Whippany teen working on 1,000 good deeds

For Grace Campbell, doing good deeds has become second nature.

So when the Whippany teenager needed a project for her Gold Award, she decided to show others how little effort was needed for the simple act of doing something nice for someone else.

"My whole life I try and do a good deed every day and during Lent I would always do five good deeds a day. I started realizing certain things that I was doing like holding the door for someone, talking to a friend who's having a hard time, that's a good deed and no one really realizes it. It's just something that you're doing," said Campbell, a junior at Whippany Park High School.

"So I wanted to raise awareness to the little things that you're doing and if you continue to do them. I just think it's nice doing good deeds for people. My parents have always done good deeds like my mom will make cookies for neighbors or something like that. I just think that's really nice."

Campbell's project, "One Thousand Good Deeds," is a Pay It Forward Gold Award Project where she is looking for members of the community to help her perform 1,000 plus good deeds. After doing a good deed, she hopes everyone will contact her on her website, www.onethousandgooddeeds.com/, on Facebook: One thousand good deeds or email her at thousandgooddeeds@yahoo.com.

"I would love for people to do the good deeds. When I started doing this project, I started seeing more things that I was doing. And my dad said the same thing. You kind of go out of your way like go and buy coffee for the person behind you in line because you just do it and don't realize what you're doing," said Campbell, who enjoys working with special needs kids in the summer through a high school program called Peer Buddies.

"Good deeds do not have to be in the category of rescuing a child from a burning building. Little acts of kindness, such as picking up trash, helping someone else complete a task, donating to a food bank or walking/running in a charity race all qualify toward making this world a better place."

Campbell is compiling all the results and posts the different accomplishments that occurred throughout the week on Facebook. Her goal is to change the world one good deed at a time and show others the joy of paying it forward.

"There could be big deeds like one of my friends, we go to the diner all the time. Last weekend we went to the diner and she bought this older couple their meal because the diner's kind of cheaper and you're only spending $20. So she said to the waitress, here's $20, please pay for their meal. I said to her, why did you do that and she was like, well, I just figured I'd do something nice. So that's a big good deed."

Campbell joined Girl Scouts in kindergarten, following her older sister who earned her Gold Award two years ago. Her mom, Alissa, is the Girl Scout leader for four troops, including ones for Campbell's two younger sisters.

"I really like it because you get to meet so many different people and just experience so many different things that you would never normally experience," said Campbell, who also has a younger brother. "You really mature from it, there's a lot of things that you learn."

Initially, Campbell thought compiling a thousand good deeds would take quite long until she starting listing all the little and big things she did to help others during a normal week. In June she applied to the Girl Scout council to get her project started. Since then, she's spoken to students at her school, area churches and will speak to all the area elementary schools to get younger children thinking and involved.

"Before I started the project, I did 200 good deeds of my own and I thought it would take a while but it only took a couple of weeks. So you have to really realize what you're doing is a good deed. Because certain things that you do you say, oh, that doesn't count, but it does," said Campbell, who plays field hockey and runs track.

"A goal of mine was to unite the town with just little things. Like today, just going to shovel a neighbor's sidewalk or their driveway and that's a good deed."

The best part of the project for Campbell, besides getting her Gold Award, is learning of someone doing a good deed for the simple reason that they want to. She hopes her project will inspire them so it will become second nature to them, too.

"My mother always tries to teach my little brother, you have to hold the door for a lady and all that stuff that you should do. And I just think that's such a nice way of bringing awareness."

Help the Homeless

Leia and Pumkin are 6-year-old brother and sister who were surrendered to us when their owners home went into foreclosure and she could not take her cats with her. Leia (left) likes to sleep with her foster mom and be petted and she loves to and sit in the window and look outside. Pumpkin (right) is very shy, but has begun to warm up to his new foster mom. We would love to see these two love bugs be adopted together to a home that would be able to be patient with them and give them space to get used to their new surroundings and their new family.

If you are interested in meeting Leia and Pumpkin please go to mtolivetnr.org and fill out an adoption application and a representative will get back to you shortly. All adoption fees include spay/neuter, vaccinations, FIV/FeLV testing, de worming/fleeing, and micro chipping.

Chatham's Kmiecik earns place in choir

Mount Saint Mary Academy junior Sarah Kmiecik of Chatham has been awarded placement in the prestigious Central Jersey Regional Choir. Kmiecik was selected as an Alto 2 from 80 young women who auditioned from throughout the region in December.

Mountain Lakes native wins food award

At the 2014 Net Impact Conference Reed Kiely, a Mountain Lakes native and senior business administration major at Ithaca College, won the General Mills "Food Should Taste Good and Do Good Ideation Challenge."

Morris, Sussex students honored

Four students were named to the President's List for the Fall 2014 semester at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. To be eligible for this honor, a student must compile an academic grade point average of 3.7-4.0.

The students are Elizabeth Worth, Long Valley, BA Psych w/conc in Child & Adolescent Dev; Austin Thomsen, Montville, BA Computer Information Technology+; Maham Ba, Morris Plains, AS Business Administration and Megan Orfield, Stanhope, BS Business Studies in Business Finance.

Five students were named to the Dean's List. Those students must compile an academic grade point average of 3.500-3.699.

The students are Carrie Swackhamer, Hackettstown, BS Business Admin w/conc in HR Mgmt.; Valarie Wright, Montague, BS Business Admin w/conc in HR Mgmt.; Jessica Torsiello, Morris Plains, BA Elementary Ed w/Cert in Gen Special Ed; Kristan Hebbard, Newton, AS Business Administration and Connor Ryan, Randolph, BS Business Administration.