that we were both probably just late and stressed and cold. So, I stopped her midway and said just that, and apologized. She burst into tears. Turns out she was in her ex-husband's truck and he had just been screaming at her and now she couldn't get the gas cap off the car and ... yeah, she was having a horrible day. I went over and played around with the gas cap until we got her off, and when I left, she gave me a hug.

[Amy]

I was in the middle of a stressful week, the kind where I don't get to have dinner at home until Friday and somebody has a meeting or event every night of the week. On Wednesday night, my boyfriend had spent the night. On Thursday, while I was at work, he cleaned the kitchen, the living, and did all the laundry. I was so happy and surprised when I got home.

[laurie]

My friend and I were at a Pens game, the game was over, everyone was crammed into the stairwells and hallways to go home. We saw these European tourists trying to take their picture in front of the ice. They were having a rough time cramming 4 people into the photo with only arms length. We stopped and took their picture for them. They were thrilled. It was something so little, but felt good to stop and help someone who needed a hand.

[Judith]

I was sitting in the turning lane about to make a left hand turn when I noticed a car on the side of the road just beyond where I was about to turn onto the side street. There was smoke coming out from under the hood of the car. Just as I turned the corner and was about to drive past the car the owner opened the hood of his car and the engine burst into flames. All I could think of was that I had an old 4ft coiled oval rug in the back of my old Dodge Mini Van (we didn't have carpet back there so we used the rug.) I quickly drove past the burning car and parked, I told my kids to "stay in the van!!!" I jumped out of the van ran to the back doors and peeled the wet (we lived in Houston, it rains a lot and the van leaked) rug off the floorboards and ran down the bar-ditch screaming "get back I have a wet rug!" The poor owner was shocked to see a crazy lunatic woman running at him and 'frisbee-ing' a 4ft rug onto the engine of his car.... instantly smothering the fire out. White steam billowed out and a huge sizzling sound erupted. The owner stood there with his mouth gaping as I calmly said "do you have someone you'd like me to call for you? (pre cell phone days) My house is just up the road." A day or two later we were passing the site of the fire and my 5 yr old son said "Mom do you think the man kept our rug to put out a fire with?" I told him "I hope so!"

[Astrid]

I came into my office one day with a huge burn on my hand from the oven. The next day, there was a brand new oven mitt on my desk! My office mate bought me one so that I could protect my hand!!

[Allison]

its pretty lame compared to other entries here but on black friday at oh... i'd say 3am ish. I was standing in line at kohls with lots of coupons that i didnt need. so while my cousin kept our spot in line i went up and down it trying to find people to give the coupons to. I managed to give them all out. Hopefully it helped those people's holidays a little easier!

[Heather H]

I usually will compliment strangers if I think they are wearing something unique and interesting. It always brightens my day when someone compliments me, so I try to pass that along. ^_^

[andrea estes]

Today, my boyfriend took off work. He took me out to breakfast and then to get my car fixed. I am very lucky to have him!

[Kassy]

We recently had a winter storm with blizzard conditions. The other nurse I was working with was from out of town (she lived in the country) and I offered to have her come stay at my house.

[lINDA HANSON]

I was a single parent with a young daughter when I opened a small antique shop in our home. I desparately wanted to making a living at this so I could raise my daughter at home. It did not go well for quite a while and having $2 in my checking account was common. And then, customers began coming in and buying things. One day we had a profit. I took half the profit and broke it up into five dollar bills. It was the Christmas season and we went to town to see the parade with Santa. I handed my daughter the money and asked her to give $5 to anyone she saw who looked lonely and/or hungry and just to say Merry Christmas! I watched as she did what I asked. When she returned she was smiling from ear to ear! It led to a conversation about giving...when you give it must be freely. Don't tell the person to get food or coffee. Maybe the money will be spent in a way we wouldn't agree with, but once given it is not our money anymore. We still give money to people on the street over 20 years later.

[chocolatechic]

When I'm at a grocery store, and the person in front of me doesn't have enough, I always make up the difference...especially if it is an elderly person.

[Ruth Ann Ryan]

Don't know if this is an act of kindness or an act of crime prevention. Many supermarkets in our area are located near places where purse snatching seems to be thought of as supplemental income.
When I see a LOL in the market (little old lady, not laughing out loud) they almost always put their handbag in the seat of the cart then wander here and there for their items. When I remind them of what could happen it's almost always "oh my goodness, how could I be so careless)! When checking out, they're always hanging onto their bags for dear life but smiling. If I helped one LOL to prevent a broken arm or worse, I feel it's worth it!

[Laura Lynn Milby]

I was Christmas shopping during the crazy holiday season and was standing in line when I realized I had one too many coupons so asked the person behind me in line if she wanted my other one. She went CRAZY saying how she was already spending just a little more than she should've and how much the discounted price would help her! Love and kindness are what makes living worth while! :)

[phadsgal]

My brother is in the process of helping me find and haggle for a car. That is SO something I'm not equipped to do, and he loves it. So, I've learned that my tormenting and teasing older brother can be kind!

[Beatrice]

I am currently a substitute teacher. I subbed for a teacher who was off for maternity leave before Christmas. On the last day I was there, I had the students make cards for the teacher when she came back. One of the students(one who had given me the most trouble!) asked for an extra piece of paper and said that he was going to make a card for his mom and dad. At the end of the day, he walked up and gave a card to me instead! Inside it said that the students I worked with would always be in my heart. It was a great way to end that particular sub job!

[Margie]

Before Christmas I was at the pharmacy picking up my meds since I would run out soon and they would be closed. I waited patiently and finally got them but I noticed that I received 2 too many. I called up the pharmacist (I was in the drive-thru) and told him that he charged me only for 1 but was giving me 3. Was I tempted to keep them? At $30 each, you betcha. But it was the holidays and I knew the Big Boss was watching even if no one else was. I told the guy to have a Merry Christmas and off I went. I feared he would lose his job over this discrepancy and, my husband, who works for the company I get my meds from, thanked me.

[Jennifer]

My husband surprised me and took my car to the car wash. That is my least favorite chore. What a treat!

[KC]

I live in an apartment complex. The other day I put my trash outside my door, and was going to take it to the dumpster on my way out. I finished getting ready. When I walked outside someone had taken my trash for me. I just couldn't believe it, I thought it was such a nice thing to do. So a few days later I was leaving for work, when I noticed my neighbor had set their trash outside, so I took it for them. Very "Pay it Forward". Of course with my luck the person who took my trash was an identity theif ;).

[Zoe]

The situation that comes to my mind instantly is when I was involved in a hit and run accident. I was waiting to turn left at a light, and from the oncomming traffic, a car veered into me and just took off. I was all alone, had never been in a car accident before, and was pretty freaked out. There were two witnesses who made it so much better for me. The first was a motorcycler behind me, who took off after the car when it happened. He came back a little while later to tell me that he couldn't find the person, but it was nice that he tried. The second witness was this wonderful older woman. She ran over to me as soon as it happened, and just hugged me, and stayed with me until the police showed up. She was so supportive and nice and comforting, it really helped to calm me down.

[karenc]

Yesterday I took a class that was held in a hotel downtown. When it was over, the line to exit the parking garage was outrageous (there were 600 people in my class, and several other conferences going on at the same time). We crawled along for about 20 minutes before I neared the actual exit. I dug the my credit card out to pay the TWENTY DOLLAR parking fee (ouch) and fantasized about what I would rather be doing with the money (oh, I don't know... buying KIND bars? ;-) ) When I reached the gate, the attendant came out of the booth, raised the arm manually, and let me go through for FREE! I looked at him bewildered and he gave me a huge grin and said, "Have a nice day, ma'am." No explanation, just random awesome. It was great!

[kjb65]

My mom and my grandmother both hand-piece and quilt as well as doing needle point. I love and appreciate the art but these are two things I have never had an interest in learning.

I decided it for Christmas, I would ask my grandmother to teach me to quilt a pillow for my mom and I asked my mom to teach me how to needle point a pillow for my grandmother as a surprise. Each person got to pass down something they wanted to share with me all the while thinking they were doing it in order to surprise the other.

It was some of the best time I spent with both of them and for me that was the true gift. I am not sure if this counts but it is what came to mind.