by Patricia McGeever

“Mr. Rogers has always been one of my heroes,” said Bonecutter. “His whole message was spreading love and kindness throughout the world.” 143 was Mr. Rogers’ code for the phrase “I love you,” each numeral being the number of letters in each word of the phrase.

Bonecutter’s first good act, on June 2, was cutting the grass for a nearby apartment building, and he cut a lot more during his 44 day mission. He cut so much that it caught the attention of Cincinnati’s City Manager, Sheryl Long, who reached out to thank him for what he was doing.

He also picks up trash on his walk to Sunday Mass at St. Martin of Tours parish in Cheviot. “Working as a probation officer, our whole job is [to be] agents of change. But change is very gradual when you’re working with people. The nice thing about picking up litter and cutting grass is you get to see immediate change.”

How did Bonecutter choose the many different acts? “I turned that over to God,” he said. “Some things just popped in my head.”

He anonymously paid for someone’s carry-out meal, gave a ride to an elderly man using a walker in the rain, painted over graffiti that was an eyesore on a vacant building and dropped off books at a Little Free Library. A pop-up party at the Cheviot public pool gave kids and adults the chance to spin a wheel and win a prize— there was a line for two straight hours. After he posted each act of kindness on his Facebook page, others noticed his work, and some chose to help him reach his goal. Bonecutter came home one day to find $145 (that’s
$143 plus $2) and a nice, unsigned note in his mailbox telling him to use the money for good works. It helped restock St. Martin’s food pantry with canned goods and toiletries.

“I went to Kroger [and] picked out 143 dollar items, but some were a little bit better deal, [and] I didn’t really do the math with tax and everything else. It was $146.”

His purchase cost him just one dollar more than the original gift. “What Kevin donated would probably service 40-50 families,” said Steve Brunette, who runs the pantry. “It was quite a bit.”

These good deeds inspired scout leader, Katie Molumby, who led her girls to collect hygiene products for women and assemble 40 gift bags. They handed these out to women at random in downtown Cincinnati.

“Some didn’t take it, some liked the idea and said save it for someone else,” said Molumby. “Some were ecstatic.”

Sharing that the afternoon effort was eye-opening for the girls, she said, “They took a lot away from it—having that feeling of being able to give to somebody and meeting new people and putting in the work to do it.”

As he drove past St. Francis Seraph one day, Bonecutter was inspired to throw a pizza party, “There is a really high homeless population that sits outside the church.” He thought he could put up a pop up tent and hand out slices. While estimating the cost to buy 20 pizzas, divine intervention helped, he said. NYPD Pizza’s owner made a surprise call, asked to be part of Bonecutter’s efforts and offered the 20 pizzas at no cost. Others donated drinks, and the crowd outside church had a surprise treat.

As his quest toward 143 kind acts continued, others donated cases of water, soft drinks, snacks, candy and toys. Spring Grove Cemetery sent a minivan full of excess flowers, which he planted outside businesses. A bakery donated 13 dozen cupcakes to the YWCA’s Battered Women Shelter. When a Cincinnati television station aired a story on Bonecutter’s efforts, affiliates around the country picked it up. He’s been interviewed by radio stations in Seattle, WA, and Mansfield, OH, and friended on Facebook by people in Texas and Virginia who want to follow his journey. Because he hopes all who hear the story will be inspired to make their own acts of kindness, he created the “143 Random Acts of Kindness” Facebook page for others to post their own good deeds.

His mission ended in mid-July with act 143, the one he considers his most rewarding. He was able to meet the family of and bring presents to a little girl celebrating her fourth birthday while in the hospital, in need of a heart transplant. The next day, her family sent pictures of her smiling as she opened the gifts, buoyed by that wave of good will that continues to flow.

This article appeared in the September 2023 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.