30
MISSION: Affiliated Agent Pockets’ First Mission
How cute is the name Affiliated Agent Pockets?
I know. I’m just dying over here from the cuteness. Dying, I tell you!
And her mission? Definitely sweet. {Hello, Tim Horton’s? Will you marry me? Love, Secret Agent L.}
DATE:
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent Pockets
LOCATION:
outside ladies’ restroom
office building
Buffalo, NY
TIME:
10:45 a.m.
Dear Secret Agent L,
So I finally got around to doing my first mission! It has taken me awhile, and I was so excited and overwhelmed by all the kindness and creativity on your site, that I got wrapped up in topping them all. Then I thought, “Well, here I am at Tim Horton’s. I should just cut my teeth on an SAL mission and buy a gift card. I know it’s been done, but kindness can be duplicated and copied!” After all, a good idea is a good idea more than once! I tucked the $5 gift card away in the outside pocket of my wallet to save for a rainy day.
So fast forward a few weeks and today’s the day! I started off the day a little frazzled. We got our (hopefully) final winter storm here in Buffalo and I was running late for a meeting. I finally got a chance to sit down at work midday and noticed the Tim Horton’s card sticking serendipitously out of my wallet and decided to take the plunge. No fancy stationary or stickers or stamps. Just some office supplies and good intentions! What better day to selfishly lift my own spirits than to lift someone else’s too!
I have to say I felt super sneaky doing it! My excitement is through the roof! I wanted to leave it in a spot that people pass by, but how was I going to do that unnoticed? I slipped into the bathroom to collect myself, took a deep breath, then exited the bathroom, propped it up on the windowsill, snapped a quick photo and voila! Done.
Thanks so much for the inspiration! Maybe it wasn’t public enough… as there are 300 people at my office. But, no one knows I’ve started this.
Until my next mission,
Affiliated Secret Agent Pockets
25
MISSION: Triple Threat
YOU GUYS.
I LOVE this mission. Seriously. Talk about creative and thoughtful. Affiliated Agent Bruno hit this one out of the park!
DATE:
Sunday, 18 April 2011
OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent Bruno
LOCATION:
Rare Hare Studio
North Park
San Diego, CA
TIME:
10:30 a.m.
Curiouser and Curiouser…
So this one required a bit more planning, and measures to make it kid friendly… first, got together an appropriate book title for children and registered the book on Book Crossing. If you are not familiar with the website, you should definitely check it out for ideas on random acts of kindness, and it’s super fun! Register a book there, leave it out in the wild, and then track it’s travels all around the world later.
Next, I took a rockin’ piece of kid created art from Secret Agent MC here in San Diego. I absolutely adore her and the workshops she does to continually encourage kids on the value of art, play, empowerment and creativity. Check out her super juicy blog!
Wrapped it all up with a $5 bill and a card from Secret Agent L and dropped it at one of the coolest art studios in San Diego, The Rare Hare. This place is a studio for kids to create and play all day long, making wonderful art projects out of recycled materials and learning the values of reusing and repurposing what most people would call trash into beautiful works of art.
Here was the tricky part though… convincing the studio instructor of my intent for random acts of kindness and not weirdo acts of adult strangers.
Can’t wait to see these kids get involved, they are awesome!
23
MISSION: Easter Sweets
I have extremely happy memories of Easter as a child. My parents? They outdid themselves. Secret Agent Papa {my hilarious, creative, corny father} used to use his foot as a template and draw life-size bunny feet on craft paper and cut out hundreds–yes, hundreds–of them and leave them all over the house, to make me and my older brother believe that the Easter Bunny had, in fact, visited. {And yes, it did the trick.} Secret Agent Mama always gave us two Easter baskets: one by our bedsides and one on the kitchen table. And the eggs we dyed? Stunning. And don’t forget the chocolate and the Peeps and the Cadburys. Oh, my. The Cadburys.
Should you be one who celebrates Easter tomorrow, I hope it is a day full of joy and blessings and renewal for you. Regardless of your beliefs, I do hope that you will take a moment to extend kindness–with or without chocolate bunnies.
DATE:
Thursday, 14 April 2011
OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent J
LOCATION:
Barnes and Noble bookstore
{Robinson Township}
Pittsburgh, PA
TIME:
1:16 p.m.
After contemplating what I was going to put together for my first mission, I came across some Easter candy in the grocery store and couldn’t resist buying a box of bright blue Peeps and pair it with some interesting new candy I found–Mrs. Field’s Chocolate-Covered Sugar Cookie Dough bites! I felt like these two items would hopefully bring a bit of joy to someone and remind them to enjoy the splendor of Spring!
I tied the Peeps and cookie candy together with blue satin ribbon and attached a little handmade note of encouragement, along with the Secret Agent L signature business card. I really liked the look of this little Easter bundle and felt it was ready to enter the mission field!
On an unusually sunny day for mid-April in Pittsburgh, I decided it was time to find a good spot to leave my Easter treats. I first went to a food court, but couldn’t manage to leave the package and take photos without being seen. So, after a few minutes of scouting out locations, I came across the Barnes & Noble bookstore and found a large empty table– the perfect spot!
So, after looking over my shoulder several times, I covertly took a few photos and snuck out, hoping that my candy and “Take Me!” sign would entice a stranger to take my gift. And hopefully, that person will leave the bookstore feeling happier than when they entered!
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed my first mission and look forward to the next opportunity to spread a bit of kindness to a world that desperately needs it!
Happy Easter!
Blessings,
Affiliated Agent J
22
MISSION: Lollipop Love in the Park
You know what doesn’t get enough attention from adults these days?
Lollipops.
Man, I used to love lollipops as a kid. In fact, DumDums were my favorite. Whenever I’d go to the bank with my mom, and we went through the drive-thru, the ladies in the bank always dropped some DumDum lollipops in the canister and magically zipped them back to my mom’s car.
I love Affiliated Agent A’s mission, because it reminds me to take time to be a kid again. By the way, this mission’s operative is a kid. She’s only 14. I love it.
{Maybe next time I go to the bank, I’ll ask for a lollipop.}
DATE:
Sunday, 13 March 2011
OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent A
LOCATION:
park (city and state not disclosed)
TIME:
evening
{Note: Affiliated Agent A had a note included in her mission, but it was very blurry when she emailed it to me. No worries! It simply said: This is a gift for you. (Yes, YOU!) Courtesy of Secret Agent L. Have a great day! Love, S.A.A.}
I set out to begin Mission Park on Sunday evening. My plan was to bring my bunches of lollipops into the park with my dog, just in case anyone noticed me (who takes a walk through the park in the dark, alone?). Then, I would leave one on a bench by a pavilion, one in a baseball dugout, one on the playground, one in the skatepark, and one on the sidewalk that kids walk to and from school on. That way, all kinds of different people would get lollipops.
This was going well, and I had already planted my first three, until I realized that there were a lot of skaters at the skatepark. There was no way I could slip in and drop a lollipop bunch off, since there is only one entrance to the fenced-in skatepark. I was sort of bummed that no one from that group of people would get anything, but I decided I would make it work on my next mission. Instead of putting my fourth in the skatepark, I decided to put it on another bench. Then, I put the last bunch on the sidewalk where I knew an elementary school kid would find it on Monday. Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll have time to walk my dog to check if all of my lollipop bunches were found.
Thank you so much, Affiliated Agent A! I am so glad to have a young, kind gal like you among the ranks! Keep those missions coming!
19
MISSION: Operation: You Rock!
If you’ve been following the Secret Agent L Project for awhile now, you know that I love the products from Quotable Cards. In fact, the folks at Quotable are so awesome that they actually made a Secret Agent L magnet. I know, right?! You can view all of the missions that have been completed by me {Secret Agent L} and my Affiliated Agents in which Quotable’s products have been used. Yeah, we know a good thing when we see it.
You can purchase the SAL magnet from Quotable here or by clicking on the “Be Kind. No Exceptions.” image on the right side of my site. They make great mission gifts. {Hint, hint.}
I love today’s mission because the Affiliated Agent uses a magnet from our friends at Quotable. I approve. Whole-heartedly.
DATE:
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent Z
LOCATION:
Thunderbird Conservation Park
Glendale, Arizona
TIME:
10:30 a.m.
I love Quotable Cards magnets! I feel that words can be so powerful and have about a dozen of my own. They are a perfect mission gift because of their low cost and that fact that they stick to cars and public bathroom doors… perfect! The fact that Secret Agent L has her own Quotable magnet is too cool. Honestly, I have left a few of these magnets around town in the past few weeks with no card at all. This is my first official Secret Agent L mission and I decided to call it: Operation: You Rock! I had a couple of cards that worked with the theme. I made my first drop today, April 12, 2011 at Thunderbird Conservation Park in Glendale, AZ around 10:30 A.M. I simply picked a car, stuck it on, snapped a pic and went for a hike. Another drop to follow tomorrow, probably at my gym.
18
MISSION: Blessing of Bus Fare
I love this mission. So simple, but boy! Could it seriously turn someone’s day around!
DATE:
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent M
LOCATION:
bus stop
West Valley City, Utah
TIME:
5:15 p.m.
It took me some time to complete this. I kept running into problems such as time, rain and my camera refusing to work. Once I finally got myself moving, I was really happy that I did it!
The gift was an envelope containing a packet of bus tokens, an explanation of how to use them, and the Secret Agent L card. The packet of tokens contained 10 tokens (good for ten rides) which is over $20 in tokens (I got them for free). I decided to give tokens because I had some on hand and I knew the bus fare had gone up the week before.
I left the gift on a bus stop next to a hospital on August 25th at 5:15 pm.
Ultimately, I ended up using my phone for two of three pictures which for some reason will not send. So, I am attaching the picture which will send, which is the most important one anyway. Hopefully my next project will go off smoother.
17
MISSION: Operation Kindness Blitz
I know why I haven’t posted some of the missions the were sent to me months ago! Because they were completed in sunny, warm weather–which we need to see so badly right now! And now we can, thanks to these missions. Woo hoo!
DATE:
Saturday, 28 August 2010
OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent Elle and
Junior Affiliated Agent R.T.
LOCATION:
local park
Idaho Falls, Idaho
TIME:
not specified
Dear SAL~
Ok, well, I have been doing RAKs for a little while now, but I just started doing them in conjunction with the SAL project, and I’m loving it! It adds an element of mystery and intrigue to be part of something so great. Since joining the SAL movement, I have done about 5 missions, and I’ve taken photos of every stage up until I actually place the gift in a public place. Then I absolutely freeze up. I am totally incapable of taking the final picture. At that moment the camera becomes Enemy #1. It’s really pathetic actually, but it is what it is. That’s why I haven’t sent any updates…..until now.
Today, is the day I broke the picture-taking barrier. I decided that since it’s the end of summer here in Idaho I wanted to do a “kindness blitz”. I got some gift cards to Reed’s Dairy Ice Cream Store (which was voted #1 ice cream in the nation by Saveur magazine) and placed them in little ice cream bowls (that I got on a killer sale from Pier 1) along with a homemade card. My son (Junior Affiliated Agent R.T.) and I went to a park and strategically placed them around. We chose this park because, while it is a very nice park, it is located near a really poor section of town.
We were a great team. I placed the gifts out and he took the pictures. Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe I didn’t have a breakthrough with taking pictures, since he was the designated picture taker! Oh well, at least we got pictures this time and hopefully there are some happy people enjoying the last of the lazy days of summer with a frozen treat!
16
MISSION: Kindness in the European Union
I was going through my inbox recently and noticed that I’d completely overlooked several dozen missions that were completed by Affiliated Agents back in the late summer and early fall of 2010. That was around the time when the national media latched on to the SAL Project and, well, I got rather distracted.
Nevertheless, I am determined to get these missions posted! Does it matter that these acts of kindness occurred months ago? No! Kindness, no matter when or where, is beautiful at any time!
Date:
Friday, 13 August 2010
OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent B
LOCATION:
various
Sofia, Bulgaria
European Union
TIME:
not specified
So I just completed my first mission
I had some cards made, so I wrote something in them, attached the SAL card (sorry that it’s black and white, I don’t have a color printer) and set out to find a place to put them.
Oh, and in the little envelopes attached to the cards there are some coins. They are hardly worth anything, but it’s considered lucky if you find some
It was harder than I thought it would be, I barely found a car for the first card with no people around so that I could take the picture
I love this mission, because it is so simple but moving nonetheless! It just goes to show that you don’t need lots of money or big extravagant gestures to make a difference in someone’s day.
15
Thank you. Like, a lot. A LOT.
When I post missions here on the SAL website, I don’t expect people to leave a ton of comments. In fact, most posts rarely get more than two or three comments. And that’s totally okay! I can’t tell you how many blogs I simply adore and visit regularly, yet never leave comments on. It doesn’t mean I love those blogs any less.
But yesterday, I noticed that I started getting a lot of comments on a particular post. I was intrigued. And the comments just. kept. coming. I soon learned that I’d been bombed.
Yes, bombed.
By Love Bomb.
My sweet friend Lauren Lankford, who runs Love Bomb, chose me {yes, little ol’ me!} to be the recipient of this incredible act of love. She and her boyfriend Max came to Pittsburgh on Tuesday and stayed with me until yesterday morning as part of Max’s Mad Across America tour. I shared with them a little bit of the struggles I’ve been going through lately, which, apparently, moved Lauren (and her Love Bomb followers) to shower me with kindness and love in a way I’ve never experienced.
I want to take this moment to tell you all–every single one of you who left a comment of love, support, and prayers for me–that your act of kindness could not have come at a better time.
THANK YOU.
From the bottom of my heart.
I will admit: I get exhausted sometimes. This project, while one of the greatest blessings and opportunities of my life, can be pretty overwhelming. And sometimes I forget to take care of myself, because all I really want is to take care of others. I just want to give and love and give and love. But I have to remember that I’m not invincible, that I do need rest, and that it’s okay to be kind to myself, too! Thank you all for reminding me of that and for validating me in that.
YOU have made a tremendous difference in my life in the past 24 hours. Thank you, and I love you.
xoxo,
Laura
{photo from here}
15
MISSION: Live, Laugh, Love
Alright, alright. You got me.
I have a few missions in my inbox from, oh, MONTHS ago. They deserve to see the light of day! So today’s mission is one that took place back in October–but I was thinking, you know, it was probably warmer and sunnier THEN than it is now! This mission helped to brighten my day today. I hope it does the same for you.
DATE:
Sunday, 10 October 2010
OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent K
LOCATION:
a church
Pittsburgh, PA
TIME:
11:00 a.m.
Yesterday, I completed my second mission (the first was North Shore Flying Pigs)! There was a big 10-10-10 celebration going on at the church I attend so I thought what a better way to brighten someone’s day! I found this really cute set of vases at Target ( I LOVE TARGET! ) that read Live, Laugh, Love.
I went home and wrote out my note, and packaged the gift in a cute little bag. When we got to the church it was PACKED. My original idea was to put it in the bathroom right by the sanctuary but there was no way that was going to happen so when the service was over, I made sure I was one of the first ones out of there and ran to a bathroom that wouldn’t be so crowded. I left the bag on the back of the toilet and high-tailed it out of there as a huge crowd of people were on there way in!!
My second mission was so much fun! I think I’m going to take to shopping in the fun little bargain section at Target for all of my missions!!
That’s such a great idea, Affiliated Agent K! I love the “One Spot” at Target–everything’s either $1 or $2. I can afford that!
And I hope that the recipient of your mission decides to put some beautiful spring flowers in those cute vases. We need spring!!
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