Random Acts Foundation

THE DREAM One summer morning in July 2006, Juanita Britton had a compelling dream. She dreamed that she was somewhere in West Africa riding in a minibus through the countryside.  Out of the window she saw a young woman walking down the road. The woman was balancing a basket on her head and a baby on her back and looked as she had walked a very long way with the weight of the world on her shoulders.   Juanita felt drawn to the woman and wanted to do something special that would brighten her day.  As the bus drew closer Juanita reached out of the window and handed the woman a few dollars as a small gift.   It wasn't much money but Juanita's spontaneous gesture of kindness accomplished what she wanted to do.  She made the woman smile. Juanita's gift to the woman was only in a dream but it inspired her to do something like that for real. The dream seemed so real that she shared the story with almost everyone she met.  Nine months after Juanita had the dream, Random Acts became a reality. On February 25, 2007, Juanita flew to Africa, rented a small bus and began reaching out to women at roadsides, to children in schools and many others who she felt could use a small act of kindness to lift their spirits. Juanita set aside two weeks to embark on her journey of charitable giving and took along a crew of assistants and friends to document her adventure and to join her in spreading the love. "God told me to do this," said Juanita.  "Ever since I had that dream I've been on a mission to make this happen." Original Dream Images by Imaniah Shinar   Juanita is a D.C. businesswoman who owns an art gallery, retail stores in airports, and has several other enterprises. Her business and charitable activities in her community has earned her the nickname of "Busy Bee."   Her Africa trip marks the creation of her latest venture, the nonprofit Random Acts Foundation. A film documentary has been completed and can be see film festivals and screenings around the world during the 2007-08 film festival season. Juanita who has traveled to more than 26 countries over the years chose South Africa, Swaziland and Senegal as the places to carry out her random acts of giving for two weeks. To find out more about how the random act attacks, click here and visit our blog! The excitement started when Juanita arrived in South Africa, rented a small bus and "committed" her first random act with four women who were walking along a dusty road in the rural area of Moloto.  She bounded from the bus, greeted the women and rendered them momentarily speechless when she tearfully pressed $50 into the palms of their hands.  But no words were needed.  The expressions of sheer joy and gratitude on the women's faces said it all. The amount that Juanita gave to each of the women symbolically represented the age that she will became on March 28 and her choice to celebrate her 50th birthday by giving instead of receiving. Juanita plans to continue the spirit of spontaneous giving far beyond the two weeks in Africa .  She plans to steer her her newly-created Random Acts of Washington, DC to support humanitarian projects nationally and internationally. Random Acts of Washington, DC is the giving arm of M.A.K.E. PhilAnthropies Work!  Foundation                                                    ###

THE RANDOM ACTS FOUNDATION P.O. Box 2675| Washington DC 20013 | PHONE: 202.610.4188 |Join Us | Email Us