‘Random Acts’ is a non-profit charitable organisation, co-founded by ‘Supernatural’ actor, Misha Collins, whose mission is to conquer the world through random acts of kindness. They aim to inspire acts of kindness, from something as small as buying a stranger a cup of coffee, to bigger acts of kindness like building a much needed school in Nicaragua.
‘I Wish For This’
Random Acts’ current amazing project is the ‘I Wish For This’ campaign, put into motion by Misha Collins and his wife, Vicki, with inspiration from their four year old daughter. A life-changing campaign, Random Acts is working in partnership with Lydia Place to provide long-term housing for homeless mothers and their children, because no child, especially, should have to grow up on the streets, with no place to call home. This project is incredibly close to Collins’ heart, having been homeless, from time to time, as a young child himself, with his mother and brother.
If you can, please support this incredible campaign by purchasing a beautiful specially designed shirt/bracelet/phone case: bit.ly/iwish_mt , and share it around.
Read the inspiration for the campaign and its aims, in Misha’s own heartfelt words, in the image below:
GISHWHES
Random Acts has organised countless fundraising events since its conception; perhaps the most notable event being G.I.S.H.W.H.E.S (translating as the ‘Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen’), which holds a number of records in the Guinness Book.
An annual, week long, competitive media scavenger hunt, GISHWHES, which came to an end this August, involved the participation of people from all over the world working in teams to complete as many abnosome (a term meaning ‘abnormally awesome’, coined by Misha Collins) items as possible, such as crazy art, kindness acts, and fun challenges.
Coming from someone who participated twice in the Hunt, I can confidently say the items were more wonderful and wacky than you can possibly imagine! The entire Hunt was a truly memorable, exciting, challenging experience and valuable opportunity to help others, spreading the important message of kindness through creativity.
Check out a few select tasks from previous years below (including one of my brilliant team members, from around the world)! So much creativity!!
‘Gishers’ (participants of GISHWHES) have raised a phenomenal amount of money, taking part in the Hunt, for various charities over the globe. Check out the link for select stories of Syrian refugee families, children of Haiti, and Afghanistan veterans that have been helped by the initiative: https://www.gishwhes.com/charity-impact.php.
The Impact of Fundraising
Random Acts have been involved in numerous large scale projects, such as building the Jacmal’s Children Centre in Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of 2010, and have also more recently created the Free High School in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, which provides education for adolescents and adults who are unable to attend elsewhere. This is project is ongoing, with fundraising still taking place for the second building of the campus.
Details on how to donate and get involved with this and other projects are available on the Random Acts homepage; the link is provided at the end of this article.
Crisis Support Network
Over the past year, Random Acts, in partnership with IMAlive, To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), and Pop Culture Hero Coalition, have successfully formed the Crisis Support Network, a community support system that aims to help those suffering from mental health issues, like depression, self-harm, addiction, or cyberbullying.
The ‘You Are Not Alone’ campaign during Autumn/Winter 2016, headed by Misha Collins and, fellow ‘Supernatural’ lead, Jensen Ackles, was just one project designed to raise awareness and provide support, in regards to depression and self-harm.
For anyone struggling with any of these issues, this initiative strives to provide considerable support. If you need help, a list of hotlines, from all over the globe, are available here: https://www.randomacts.org/crisis-support-network/. Be brave enough to ask for support; I guarantee this vital first step is the best action you could possibly take.
There are also opportunities for you to get involved as a crisis counsellor; if this is something you find appealing, follow the above link! You could make a considerable difference to someone’s life.
All year round, Random Acts have various events and programs to participate in. Take a quick look at their website, https://www.randomacts.org/, and Twitter page, @randomacts.org, for more information on how to get involved and donate to these truly awesome initiatives.
Let’s conquer the world together, one random act of kindness at a time!
All pictures and information are from the official Random Acts and GISHWHES websites, and Misha Collins’ Twitter page.
Images are credited to their respective websites.