Project Made: 40 Random Acts of Kindness all the way from the UK with Cookie Recipe

"Do small things with great LOVE"

Today on the blog I would like to introduce you all to Dorinda. She lives in the UK, and last year she decided to perform 40 Random Acts of Kindness over the two years leading up to her 40th Birthday. She is one year in and has already accomplished a whoppin 20 RAOKs!! Its amazing what you can do when you set yourself a goal. Dorinda was inspired by my 27 RAOK that I did on my birthday last year. Just the thought that my one little day, here in Australia, is having some sort of impact on the other side of the world is MIND BLOWING!!! When I started Project Made I knew I wanted to ask Dorinda to be a part of it. She has created and accomplished so many inspirational things through out this year that I knew you guys would love to find out all about her. She even included a free cookie recipe for you to try out. She used this particular recipe to bake cookies to sell and raise money. Ill let her tell you more about it...

Hello, my name is Dorinda and I am working through “40 Random acts of kindness” this is my story of how it all started:

I had a life changing experience about 6 years ago when I was in hospital for 3 months and almost died, rather than making it a thing in life that I brooded about, I wanted to start something good and see what I could do to help others. I have always been a helper, working in the hotel and events industry I have been helping people for the past 20 years, finding or doing things that they need, it’s in my DNA, it’s what I do.

Last year I saw a page on Facebook where I found Lindsey doing her 27 Random Acts of Kindness (RAOK) for her 27th birthday. I was coming up to my 38th birthday and thought this was something I would love to do. Rather than doing them all on the same day I decided I would spread them out , my 40th Birthday was 2 years away and this was a where 40 Random acts of kindness from my point of view was born. https://40randomactsofkindness.wordpress.com/

Almost a year down the line and I am half way through my 40 acts, I have been on some very random adventures and loved every minute of them. I have helped individual people, groups, friends and charitys do many different things.

The hole ethos behind my style of random acts was not to spend lots of money, but to spend time, which can be more important to people sometimes. It could be helping people standing on a stall or doing a bit of cooking and cleaning. Time is the one thing that money can’t buy but you can give away easily.

My first act of kindness was to help out as a volunteer for the Dulux colour run on the 1st June 2014, I ended up being a start line volunteer, it was all about helping keep people at the start safe, making sure they all crossed the line slowly and didn’t get bunched up. Once all the runners were through I helped with the clean up. The Colour Run raised money for Save the Children funds, so people had fun but also raised money. I also met some great people who I still chat to now, they are people who love to do volunteer too. It was an amazing day and after completing it I felt great.

Since then I have tried to think of random acts that can help as many people as possible, Facebook is a great way of finding things to do as there is always someone on there that needs something, you just have to find the right page, I have tried to use my sewing and baking skills to for different acts and these things have come in handy.

My most memorable act was to be part of the team that put in and took out some of the 800,000 poppies that went into the Tower of London .It was there to commemorate all the peope in the British Isles who died fighting for their country in WW1. It was moving and memorable experience, you felt that you were commemorating one person with every poppy you planted or took out.

I have done more handmade items than other things, I have sewed Hickman line bags for children who have cancer, these hang round their necks and stop their lines getting infected.

I have baked for a charity cake stall for someone raising money to take to an orphanage in Thailand & for a friend raising money for the Royal Mardsen, and I have taught friends to sew, made button pictures and baked cookies for random people around my work. All of these things had one thing in common they didn’t take much money but just a bit of time.

-I sold these to raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer charity . all you need is a plain canvas of your choice along with a mix of buttons. Stick them on the canvas with PV glue on top of your pencil drawn letter and you have a great present for a birthday or a surprise because you can

Oh So Yummy Cookies:

These are the american style cookies that I love to make, I started a bakery class in Septemeber last year and these are the item I have made themost. I have taught them to a Supported learning group at work and sold over 400 of them to raise funds for a group of students at college to a conference in Staffordshire. Here are the ingredients and method for baking them, so if you fancy you can make them at home, This recipie is for baking in large batches and makes 60 x 70g cookies so you may want to half or quarter the recipe if you don’t want quite as many .

1060 gram Light Brown Sugar

1200 grams butter

90 grams Golden Syrup

100 grams Eggs

90 grams cream

700 Grams rolled oats

1300 grams plain flour

40 grams Baking Powder

400grams choc chips

Grated zest of small orange

Preheat oven 170 degrees

Mix butter sugar and golden syrup together in a mixer on speed 2 for 10 minutes

Scrape down and add eggs

Add cream

add dry ingridients , and orange zest , mix on slow speed

add chocolate chips and mix

weigh into 70 gram balls place on baking tray and pat down lightly.

The cookies will spread wide so don’t put to close together

Bake for 20 minutes and leave to cool before eating.

They would go nicely with a glass of chocolate milk!

400 Cookies baked and ready to sell!

I love to do my RAOK and hope they benefit more than just me, as I hope to be doing them well after the 40 are finished. I love the idea that we are doing a round the world ROAK and hope that all those involved are ready to pass it forward and do something for others .

-Dorinda

Thank you so much for sharing Dorinda!! That was incredibly inspiring and I am sure everyone is going to LOVE making those cookies!! If you would like to check out all of Dorinda's Random Acts of Kindness or keep up with her next 20 follow her blog at: . https://40randomactsofkindness.wordpress.com/

Please leave her a comment to let her know how good she is doing and to keep up the great work!!

Ignite- Enlight-Inspire

Lindsey Rae