Week Forty One: Giving a Pair of Shoelaces to a Homeless Person.

Every morning, I see this homeless man sitting in front of the grocery store on my bike ride to work. Every morning, I see him compassionately saying hello to all the passersby, never disrupting anyone nor causing trouble. This morning, I decided to hand him something that we don’t necessarily think as being important but that is almost imperative to our everyday lives; shoelaces. With the cooler weather creeping up on us, I thought it would be a good thing for him to have an extra pair of in his possession. 

Instagram: @geneseguin. #k4kproject

This was the biggest smile I’ve seen anyone give in a long time.   

G.

Week Forty: Starting a Small Food Drive.

Week 40; my project will reach its end in twelve weeks. What a self-reflective journey this has been so far. Every week I strive to be more creative and original with my gestures, hoping to affect, help and inspire and the responses has been incredible. Thanks to all who have been fallowing and supporting me throughout this past year.

This week, October was my muse. A transitional and colourful month, where thanks are given and frights are had. Hunger, however, never takes a break no matter the time of year. According to Free the Children’s website, 870 million around the world go hungry and from 2008 to 2012, there was a 31% increase in use of food banks. These numbers are horrifying to me – even more than David Hasselhoff’s performance in any movie, ever. 
So I thought I’d do my share and for Halloween, instead of collecting candy like I used to as a kid, this year, I’ll be collecting canned goods and distributing them to those in need (and save my teeth the aches). I took a box, stuck a note on it and left it in my building’s entrance. At the end of the month, I’ll be bringing whatever I collected to the local food bank. 

Instagram: @geneseguin #k4kproject

Hopefully my neighbours will get in the Halloween spirit and help scare the hunger away.  

G.

Week Thirty Nine: Leaving a Single Use Camera on a Restaurant Patio Table.

I’ve been getting back into photography lately. There’s something about capturing a moment in still life that fascinates me.  Moments that can never be recreated and seen through a third party's lens. Moments that would probably pass right by you if they weren’t being documented; memories are created with a single picture. It’s a feeling and a power like no other.

So I decided to pass on that opportunity to a stranger. I bought a single use camera and wrote a tiny note. After taking a picture of the note with the camera, I left both items on a random restaurant patio table on my way to work. 

My goal was to remind the stranger who would come across it to celebrate and remember everyday moments and experiences, as they often seem to go unnoticed while being caught up in our routines. What better location to leave the camera than a restaurant, I thought, where daily and/or weekly meetings between friends and family occur.

Instagram: geneseguin. #k4kproject

I’m hoping it pushed that person to enjoy and think about the pleasures and people he/she surrounded him/herself with on a daily basis. It's these little things collectively that makes us who we are.

G.

Week Thirty Eight: Paying for the Next Customer’s Coffee.

As I walked into Bridgehead to grab a coffee and read a bit before going to work one day this week, a thought went through my mind. “Why not leave a bit of spare change with the cashier to cover the next person’s coffee tab?”, I thought. The cashier looked at me when I proposed this and asked: “Why?” with a confused smile on her face. “Because I feel like it,” I said, “It’s that kind of day,” I responded. She beamed at this simple yet refreshing response and kept two dollars on the side. “Have a great day,” she said. “Oh, I will,” I replied, and went about with my day.    

Instagram: geneseguin. #k4kproject

G.

Week Thirty Seven: Buying Time for a Stranger’s Expired Parking Ticket.

As I was biking in the market this morning, I noticed a by-law officer roaming around the parked cars. He was viciously sticking tickets onto people’s windshields. “Hmm,” I thought, “maybe I could spare a poor sap from getting a ticket.” So I put a dollar in the machine and looked around for an almost expired ticket on a dashboard. I found one with 5 minutes to go so I tucked the new ticket under their windshield.

Instagram: geneseguin. #k4kproject

I did a couple of errands in the area and about fifteen minutes later, I saw the owner and a friend standing next to their vehicle, laughing and taking pictures of the mysteriously newly acquired ticket. As I usually don’t see the reactions of my “victims of kindness”, this sight really put a smile on my face.

It was nice to see the affect that a small thoughtful thing can have on others.   

G.

Week Thirty Six: Leaving a Little Taste of Summer in a Random Mailbox.

This week, Summer consumed and inspired me. I wanted to do something topical so I decided to head to the grocery store and get the most summer-inspired drink there is; ice tea. I wrote a small note and dropped it off in a random mailbox in the Glebe.

Instagram: geneseguin. #k4kproject

I’m hoping this gave the recipient of this beverage a little push to go out and experience the last bits of the season with the people who mean the most to them.

G.

Week Thirty Five: Leaving Change at a Pay Phone in a Bus Terminal.

Yesterday, as I was traveling back from Newmarket for the Labour Day long weekend, I noticed a couple of Bell pay phones in the Toronto Union Station Greyhound bus terminal. I figured it would be nice to leave some change behind - perhaps for someone who’s phone died and desperately needed to call a loved one to come pick them up, or for an international traveler who did not have the change in the right currency in order to call a friend? 

Instagram: geneseguin. #k4kproject

Who knows who actually used it. All I hope is for that one phone call to have helped someone out in some way.

G.