Posted By Danielle DeCuir, Associate Producer - email

The Josh Stevens Foundation was inspired by Josh Stevens who passed away at the young age of 12 years old. The Foundation was created to honor his life and his kindness.

The Spring Initiative for The Josh Stevens Foundation’s “Take 5 to BE KIND” program is meaningful to the family. The program inspired kids – and everyone – to do something very kind for another person on the 5^th of every month. Of course, doing something kind for others should not be done only on the 5^th, but every day. The foundation stresses the 5^th because Josh was born on October 5.

Some examples of the random acts of kindness the Josh Stevens Foundation suggests are surprising needy families by helping pay for layaway gifts at retail stores, donating money to feed children in Haiti, supporting grieving families and much more.

The Josh Stevens Foundation has compiled a great list of spring acts of kindness. Of course, these are only suggestions.

APRIL 5

• National Card and Letter Writing Month: Josh was very good at writing his family notes.
  • BE KIND: Write letters to a nearby nursing home center. Send cards that either tell stories or simply say “hello.” Or instead of texting thanks, put it into a handwritten card.
• National One-Day Without Shoes Month: Josh loved his Puma and Ed Hardy shoes.
• BE KIND: Organize a shoe drive. Ask neighbors and friends to donate shoes and bring them to a local shelter.
• BE KIND: Sam’s school is also collecting change from students with all proceeds to benefit the “One Day Without Shoes” charity which raises the awareness of children who live without shoes. Students from Sam’s school will be playing a game of football at Joshi’s Park in Henderson, Nev. without shoes to honor the charity. Afterward, the kids will be enjoying pizza – a favorite of Josh’s.
• BE KIND: Cook grilled cheese sandwiches with friends and invite neighbors over.
• National Grilled Cheese Month: Also a favorite food of Josh’s.

MAY 5 

• National Military Appreciation Month
  • BE KIND: Create care packages to send overseas to the ladies and gentlemen fighting for the country.
  • BE KIND: For neighbors who are formerly of the military, bake cookies, clean their yard, wash their car – anything to show appreciation.
• National Smile Month: Josh always had a smile on his face… ALWAYS!
• BE KIND: Make an extra effort to smile as much as possible on this day.
• BE KIND: Bring a neighbor a hamburger or buy one for a homeless person.
• National Hamburger Month: Josh’s all-time favorite food… a cheeseburger with special sauce from In-and-Out burger.

JUNE 5 

• Honor and Recognize a Senior Citizen: Josh LOVED his grandparents.
  • BE KIND: Take time this month to recognize a senior citizen in the community. Help them plant a garden, bring them their mail, or cookies, or iced tea. Ask them if they want to go to lunch or go for a walk.
• National Candy Month
• BE KIND: Bring a friend, neighbor, mailman, senior citizen some fun candy… some of Josh’s favorites were peanut butter cups and lemon drops.

For more information on the Josh Stevens Foundation, you can visit their foundation website.

Written by: Francine Brokaw See other articles by Francine Brokaw
About the Author:Francine Brokaw has been covering the entertainment business for over 12 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 10 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She was a contributor to the 1993 book RFK: Collected Speeches, and her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet: The World of Entertainment Journalists, will be out summer of 2012 from Sourced Media Books.