Man does good deed every day for 12 months

Luke Cameron, 26, from Cheltenham, decided that he was going to do a good deed every day for 12 months. He made the decision after a close family friend died of cancer back in 2013. Each day after he had performed his good deed, he would write it up in a blog and post it online. It wasn’t long before he had thousands of followers.

Luke’s deeds ranged from taking out the rubbish for his elderly neighbours to baking cakes to give to family members. He bought meals for strangers in McDonald’s and even paid for a person’s petrol as they were standing next to him at the tills. All of these deeds have cost Luke an estimated £3,000 over the course of the year. And this is all on a salary of a part time shopkeeper, so it’s a hefty chunk of his earnings.

Luke said: ‘In a world of taking selfies with your “besties” and Instagramming pictures of your new handbag and Rolex watch, we forget to think about anyone else but ourselves. Our generation has forgotten to care about others, because we are too self-obsessed to even care what others are going through.’

 

The reaction to Luke’s challenge was overwhelmingly positive but there were some negative comments on his social media and blog. Luke said that he frequently encountered scepticism about what he was doing, especially when there was money involved.

He was inspired to start his challenge, as reported in The Daily Mail, by the death of a family friend. He said: ’ Maura was like a mother to me. She was hands-down the most incredible and inspirational woman I will ever meet. When a neighbour needed food, she gave her last potato. When a friend needed money, she gave her last pound. She gave her whole life selflessly helping others around her and at her funeral over 4,000 people queued for 3 hours to get in and pay their respects.’

 

His good deed challenge also encouraged Luke to enter a competition to win the job of National Philanthropy Manager, also known as the Nicest Job in Britain. He won and got to travel the country assisting 45 different charities. Luke said that the whole experience had changed his life for the better.

So, why not start your own good deed challenge? See if you can do something nice for others every day. From raising money to buy safety equipment to handing over a few pennies to someone who needs it more – it might just change your life.