Man who does a good deed every day for a year attracts thousands of fans
A 26-year-old retail buyer who performed random acts of kindness every day for a year has attracted thousands of fans to his 'Good Deed' blog.
Luke Cameron, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was inspired to perform a daily good deed after the death of a family friend from cancer last year.
“She hands down was the most amazing woman I will ever meet," he wrote on his blog. "She gave her whole life selflessly helping others around her and at her funeral over 4,000 people queued for 3 hours to get in and pay their respects.”
His daily good deeds included buying meals for strangers, baking cakes to send to friends and family and giving his colleagues morale-boosting handwritten messages.
However, Oscar Wilde's famous quip that “No good deed goes unpunished” has proved applicable to Luke, who admits his acts of kindness have occasionally been met with scepticism.
"I guess its not everyday a perfect stranger decides to pay for your parking ticket, or your meal, or something as simple as a cup of tea," he said. "When someone is nice to you, your usual reaction is 'What do you want?'"
He started to hand out cards to the recipients of his good deeds explaining his challenge.
Since completing his challenge, Luke has beaten thousands of applicants to win the role of National Philanthropy Manager for Utility Aid, a Midlands-based non-profit organisation designed to help charities save money.
Dubbed the the "nicest job in Britain" the £35,000-a-year role will see Luke visiting UK charities to help raise money and increase publicity for the good causes.
Some of Luke's 365 random acts of kindness:
Good deed 7: A neighbour of mine is pretty old and as far as I’m aware has little family. She was wandering around outside today where I live and looked a little lost. I asked if she was ok and she went on to explain that her TV wasn’t working. I offered to help and she gladly accepted. She had just pressed the wrong button on her remote and kicked the signal out. Needless to say she was relived and went on with her day. I guess we sometimes forget that especially with the elderly they depend upon things like TV and radio to help pass their time and give them a sense of belonging. Never forget to offer help!
Good deed 28: I stopped traffic to let somebody out of a junction today that had been waiting forever. Everyone behind was pretty upset but the driver seemed relieved!
Good deed 242: While walking the dog, I noticed a load of litter over the field at 7am - clearly the morning after the night before. It was a few glass bottles and shredded cans. So I carefully picked them up and disposed of them.
Good deed 337: Today I wanted to say thank you to someone. A lovely girl called Kirsten that I don’t even know. She was the one who posted the application for the The Nicest Job in Britain on my page and urged me to apply! Because of her I am now the National Philanthropy Manager at UA. Thank you so much Kristen and enjoy your flowers xxx
Good Deed 345: One of my colleagues is on crutches after snapping his Achilles Heel. So today I grabbed his lunch for him and took it to his desk so he didn't have to hobble around getting it.