A social experiment in the power of small acts
Can the Internet Retire My Parents for $1 Each?
I’ve always wondered what could happen if enough people each did one very small good thing. My parents spent their lives proving that small acts add up. So I’m putting that idea to the test.
The ask is just $1. Give more if you’d like — every person who joins becomes one light.
One small act. A whole lot of people. Let’s see what happens.
1,000,000 people to go · 0.00% of One Million Lights is lit
The dream: 1,000,000 people.
The goal: help Mom retire and give both of them more freedom to enjoy what’s next.
A Small Act Can Become Something Big
I’ve always been fascinated by a simple idea: what could happen if enough people each did one really small thing?
One person giving $1 isn’t going to retire my parents. Neither are ten people.
But thousands of people doing something almost insignificant on their own could create something life-changing together.
That’s the experiment. How much good can a lot of people create by each doing just a little?
One Million Lights
One Light. One Person. One Small Act.
Every light is one person who decided one small act was worth doing. Someone who gives $1 gets one light. Someone who gives $100 gets one light. The lights represent people, not dollars.
The dream: light all one million.
0 lights lit · hover a recent light to see who added it
Every person who joins becomes one light in One Million Lights. The dream is one million people — every person matters along the way.
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- People Who Joined
- $0
- Total Raised
- 1,000,000
- One Million Lights
people did something small
raised for Mom & Dad
lights still waiting
Meet My Parents
My parents have always been happiest with a simple life: family, hard work, time together, and taking care of the people around them.
My dad grew up in a small town in Oregon, one of four kids, in a house that for a while didn’t even have indoor plumbing. He had a paper route as a kid, served four years in the Navy, and then spent about 40 years in a plywood mill — and somehow, after work, he always had more to give.
He coached nearly every sport we played, and before practice we’d drive around picking up kids whose parents couldn’t give them a ride. He had a way of making kids feel important. He once drove three hours on a weeknight to watch my brother play, got home at 2:00 a.m., and was back at work a few hours later. That was my dad. He showed up. Every time.
My mom was born into a family of 13 kids and spent much of her childhood in foster care with the woman I grew up knowing as my grandma — a woman who fostered more than 50 children. My mom grew up needing someone to give her a home. Then she spent much of her adult life making our home a safe, loving place for other people’s children.
She ran a daycare out of our house for years. Many of those kids are grown now, and they still come back to see her. She later cared for another generation in senior living, and today she’s still working as a nanny. She’s still taking care of someone else’s family.
“We may not have had a lot of money, but we were rich in all the ways that mattered.”
- Rich in family.
- Rich in friends.
- Rich in time together.
- Rich in purpose.
- Rich in camping trips, road trips, sports, a house full of kids, and parents who always showed up.
We camped instead of taking extravagant vacations. We drove instead of flew. We made things last.
Our house was constantly full of kids, teammates, friends, and family. There wasn’t always a lot of extra.
But somehow, my parents made what we had feel like more than enough. And honestly, I wouldn’t trade the childhood we had — the camping trips, road trips, sports, crowded house, and time together were some of the best parts of growing up.
My Parents Taught Me That Small Acts Add Up
My parents’ lives weren’t built around grand gestures. They were built around showing up.
My dad didn’t become a great father because of one enormous thing.
It was:
- one practice.
- one ride for a kid who needed it.
- one overtime shift.
- one football game.
- one early morning back at work.
- one camping trip.
- one more time showing up.
My mom didn’t change kids’ lives through one extraordinary moment.
It was:
- one meal.
- one scraped knee.
- one diaper.
- one conversation.
- one day in a house full of kids.
- one more child who knew she cared.
My parents taught me what small acts can become when you keep doing them.
Retire My Parents is built on that same idea. One dollar won’t change their lives. But maybe enough small acts will.
What Each Milestone Could Mean
The milestones aren’t a shopping list. They’re examples of what more freedom could look like.
Giving Mom Her Time Back
My mom has spent most of her life taking care of other people — children, seniors, families, and now the family she nannies for.
One of the biggest things I hope this project can give her isn’t something she can buy.
It’s the choice to stop working.
More mornings that belong to her. More time with Dad. More trips to see the grandkids. More freedom to decide what she wants the next chapter of her life to look like.
$5,000 — A Little Breathing Room
Travel, fixing Dad’s boat motor, family visits, and some of the little things they’ve spent years putting off.
$10,000 — More “Let’s Go” Days
Fishing, camping, road trips, grandkid visits, and more chances to say yes without thinking quite so hard about the cost.
$25,000 — This Is Becoming Something Real
A meaningful amount of freedom and flexibility that could start changing everyday decisions.
$50,000 — More Freedom Together
More room for family visits, travel, hobbies, and giving Mom more choice around how much she works.
$100,000 — Retirement Starts Looking Different
At this point, the project could create real flexibility around work, travel, family time, and retirement decisions.
$250,000 — A New Chapter
A level of financial freedom that could meaningfully change what retirement looks like for both of them.
$500,000 — Freedom We Never Imagined
Long-term flexibility, more family time, travel, fishing, camping, and fewer decisions driven by cost.
$1,000,000 — The Moonshot
The biggest “what if?” of the social experiment — proof of what can happen when a huge number of people each do something small. Not the only way this succeeds.
What Would Retirement Look Like?
Mom Gets to Stop Working
Not because she has to. Because she finally has the choice.
More Grandkid Days
They live in Oregon. We live in Arizona. I’d love for visiting their grandkids to become a decision about when they want to come, not whether they should spend the money.
Dad Gets More Days Outside
Fishing. Hunting. Camping. Fixing the boat. Going because the weather is beautiful.
More “Why Not Now?” Moments
Trips. Road trips. A camper. Family visits. Experiences they’ve spent years calling “maybe someday.”
For Mom, freedom might mean finally choosing to stop working. For Dad, it might mean fixing the boat and going fishing because it’s a beautiful Tuesday. For both of them, it means more time with family and fewer decisions that start with “Can we afford it?”
This isn’t about turning them into different people. They’re happy with a simple life. I just want that simple life to have a little more freedom in it.
If We Actually Do It
I don’t picture my parents suddenly living some extravagant life.
I picture Dad finally fixing his boat. I picture him deciding to go fishing because the weather is beautiful instead of wondering whether he should spend the money on gas.
I picture the camper they’ve looked at for years. I picture Mom finally having the choice to stop working. I picture plane tickets to Arizona that don’t require a conversation about what they cost.
I picture more afternoons with their grandkids. More road trips. More camping. More time outside. More memories.
And hopefully a lot fewer sentences that begin with “Maybe someday.”
I’d really love to turn some of those into “Why not now?”
Why not now?
How It Works
1. Do Something Small
Give $1. Give more if you’d like, but $1 is enough.
2. Be One of the Million
Every person who joins becomes one light in One Million Lights.
3. See What We Can Do Together
Every contribution gets Mom and Dad a little closer to more freedom in retirement.
Could one million people join? That’s the dream. But every single light matters along the way.
The Dream Is One Million People. The Goal Is to Retire My Parents.
The internet gets millions of people to watch, argue, laugh, like, share, and scroll every single day.
I want to see what happens when a lot of people each do one tiny good thing instead.
The ask isn’t $100. It isn’t $20. It’s $1. Give more if you want. You don’t need to.
One million people is the dream. It isn’t a requirement for this to work. Every light along the way creates a little more freedom for Mom and Dad.
Live Activity
Every few moments, another light appears. These are the most recent people to do something small.
Transparency Matters
Retire My Parents is a personal crowdfunding project and social experiment, not a charity. Funds are intended as a personal gift to help my parents enjoy retirement with greater freedom. One million participants is the dream — not a requirement for this project to be successful.
Read the full detailsSee If This Works
What can happen when enough people each do one small thing? There’s really only one way to find out.
The ask is just $1.