25 Simple Ideas for Random Acts of Kindness Day

Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day. A day completely devoted to being kind – what could be better?! Plus, people are generally awesome when given the chance so here is your chance to shine. Random Acts of Kindness Day evolved from “a Sausalito, California, restaurant in 1982 when Anne Herbert scrawled the words “practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty” on a placemat….Random Acts of Kindness, true stories of acts of kindness, was published in February 1993 and set off a chain reaction….Toward the end of 1993, a Bakersfield, California, professor gave a class assignment to do a random act of kindness unleashing yet another flood of stories. The concept continues to spread,…” (source).

Some people have really taken the day to heart. To check out some great examples to follow or act as muse for when the moment may hit follow some related hashtags: #capturekindness, #randomactsofkindness, #randomacts, #actsofkindness, #kindnessiscontagious, and #payitforward.

To celebrate in your own way you just need to get out there and be kind.

We have 25 ideas to get you started:

1. Give a compliment.
2. Treat someone to a meal or suspend a coffee while in line at Starbucks (prepay for the person behind you).
3. Pick up some extra school supplies for your children’s teacher while you are on your weekly grocery run.
4. Leave a treat on a neighbors doorstep.
5. Leave a nice note in an unexpected place – mirror, mailbox, car seat, sock drawer,…
6. Bring the mail carrier a drink.
7. Buy your cashier flowers or take flowers to a nursing home.
8. Send your thank you notes that have been languishing on your “to do” list.
9. Call your parents.
10. Text a happy picture to a friend you haven’t seen in awhile.
11. Donate blood or sign up to be an organ donor.
12. Play that game your kid loves and makes you want to pull our eyeballs out.
13. Listen to your child talk about Minecraft for 30 minutes straight – without interrupting and be able to ask a real question about whatever they said.
14. Drive nicely – reserve your horn, don’t cut people off, and let that car merge late.
15. Bring extra coupons to the store and leave them where people can use them, or a gas card at the gas pump or quarters at the laundromat or at a bank of games (like those found for kids in some restaurants).
16. Hold the door or elevator for someone.
17. Help “selfie” groups take a picture.
18. Mow your neighbor’s yard.
19. Sit with someone who looks lonely – ask and listen to how they are.
20. Give a larger tip than usual.
21. Help someone with car trouble.
22. Let someone cut the line.
23. Donate old towels and blankets to an animal shelter – bring some bags of food too!
24. Write a LinkedIn recommendation for a co-worker.
25. Offer free babysitting to friends.

And, that time a group of Houstonians were awesomely kind to a woman who dropped her hat! #Houstonstrong

This lady dropped her hat, and Houston came in clutch to get it back up to her #earnedhistory pic.twitter.com/1thxzO7B6i

enokez (@AlanEnokian) November 3, 2017