Operation Christmas Spirit: Family spreads random acts of kindness

Posted on 8 December, 2015

From paying a stranger’s grocery bill to picking up the petrol tab, a local family are spreading random acts of kindness around Canberra each day until Christmas.

Mother of four Latoya Marks says her family decided to start “Operation Christmas Spirit” after reflecting on all the tragic events happening around the world.

“We realised that our family and children are so lucky to live the lives they do, when so many families are far less fortunate,” Latoya says.

“So often, Christmas is about receiving gifts, not about the giving, and walking into any shopping centre shows you just how commercial it has become.  We thought, instead of giving the kids an Advent calendar on the first of December, we would set ourselves a mission  – do a good deed, or random act of kindness, every day until Christmas Day.”

A ‘good deed’ from the family’s Facebook page.

Some of the family’s good deeds so far include making a pamper pack for a workmate who needed spoiling, paying for the groceries of an elderly lady and purchasing petrol for a woman at a gas station.  After the family’s most recent act, where they gave a young girl at a Canberra cafe a Christmas card containing a $5 note, a woman expressed her gratitude on the Canberra Mums Facebook page; with the post reaching over 1,000 shares to date.

The mother of the girl wrote on the page: “What you couldn’t have possibly known, is that the child you took the time to acknowledge has recently been separately from their birth family. Life for a foster child is not easy, but through your kindness you have shown this amazing child the spirit of community.”

Latoya says it’s all about “sharing the spirit of giving.”

“We never really stick around long enough to see people’s reactions, although the lady at Coles seemed confused when the cashier started bagging up her groceries.  We simply said ‘we want you to have a Merry Christmas so we’re paying for your groceries.’  This reduced her to tears and she couldn’t thank us enough.”

The Marks family.

Latoya says “Operation Christmas Spirit” is definitely a tradition that the family will be continuing in the future.

“It was never our intention to be recognised for these deeds, we’ve been overwhelmed by the public response,” she says.

“We have received so many beautiful messages from people, it’s amazing how far this simple idea has spread. We really hope that it encourages other people to do the same – pay it forward.  Do a kind deed for another person, when you can.  It doesn’t have to be much, it’s the act of giving that is important.”