Lisa Ondejko, 40, who recently moved to Osoyoos, had a very busy week last week as she took it upon herself to perform numerous acts of random kindness as part of International Random Acts of Kindness Week. Some of her random acts of kindness included purchasing gift cards at the Osoyoos Tim Horton’s and handing them out to strangers, baking banana bread and giving out samples to strangers by going door-to-door, making heart-shaped foam hearts and attaching garden seeds so people could start planting their gardens and placing several boxes of animal toys along Pioneer Walkway so local citizens who walk their dogs could easily find the toys and use them to play with their pets. She hopes to co-ordinate a large community event in Osoyoos during the 2016 Random Acts of Kindness Week.
KEITH LACEY
Social worker said ‘doing little things’ made her feel good and many strangers smile
One Osoyoos woman went out of her way last week to try and improve the quality of life for several strangers by engaging in several random acts of kindness.
Lisa Ondejko, 40, who was born and raised in Ontario but recently moved to Osoyoos from Penticton, decided to participate in International Random Acts of Kindness Week (Feb. 9-15) by performing several generous deeds.
“International Random Acts of Kindness Week was started by a fellow named Michael Chase, who is a motivational speaker I was fortunate enough to listen to a few years ago in Vancouver,” she said. “I was very inspired by him and decided I would try and do my own little part to help others during this special week every year.
“I decided I was going to try and do a few little things to try and put a smile on the face of as many people as I possibly could throughout the week. Being kind is a lifelong pursuit for me and I try and be kind to those I care about all of the time, but my goal this year was to try and reach out to as many people that I don’t know as possible.”
Some of her random acts of kindness performed last week was purchasing gift cards at the Osoyoos Tim Horton’s and handing them out to strangers, baking banana bread and giving out samples to strangers by going door-to-door, making heart-shaped foam hearts and attaching garden seeds to people could start planting their gardens and placing several boxes of animal toys along Pioneer Walkway so local citizens who walk their dogs could easily find the toys and use them to play with their pets.
“I just wanted to do little things that came to the top of my head and make sure this time that I tried to help complete strangers,” she said. “Osoyoos is a very friendly community and I love it here, but there are always people who feel lonely, isolated or disassociated from their community.
“My only goal was to try and bring a smile to as many faces as possible by doing a few little things to brighten up their day. It made me feel good and I’m sure it made them feel good and that’s what this week is all about.”
Ondejko said Random Acts of Kindness Week isn’t about spending a lot of money, but simply taking the time and making the effort to do something nice for other people.
“It’s not about numbers or spending a whole lot of money, but could be something as simple as flashing a genuine smile or opening the door for someone,” she said. “Not everyone has a lot of money, but most people have kind hearts and it’s easy to do a few little things to make people happy. The little things I did didn’t cost me hardly any money at all, but people were very responsive and wanted to know about what I was trying to do.
Ondejko found out quickly that she was not the only person in town doing kind gestures as a complete stranger pulled over to help her change a flat tire early last week.
Ondejko and her fiancé recently purchased a home in Osoyoos and they plan on living in this community for many years to come.
What she would like to do next year is become the local co-ordinator and help organize a community-wide Random Acts of Kindness campaign next February.
“I would definitely be interested in making this a big event in Osoyoos and I would have no problem stepping up and organizing a big event for next year,” she said.
Ondejko said she will inform local citizens about her plans early in 2016 and make sure that Random Acts of Kindness Week gets as many local citizens involved as possible, she said. The event takes place the second week of February every year.
“Random acts of kindness should take place all year, but we do have this special week set aside and I hope to do something very special and get the entire community involved next year,” she said.
Ondejko, 40, has been a social worker for the past 15 years. She works part-time at Mariposa Gardens and has just started her own counselling service called Possibilities Counselling, which offers individual, couples and family counselling services.
She can be reached at www.possibilitiescounselling.com or by phone at 1-250-809-8587.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
