A BUSINESSWOMAN and self-confessed bookworm turned her passions in a way to bring joy to people's lives through unexpected acts of kindness.
It all started when Lynsey Hyslop was inspired by the Run for Heroes campaign during the first coronavirus lockdown where people would run 5k and donate £5 to NHS charities.
Lynsey, whose husband Ricky is a keyworker, decided to make more personal runs around the family home in Flintshire and dedicate them to people that she wanted to thank.
She carried out 100 Gratitude Runs over 100 days.
Lynsey did 100 Gratitude Runs in 100 days
Lynsey said: "During the first lockdown I was inspired and uplifted by all of the amazing work that key workers, NHS staff and the community was doing for each other. This promoted me to run 5km every day of lockdown and dedicate each run on social media to someone or something I was grateful for – these became my Gratitude Runs. I did these for 100 days straight with so much support from those I dedicated the runs to and once I had run my last Gratitude Run I received a gratitude journal to keep my positivity going - it was then I knew there was momentum behind the idea of sharing kindness."
During her runs, while also taking care of two-year-old son Hui, Lynsey realised how uplifting an unexpected gesture or act of kindness could be for people, especially during these difficult times.
"The people I dedicated to were also sending me messages, a lot of people said it was something they looked forward to, they wanted to see who I'd dedicated it to and their stories," she said.
"A lot of people said that when it was them it made their day, they could have been having a bad day but it put a smile on their face."
Lynsey with son Hui
Lynsey, who lives in Graianrhyd between Mold and Ruthin, had the idea of creating a gift box with an encouragement to the recipient to pay the kindness forward.
A pre loved book is the centrepiece with each box including a card handwritten with the sender's personal message, an inspirational bookmark, a gratitude journal as well as some tasty treats.
Each box also contains additional wrapping and an extra card to encourage the receiver of your gift to pay the kindness forward.
Lynsey, who is a senior development manager for The Rugby Players Association, said: "I love reading, I love anything personalised, I love sending handwritten cards, and during lockdown I was sending care packages. I thought this could be a nice thing to do and the person who was the recipient could have the same feeling as those I'd dedicated a run to and they can pay it forward."
She added: "As a bookworm, a lover of sending unexpected handwritten cards and a fan of anything personalised, a Random Book of Kindness was created.
"I create the gift boxes which are designed to help people to show kindness to those around them and the receiver of the gift is then encouraged to ‘pay the kindness forward’ by reusing the packaging to send their own random act of kindness to someone else. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
"Each gift contains a pre-loved book, a handwritten card and tasty treats and goodies all sourced from independent, sustainable businesses including The Lost Barn Coffee roasters and Sarah Bunton Welsh Chocolatier. With around 320 million books being thrown away each year rather than being recycled or reused, I wanted to help, albeit in a small way, to reduce the amount of books going to landfill as well as encourage people to show someone that they care."
One of the gift boxes
The business was launched before Christmas and Lynsey says the feedback has been incredible.
One recipent said: "What a beautiful surprise ..... thank you so much for such a thoughtful gift. You've made my week."
Another said: "Thank you so much. I really needed that pick me up today. I was having a tough day then when the post arrived I was so surprised to get such a lovely thoughtful gift. It has really really cheered me up."
Find out more at www.randombookofkindness.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here