( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) Mark Smith, Owner of 5 Midas Muffler Franchises in Richmond, VA, Will Reward Acts of Kindness with Free Oil Changes
ENSPIRE Contributor: Kyla Yates
Midas of Richmond (MOR) owner Mark Smith has challenged his community to perform daily acts of kindness from June 1st to June 30th and is rewarding those who do with free oil changes for a year.
All community members have to do is keep a log of each kind act each day, email Mark their daily list on June 30th, and update on social media with the hashtag #MORGoodDeeds. Mark believes in the goodness of people—especially in hard times—so the process is all by the honor system. “Hope exists in small gestures,” Mark says.
Mark explains that he was inspired to ask people to perform these random acts of kindness by the current negativity of the world. He points out “the media messages we are getting buried by right now [of] anxiety, stress, unknowns, [and] partisan politics. We need to change the narrative to one of making progress, getting thru this, and establishing the new normal.” As a firm believer in leading by example, Mark expresses that he wants to be “the point of the spear on this.”
“Imagine if 1,000 people opt-in on this,” Mark says. “That will mean 30,000 random acts of kindness in Central VA in one month.”
When asked if he had any suggestions for what sorts of good deeds people can consider doing, Mark responded with an extensive list of options including buying the person in line behind you at Dunkin Donuts their cup of coffee, donating $5 to the Food Bank which feeds 20 people, donating a pint of blood and saving 3 lives, giving away books, taking the time to listen to someone talk through what is on their mind, and more. Mark keeps free car care kits in his truck (pictured above) which he offers to every police officer or fireman he meets.
While oil changes may not be the flashiest of prizes, they are an integral part of keeping people safe on the road, and what Mark can reward those who do good deeds with. “I want folks to explore,” Mark says, “the power each of us has when we multiply the 6 inches between our ears by the 18 inches from our head to our heart.”
