Do something nice for someone else,
Expect nothing in return
Restoring Kindness
http://restoringkindness.com/
If you hear the words “Dalworth Restoration,” the first thing that comes to mind may be to sing, “267-8433,” the earworm of a commercial the Euless-based company has run for years. “Because the next best thing to new is Dalworth Clean!” might enter your mind as well.
And that’s fine with Dalworth, for their own interests anyway. If you need a carpet cleaned or some help with a flood, fire or other disaster that leaves your life messier than a human can stand, they’re happy to help.
In business since 1989, Dalworth and its 100 or so employees have earned high marks, both for their business acumen and for their community support. After all, how many companies can claim to have helped a heart transplant patient pay for his operation?
But now the company is working on another project it hopes will pay off in the community. And it doesn’t really want much credit for the plan.
The “Restoring Kindness” campaign is pretty simple: Do random acts of kindness.
“They can be as small as opening the door, giving a smile or a compliment to someone you would normally just walk past, being courteous instead of ignoring others on the elevator, or it could include buying somebody’s cup of coffee, meal or even a tank of gas,” says Josh Hobbs, Dalworth Restoration’s customer service director and nephew of the company’s founder, James Smith.
Company employees kicked off the Restoring Kindness campaign by prepaying Fort Worth Zoo tickets for others behind them in line, delivering ice cream to Euless Fire Department officials and chalking positive message on sidewalks in Fort Worth. Even Mayor Betsy Price got involved, writing encouraging notes to some people and leaving them on cars in an office building parking lot.
Each recipient of a Restoring Kindness gesture receives a card with the hashtag #RestoringKindness.
“We’re requesting that when people do something kind, they share this hashtag of #RestoringKindness and they ask the recipient of their gesture to, in turn, do something kind for someone else,” says Hobbs.
The Restoring Kindness website has some videos of some of the acts of kindness and if you need a pick-me-up after the boss chews you out, you might want to head there.
Hobbs got the idea from the owners of another restoration business, Kent and Lynn Rawhouser, owners of A&J Specialty Services Inc. in Madison, Wisconsin.
“I was on a phone call meeting with some other restoration companies and someone mentioned it and I thought, ‘Hey, I want to hear more about that,’” Hobbs says.
Hobbs wants other businesses to join in the campaign. Many of the companies are similar to Dalworth’s business, but others have joined as well.
Anyone who wants to participate can go to the Restoring Kindness website and download a card to leave after performing an act of kindness. Hobbs asks that the individual take a picture or video of the act and upload it to social media with the tag #RestoringKindess.
“We want to see the results because we know it can have an impact,” he says.
After all, with all that’s going on the world, kindness gets short shrift. It doesn’t make the 3-inch headlines or “breaking news” of a shooting, a fire or some other disaster. But, says Hobbs, kindness can still make a big difference.