Feel good about racking up transactions on this card

The Giving Card takes the original concept of their Do-Something-Good Day website, launched in January, a whole lot further.

At www.dosomethinggoodday.com visitors are encouraged to record their good deed for the day. The Giving Card adds even more fun to the idea by passing along the initiative.

The card is similar in appearance to a debit or credit card but there the resemblance stops. “We have turned something that people use everyday into a tool to create good and pass it along,” said Atkinson. “So instead of a credit card account where you owe money or debit where you take out money, here you accumulate good.”

Prospective do-gooders can purchase three cards for $9.99 (includes shipping), perform and register their good deed on the website, then pass the card onto another person. They can continue to trace the good deeds of their card indefinitely as it is passed on.

Atkinson says the cards are now in four countries (England, United States, Canada, and Portugal). People from as far away as Cyprus have entered their good deeds.

Symonds is the technical guru behind the webwork, much of which she does from Barrington Bay Music. Atkinson’s work takes her around the globe.

One thousand cards were printed and to date close to 30 have been distributed.

The cousins enjoy reading the good deeds that are recorded each day. “One lady said she was saving starfish on the beach. She was putting them back in the water before the hot sun killed them all. That was one of my favorites,” said Symonds. “The good deeds don’t have to be necessarily be for other people. They can be good for the environment, or good for nature or just generally good things.”

Although tracing the good deeds performed by successive owners of your original card is a fun thing to do, Symonds and Atkinson want to remind people that the card is not necessary to do a good deed and post it on the website. “What Wanda and I both hope is that people will start posting more good deeds and that will encourage others to do that. It’s like a snowball; good things will start to accumulate. You don’t have to be volunteer of the year to make an impact on the world around you.”

There is also a facebook application (Do Something Good Day) with 140 members. Good deeds posted on the website show up on the facebook application and vice versa.

Giving cards can be ordered from the website www.dosomethinggoodday.com or picked up at Barrington Bay Music.