Since starting this site I’ve given out quite a number of coins to strangers while doing something “nice” for them.  In most cases what I’ve done have been pretty “small” acts of kindness … buying a meal, giving a gift card at a store, etc.

Even these relatively small acts, though, get me excited.  My heart rate rises and I’m actually quite nervous when handing the coin off.  I think this is because 1. I am honestly quite excited to do something nice, 2. I’m not sure how the person is going to react, and 3. I’m already thinking about whether or not the person will go to the site and “track” the coin.

I think it’s hard to figure out whether or not someone is going to go to the site after receiving the coin and actually track it.  Are they worried someone (Big Brother?) is going to use their personal information to try to sell them something or steal their identity?  Or will they get just as excited about the idea, write a note about how they got the coin and then try to think of a way to pass it on?

I guess we don’t have enough coins in circulation yet to see if the idea will catch on, but I’m excited about the prospects of people doing nice things for others …

Sometimes just by listening you can learn of a need and fill it. Gloria Sacknoff was watching her daughter play high school soccer in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, when she overheard parents discussing the middle school team’s lack of funding. She told her daughter, who suggested that high school team not purchase the commemorative t-shirts they had been planning to celebrate their winning season. Instead, they bought the younger soccer team $600 worth of much needed safety equipment.