Buzzing Love: Buzzing Love Day

Click here to watch a video from Buzzing Love Day 2018!

The fourth Buzzing Love Day on June 29, 2018, was "UNBEELIEVABLE!"

Even more people were part of the fourth Buzzing Love Day on June 29, 2018, and once again I am beyond grateful, absolutely amazed, overwhelmed and downright humbled by the incredible ACTS OF LOVE AND KINDNESS that were put into the world that day!!! Whether those acts of kindness were shared in memory of my dad, Gary A. Baranyai, or simply JUST BEECAUSE, there was A LOT OF LOVE BUZZING!

While there's so much love and kindness that we know of, just think of how much MORE of it was inspired by every single one of these good deeds!! So many people who were buzzed with love as part of this day promised to pay the kindness forward, and that likely inspired the next person, and the next and the next, to keep the chain of love going! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!

EVERYTHING about Buzzing Love Day is AWESOME! But what's so special and unbelievable for me, and so many of us who knew and loved my dad, is how the power of love and kindness has transformed the most horrible, unthinkable day of our lives -- the day my dad was killed on June 29, 2014 -- into a day of joyful celebration and spreading kindness to others!

Even more special is what this day – what BUZZING LOVE – has BECOME.

This is the LOVE. This is the STRENGTH. This is the HEALING. This is RISING and PUSHING BACK THE DARK. This is TAKING BACK THE LOVE. Putting something BEAUTIFUL IN THE BROKENNESS. If I've learned anything since that worst day of my life it is this – that LOVE is the only thing strong enough to fight the pain and the horrors that are beyond our control. Choosing LOVE and KINDNESS is not just the thing we CAN do ... it is what we MUST do.

There are two things I know about great loss and great love ... you are forever changed by both. They become part of you – you absorb them and they shape you into the person you are becoming. When the loss breaks us, the love is what saves us.

None of this would exist without ANY OF YOU ... so THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! My gratitude is beyond words. "Thank you" seems so ... not enough, but it's all I have, so please take it to heart and know how BIG my love and gratitude is, now and always.

The following random (or not so random) acts of kindness gives a glimpse into how AMAZING the day was and how much LOVE & KINDNESS we put into the world on the fourth Buzzing Love Day!!!

And the best part about it is that ... IT HASN'T STOPPED!

The Love Is Still Buzzing, Let's Keep It Going!

*Hope you are having a loved filled day! It’s hot – I left a cooler of ice cold waters my front porch for UPS and mail carrier, and extra quarters for carts at Aldi’s grocery store! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*I bought a co-worker lunch! BuzzingLove is so inspirational...makes me hopeful there is so much love in the face of tragedy! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*We donated to Save the Children, left banana bread for our letter carrier, hid $1 bills at the Dollar Tree, left a dozen bottles of bubbles in the park, and also left a gift certificate at the counter of Marie's Ice Cream Shop. What a beautiful thing all of this is! We are so grateful to have had this chance. (Illinois)

*Buzzing Love at Rouse’s (supermarkets) in Louisiana: Purchased a bag of groceries to Help Stop Hunger with Second Harvest & Rouses Markets. (Louisiana)

*My act of kindness from this morning is very personal and not something I can photograph or post about, but it felt really good to do it. I know it meant the world to a woman and her family. Thank you for inspiring. (Springfield, Mo.)

*I am so thankful to have had your story shared with me and be given the opportunity to send a little Buzzing Love myself! You are truly and unbelievably amazing and insanely strong person! Glad to know you, even if only through Facebook! (Illinois)

*We(Buzzing Love & Gary Baranyai's family and friends) had a blast surprising 150 random strangers by treating them to a small concrete at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard! (St. Louis, Mo.)

https://www.facebook.com/pg/BuzzingLove/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1712439928883118

Buzzing Love at Ted Drewes on Buzzing Love Day on June 29, 2018

*Loved your Buzzing Love Day! I donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital to celebrate the special day! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*I had an awesome day – said good morning to everyone I passed while riding my bike, three easy syllables! I even biked up the same road twice just to say it to more people!

*Buzzing Love Task 1: Bringing coffee to work for my team after my first week on the job and talking to my new coworkers about Buzzing Love! Buzzing Love Task 2: Donating to the journalists' families from yesterday's shooting in Annapolis. (Austin, Texas)

*Neighborhood coffee joint paying forward – leaving a gift card for the next customer. (Emerald Hills, Calif.)

*I have a friend that puts a call out when needed for a homeless outreach program. I, and other Webster Groves (Mo.) folks, shop the list and deliver to our friend. She takes our haul to the center to distribute. This time, the call was for T-shirts, cotton socks, deodorant, water, etc., to deal with heat. Perfect for #buzzingloveday! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Gave a homeless man outside a McDonald’s $20 to get a meal … this isn’t something I would normally do, but I read the article about Buzzing Love in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and was inspired to do something that I wouldn’t typically do. (Illinois)

*Donated to a friend’s Pedal the Cause campaign (a bike ride that raises funds for cancer research). (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Buzzing the Love early today! Started the day having coffee with a friend, both of us arguing who would pay since it is Buzzing the Love Day! While there, I purchased gift cards for the Missouri Baptist Hospital operating room volunteers, who diligently invest many hours every week assisting our patient’s families. Also, I sent flowers to my Mom, who lives alone, “Just Bee-cause,” AND I sent my ex a text message to say I hope he has a good day today. (Working on forgiveness as I spread purposeful cheer, so why not?!?) All this occurred before work. I plan to continue Buzzing the Love to friends, family and strangers throughout the day, but more in my fashion … quietly and privately. And I’ll smile, knowing in my heart I am honoring Gary Baranyai. (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Tonight at The Old Spaghetti Factory I watched a waiter stumble with his tray of 10 drinks, resulting in each drink, one by one (and it seemed to be in slow motion), crash to the floor. I have never seen so many drinks fall in that fashion, and I felt very bad for him. After dinner I went up to him and gave him the rest of my Panera gift cards that I had bought for handing out today for Buzzing Love Day. He looked like he wanted to cry and said thank you and told me it was his second day working there. #buzzinglove

*Donating to Saint Martha’s Hall, which is a nonprofit that works to help women and their children breaking the cycle of domestic violence. (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Buzzing Love in Washington D.C. – Came to be support/flower planter/errand runner for Mom during her second to last week of daily radiation treatments. (Washington, D.C.)

*While I wanted to try to do more “smaller” things for more people today, my day just didn’t allow for it. It was getting late and I just had to share this great Buzzing Love movement!!! Be kind, always! (Left a $50 tip on a $49 tab at a restaurant for Buzzing Love Day! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Gearing up to deliver kindness to strangers this early morning! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*One package of fun (with chocolates and candy) and two cards mailed out today! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Buzzing some Love at Starbucks today. I bought a gift card and left it with the barista to use throughout the day! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Since I have to work at the fabric store all day, I made little sewing machine gift pouches that I filled with candy for all the amazing people I work with – they will be delighted by the surprise I think! I also bought about five pounds of yummy Hershey's and M&Ms and other candy to share with our customers today! #buzzinglove

*Purchased 10, $10 gift cards to Target and randomly handed them out to people who were shopping in the store … handing out the gift cards was more awesome than I imagined!!!

*Sent a whole lot of love out to mailboxes earlier this week, which will hopefully make people smile today on Buzzing Love Day! (From the Buzzing Love mailbox – the "Buzz Box" – to places all over the country)

*I have a disabled friend with many health issues, including depression, who was recently moved into an assisted living facility. He’s a serious motor head, and I just ordered subscriptions for him to two car magazines, Road and Track, and Car and Driver. At one time he had subscriptions to five different car magazines, but discontinued them due to the Internet. I think he will enjoy again having something tangible to browse through, read articles, etc.

*Happy Buzzing Love Day and #freeto5friday! Just wanna share the love that was buzzed to me yesterday!! So yesterday, a tornado hit Granite City (where I live), but I was at work. It passed my work, but I was so terrified and so was my coworker, but she just kept calm and took care of things while I was too terrified and trying to get a hold of my family and my boyfriend to make sure everyone was okay. She was soooo kind to me, and my other coworker was so worried about me that she told me I could come to her house right next to my work until it was safe for me to go home. I was too scared to drive so my coworker drove me to my other coworker’s house and we sat in her kitchen and talked, and her kitty really liked me and was really sweet. I was so appreciative that they were so kind to me and they basically took care of me while I was so scared and scared for my family!! So for Buzzing Love Day today I bought them some chocolate, and I bought the kitty some treats so he could get some loved buzzed his way too since he helped me calm down!! Thought you would like to hear that today. (Granite City, Ill.)

*Fresh baked treats and a return trip to finish filling the blessing box (a free little food pantry in our community)! (St. Genevieve, Mo.)

*We enjoyed or BuzzingLove Day! Went to the Animal Protective Agency to play with the animals, made a donation and brought home two tiny kittens to love and remember this awesome day everyday! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Some time ago, I was having a really bad day. A stranger gifted me with a small bouquet of flowers and it instantly made my crappy day better. Today, I’m returning the favor. These five bouquets will be going home with strangers. (St. Louis, Mo.)

*My first-grader made a card for her friend and also gave her a keychain with a bumble bee on it for Buzzing Love Day! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Donating shoes for ShoeCrew Water Projects for #buzzingloveday and #freeto5friday!

*My favorite Buzzing Love act of kindness of the day was this … I’m out early in my veggie garden harvesting yummy cucumbers and I notice that I'm clearly not alone. Swarming in and out of the greenery were all kinds of critters "buzzing" with fury as they made their way from flower to flower. Usually I freak, but not this time. This time, I decided to be cool. I had to be … This was the Buzzing Love. And then from next door comes the "buzzing" of a lawn "mower." No joke. (Note from Jaime: She’s referring to my last name, which is Mowers!) So what better thing to do than flag down my neighbor (no easy feat as he was rocking to his ear pods) who meets me at the fence. He's dripping with sweat. Me? No make up. And pretty much still in my jammies. But what the heck? Into his hands go a half dozen freshly picked cucumbers ... in honor of Gary B!!! And everybody was smiling!! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Surprised every customer at Foundation Grounds (coffee house) within 30 minutes by covering their check! I then explained the Buzzing Love movement, and it was awesome to see people’s reactions when they realized what was happening! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Donated snack packs to the USO based at Lambert Airport. (St. Louis, Mo.)

*My first act of kindness had nothing to do with buying anything ... it was the simple act of talking to an older gentlemen who was so interested in my dog and the weather. Sometimes people just want to talk. Take that extra five minutes on a walk and have a conversation. It can change someone's day! He changed my day! He gave me ideas of different dog parks! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Good deeds 3, 4, and 5 for Buzzing Love Day: Baked like crazy and dropped goodies off at Curtis Millsap Farms because they are amazing; Rare Breed Youth Center, which is a drop-in center for homeless youth; and Fire Station #1 in Springfield to thank the firemen for all they do! (Springfield, Mo.)

*Happy Buzzing Love Day! Jaime, this first act of kindness is for you because you do so much for others. For your next #freeto5fridays, I have 10, $5 gift cards to Starbucks for you to hand out. Love you! (Springfield/St. Louis, Mo.)

*Our next “Happy Buzzing Love Day" update is … sharing a Pomegranate Passion smoothie with a friend who loves these! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Bought three pairs of new shoes to go to Rainbow Network, which builds houses and helps the poor in Nicaragua. Missionaries go down frequently and take gently used shoes. I have four pairs of these, but wanted to get a few new ones for Rainbow Network!

*I delivered a cupcake, banana bread, and a self-care kit for my best friend this morning. We are each other’s rocks through our battles with anxiety and depression. I don’t know anyone else with such compassion, love, and deep empathy as she has. (Springfield, Mo.)

*We put together boxes of candy for the staff at a nursing home hear our house. (St. Louis, Mo.)

*I usually pre-order a refresher at Starbucks in the morning, but today I braved the drive thru so I could buzz some love to the car behind me! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Meet Daniel at Tony’s Donuts & Cafe Hazelwood (Mo.) I bought a gift card and left it with Daniel to treat a few customers, courtesy of Buzzing Love. As I was getting ready to leave, Daniel relayed that the very first customer was so moved by the free donut he received, that he decided to donate $10 to keep buzzing the love! Thank you, awesome stranger, and thank you to Daniel and Tony’s Donuts for helping spread some kindness! (Hazelwood, Mo.)

*Starting out my Buzzing Love Day with some kindness at Southwest Diner! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*We stopped at Steak 'n Shake for lunch. We paid for two other tables and surprised our waitress with a sizable tip! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Made a donation in memory of Gary A. Baranyai to the Gary Sinese Foundation. (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Handed out extra quarters at the car wash and it was AWESOME to see people's reaction when they found out what we were doing – giving them extra quarters for Buzzing Love Day and just BEE-CAUSE!

*Delivered flowers to the family who lives in our old house, and took flowers to the people who live in my dad's (Gary Baranyai's) childhood home in Maplewood.

*A quick Buzzing Love project: We are getting ready for a road trip next week and will be stopping and staying with friends throughout this journey! I am making small little gifts for each friend and attaching a Buzzing Love card! (St. Louis, Mo., and throughout our road trip to Washington State)

*My unbelievably thoughtful bestie buzzed some love my way today in the form of the BEST care package! So grateful and appreciative and can’t wait to Buzzing Love it forward! Bzzz! (From Austin, Texas, to St. Louis, Mo.)

*We had a fantastic day buzzing love all around town on Friday! First stop ... the library! The staff on each floor got a bag of fresh-baked cookies.

*My kindergarten daughter is #buzzinglove today. She took baked goods to her teacher. (Springfield, Mo.)

*Sending a friend their favorite treats for #buzzingloveday and #freeto5friday … because who doesn’t love getting something sweet from 2,000 miles away?! (St. Louis, Mo., to California)

*Buzzing the Love at Natural Health Chiropractic and Acupuncture today! (Iowa)

*Buzzing Love while on vacation in Puerto Rico: I challenged my husband and the friends we were with to find an act of kindness. We gave money to a blind man on the streets and passed out local delicacies around town! (Peurto Rico)

*We made cat and dog beds for the animals at the Humane Society of Missouri. We also gave the staff and volunteers a bag of fresh-baked cookies (St. Louis, Mo.)

*For Buzzing Love Day, or other days, because ANY day is a great day to treat the car behind you at Starbucks!! Why not give the person in line behind you a little extra smile this Friday morning?! (Springfield, Mo.)

*Buzzing Love Day reminds me moments matter: Taking my husband out for ice cream, waiting up late for my kiddo to come home from visitation so we can spend time together, complimenting co-workers and taking on extra projects so they can leave early for vacation. Today, I gifted no money as I have in the past, choosing instead to gift my time and energy to others. (Kansas City, Mo.) Because sometimes #buzzinglove means ...“These simple moments change the world. Of course there’s nothing wrong with bigger dreams, just don’t miss the minutes on your way to bigger things, cause these simple moments change the world. ... Dream small. Don’t buy the lie you’ve got to do it all. Just let Jesus use you where you are. One day at a time. Live well, loving God and others as yourself. Find little ways where only you can help, with His great love. A tiny rock can make a giant fall, dream small.” – Dream Small sung by Josh Wilson

*I’ll be honoring your family and you by buzzing around and spreading acts of kindness. You are amazing and your father would be so proud! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Happy Buzzing Love Day! In honor of today, I’m going to do something for someone, not sure what, just when it hits me! (Chicago, Ill.)

*I try every day to make my corner of the world a little bit better, in any way that I can. I hope it helps. We need to be better and kinder to each other. Not just today, but every day. Don’t lose hope, either in the world or in yourself. Press on! Be Kind! (Arizona)

*We had furniture delivered this week and I was really pleased with the team that delivered it, so I called the company and told them what a great the guys were doing. The customer service rep was thrilled to get positive feedback and promised to pass it along! Kindness – it’s free! Spread some smiles today! (Colorado)

*My daughter is celebrating her 7th birthday today by #buzzinglove! We dropped off brownies for a local firehouse first thing today! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Practiced some self love today, and helped clean up storm damage at my neighbor’s house. (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Happy Buzzing Love Day! Doing what old friends do – chillin’ by the pool and eating some local ice cream and in honor of you and Gary B, and treating the families in line behind us! (New Jersey)

*I’ll be sprinkling some love around the park – with KIND bars and Buzzing Love bracelets – this afternoon/evening on behalf of our sweet friends at Buzzing Love, and of course on behalf of Dean, too! (Jaime’s Note: Dean was this woman’s brother whose life was tragically cut short.) So much love to go around and it’s more needed than ever! (Utah)

*I buzzed some love to a colleague at work today with surprise flowers, and we made a donation to a playground project today! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*We put quarters on the soda machines at Walmart for people with the Buzzing Love Day notes! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Buzzing some Love at the office today: Cupcakes from Sweet Katie Bee’s Cupcake Bar and donations to the U.S. Marine’s Toys for Tots Foundation in memory of Gary B., and to the Lasting Solutions Family Law Program of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri in memory of my friend Holly Yoakum, who was a tireless advocate for victims of domestic violence. (Illinois)

*Donated $50 to the U.S. Marine’s Toys for Tots Foundation in honor of Gary B. today!

*Flowers taken to two church friends, new flowers at the cemetery, $2 bill and Buzzing Love bracelet to cemetery staff. More $2 bills and bracelets were given out at a restaurant, a laundromat and also placed in the Maplewood Dollar store! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*My kids and I took packets with coloring books and crayons to my work (hospital) to hand out to pediatric patients, and we gave cookies to the nurses. We also took cookies to my sister at her work for her and her co-workers. It felt good to do good, and the kids enjoyed it! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Hope Animal Rescues has a sister business, Club Paws, Inc., and today (which happens to be Buzzing Love Day!), they are allowing people without power to bring their pets for free for the day to stay cool. So while they are buzzing love to pets in need today, I'm going to buzz love right back at them with a donation to Hope Animal Rescues.

*For the heroes: Donation to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. (Springfield, Mo.)

*I bought the car behind me their coffee at Starbucks. I was on Olive Boulevard way before they were … I was thinking how wonderful today is. I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes. Daddy is looking down and is so proud of you Jaime! Then I see the lady speeding down Olive to catch up with my car … she pulls up slowly and looks at me with the biggest smile and gives me the thumbs up! #buzzinglove #kindnessmatters (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Adding books to a Little Free Library in our neighborhood! (Grapevine, Texas, and St. Louis, Mo.)

*Left extra laundry detergent at our local laundromat for someone who might need some.

*Today, I brought ice waters for some strangers around my campus and spent a couple hours volunteering at the local food bank. I don’t have much money or time to give (especially lately), but I have the ability to give kindness and I do my best to give it out when I can! (Cape Girardeau, Mo.)

*More #buzzinglove: I have collected these for a year from hotels I’ve stayed at and have 50 bars of soap, and 71 shampoos and conditioners. These are destined for Harmony House, for women and children escaping domestic abuse. (Springfield, Mo.)

*Buzzing Love to five book lovers at The Novel Neighbor (bookstore in Webster Groves, Mo.) in honor of an amazing man and Buzzing Love Day … Because the world needs more love (and books)! #buzzinglove (St. Louis, Mo.)

*I’m out in Utah raising awareness for cancer research. I met Joy yesterday and shared Buzzing Love with her. She owns a store in Springdale, Utah, which sells a lot of bumblebee items! (Utah)

*The vending machines at two Steak 'n Shakes and a Walmart got quarters attached to them for Buzzing Love Day! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Today I went to Iowa Methodist Hospital Younkers Rehabilitation, where I was when my brain injury first happened, and dropped off Buzzing Love bracelets! I got to hand them out to the nurses, therapists and the doctor who helped me recover! It was incredible to see all of my nurses and my doctor, and very exciting to see their faces and to actually remember them!! They were super excited to see me and LOVED the message of Buzzing Love! They have their bracelets now and also took some to give to the patients! I absolutely appreciate you sending the Buzzing Love bracelets so I can help spread the kindness vibe! (Iowa)

*Spreading the love in celebration of Buzzing Love for Gary B(ee)! Please join me in doing a random act of kindness today! I took a cooler of cold water and KIND bars to hand out to workers at Johnson Shut Inns State Park! (Missouri)

*Bravely helped us spread the love on Buzzing Love Day and celebrated by finalizing plans to bring two new residents into their residential community for women who have survived lives of sexual exploitation, violence and addiction. This amazing organization helps women heal and rebuild their lives through free long-term housing, comprehensive physical and mental healthcare, and job readiness. We are proud supporters of Bravely, and are honored they helped us celebrate Buzzing Love Day! (St. Louis, Mo.)

*Surprised people at Mauhaus Cafe, Living Room, Stone Spiral and Foundation Grounds coffee shops in Maplewood by treating them to coffee (Maplewood, Mo.)

*Baked and delivered cookies to our neighbors.

*Put a hula hoop, water balloon kits, sidewalk chalk and other fun stuff for kids at the bench dedicated to Gary A. Baranyai in Sutton Loop Park in Maplewood!