The number 58 wasn't very significant, even just a few months ago, but now it has a heavy meaning for Nevadans: It’s the number of people who were killed during the mass shooting on October 1.
It’s admittedly somber, but Mary Cittandino Rendina is lightening the mood.
She’s the founder of #58RandomActsofKindness, a Facebook group that is doing good in honor of those who died. So far, thousands of good deeds have been done, at home and as far away as Paris, Israel and Ecuador.
Rendina, whose daughter was at the concert and left just 10 minutes before the shooting started, got the idea while on a flight to Reno.
Rendina had been giving out Starbucks cards to first responders following the shooting, and decided to give one to a flight attendant who was having a hard time with a customer. When she saw the negativity lift from the flight attendant's face, she decided that was just the beginning.
Now, the page has 5,000 followers, and some post their random acts of kindness.
“We encourage people to post, and the reason we do is two-fold: One is that the feedback we’re getting from the victims … it is helping in the healing process to see the goodness that is coming out of this,” she said.
Beyond helping the victims, she said it also gives other people in the group ideas on what to do everything from buying someone flowers to paying for groceries or restaurant tabs.
Rendina also said it is not about how much money a person spends, but the thought.
“You don’t have to have the resources or the finances to participate. You can call a friend and encourage them or drop a note in the mail or tell a co-worker or a flight attendant that they’re doing a great job,” she said.
Rendina says #58RandomActsofKindness is not a campaign with a beginning and an end, but a movement to "change the culture in our society."
Mary Rendina, founder, 58 Random Acts of Kindness