Do a Jack Attack Susan Marquez Susan Marquez 14 • January 2019
It’s not unusual to hear good things about a person after their passing. But to hear the same good thing, over and over, time and time again, is both comforting and heartwarming. For Nathan and Brenda Dunaway of Madison, hearing the stories of the numerous acts of kindness their grandson Jack did for others was the motivation to start a movement to keep Jack’s memory alive. Jack Dunaway passed away on August 13, 2016. Almost immediately students who knew Jack began sharing their stories about how he had been kind to them. “They’d start with ‘…you don’t know this, but…’” said Nathan Dunaway. “There were stories about being a new kid at school and Jack was the first student to strike up a conversation. Or the times Jack gave his sandwich to a kid with no lunch. Stories of Jack doing random acts of kindness were told to us over and over again.” Like many other kids, Jack enjoyed gaming, and his gaming name was Jack Attack. “We decided the best way to honor Jack and to keep his memory alive was to perpetuate those random acts of kindness that we now call ‘Jack Attacks,’” Dunaway explained. One of Dunaway’s daughters, Emily, designed a “Do a Jack Attack” logo and graphic designer Dick Weaver cleaned it up and added the tag line “a good deed brightens a dark world.” Dunaway says they started promoting Do a Jack Attack the best they could, by paying for someone’s coffee at a coffee shop, or by handing out Do a Jack Attack bracelets and decals. Over time, celebrities have gotten on board recording videos that are posted on the Do a Jack Attack Facebook page. Steve Lukather and Joseph Williams of Toto, Ryan Hurst of Sons of Anarchy, Greg Hawks of The Cars and Kate Flannery who plays Margaret on The Office have all made videos encouraging people to “Do a Jack Attack.” “Being kind is something people understand and can relate to,” said Dunaway. “Not long ago I was at the drive-thru of a coffee shop in Ridgeland and I paid for the coffee of the driver in the car behind me. I went back the next day, and the same cashier was at the window. She told me she was glad I came back through and I asked her why. She said that the lady I paid for the day before had been having a bad day and that when she heard I had paid for her coffee it really lifted her spirits. She paid for the person behind her, and it kept going for 20 more cars! I just went home and cried.” Dunaway is now taking his message of kindness into schools. “We recently went to the Choctaw Junior High and high schools in Ackerman during November, which has been designated as a month of kindness. We gave out bracelets and decals and I told the story of Jack and how his kind acts made such a lasting impact on his classmates.” He went to speak at a school in Bentonia in December and looks forward to spreading the message to other schools, as well. Always on the lookout for people doing kind deeds, Dunaway noticed a little boy help a lady put her groceries in her car at Kroger. “We always keep bracelets and decals in our vehicles, so I got him a bracelet. His name was Dylan, and his dad sent me a picture of Dylan wearing his bracelet. He was so proud of it.” People request bracelets and decals through the Facebook page and Dunaway said they’ve been sent all over the United States and as far away as England, Poland and Australia. “We feel this is such a good way to honor Jack and to keep his memory alive, and to honor God. Matthew 25:40 says, “The King will reply, ‘truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” _______________________________________ Do a Jack Attack is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Information can be found on the Do a Jack Attack Facebook page, or by writing Nathan Dunaway at P.O. Box 763, Madison, MS 39130-0763. Hometown madison • 15