50 Random Acts of Kindness You Can Do Today
Acts of Kindness and Charity
1. Bake biscuits/muffins (or buy them!) and take them to your nearest fire station to hand out. They'll be happy to get a treat and it's nice to thank them for the risks they take to keep us all safe. Plus, hanging out with fireman is a bit of kindness you can do for yourself… (depending on how you feel about that kinda thing… )
2. Leave money loaded into a vending machine so that someone gets a free snack.
3. Pay for the person behind you at a drive through takeaway. Prepare for the servers to be a little surprised, but they're likely to agree and be quite excited to help you in your act of kindness.
4. Buy a bouquet of flowers and put them on someone's car with a note telling them that they're a random gift to cheer up their day.
5. Buy some cheap colouring books and pens and take them to your nearest GP and hospital waiting rooms for the kids.
6. Make a mystery parcel of nice snacks or stationery and send it to someone who deserves a bit of an anonymous pick-me-up.
7. Shop local - even if it's more convenient to go to a big supermarket. Take the time to go into your local shops and support their businesses.
8. Next time you're at a restaurant, assuming you get good service, leave a really generous tip for the server to brighten up their entire shift.
9. Put a sum of money behind the counter in a coffee shop and ask the servers to use it to buy coffees for either homeless people or pensioners or people who forget their wallets - whatever you choose.
10. Feed the birds (tuppence a bag). Being kind should extend to our wildlife too, especially during tough winter months when birdseed in the garden can save lives.
11. Take some biscuits, chocolates or flowers to the nurses at your local hospital. Check in advance to see what would be ok to bring.
12. When you're cooking a meal, double up your ingredients and make a second family-sized portion to take round to a friend or neighbour who's having a busy time. Make sure it's something they can freeze.
13. Paint rocks with pretty pictures and/or motivational words and hide them around the neighbourhood for walkers to find. There are even local groups you can joined filled with people who enjoy this hobby.
14. Carry around a care package including items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, wipes, gloves, socks, snack bars and so on and donate items to homeless people that you see.
15. Bring in food snacks for your colleagues. Well fed colleagues are productive and happy colleagues and everyone wants to work with those.
16. Put a surprise gift in the post to a friend or relative for no reason.
Free Random Acts of Kindness
17. Take someone else's trolley back for them. Everyone will be happy to be saved that annoying schlep back to the trolley station so it's easy to nip in and help out here.
18. Write motivational notes and leave them where people will find them. You never know whose day you might brighten or what a difference you could inadvertently make.
19. Do a grocery shop and donate it to a food bank. Many supermarkets have collection points right in store.
20. Go through your cupboards and pack away all those clothes you don't wear anymore (be honest!) and donate them to local charity shops or clothes banks.
21. Give a stranger a compliment. Make sure it sounds sincere and not intrusive or creepy. Something like, 'Sorry, I just have to say, I love your shoes/hairstyle/nails' will give them a boost of confidence and a smile.
22. Pick up litter in your neighbourhood. Even an hour can make a difference (especially to local wildlife) and you can have a nice walk at the same time.
23. Take the time to write or say thank you to someone who made a difference in your life. Maybe a teacher, a nurse or an older friend.
24. Next time you get a big haircut, donate your hair to a charity that makes wigs for kids with cancer, such as the Little Princess Trust. Follow the link for full details.
25. Take a few of your favourite books and leave them in places around your community with notes saying that you want others to enjoy them too.
26. Challenge yourself to only say positive things for an entire day. Your positivity will spread, and it will also help you recognise the choices you make with your words.
27. When you mow your lawn, if possible without trespassing, mow your neighbours' lawn, too.
28. Visit an old folks' home and spend some time with the older residents. Encourage them to talk about their lives - it can be quite an enriching experience for you, too.
29. Offer to pick up something for a friend or a neighbour next time you go shopping. Saving them a trip to the shops could really make a big difference to their day.
30. Pop a little note or picture in with your children's or partner's lunch. They'll smile when they see it and think of you!
31. Donate any old (but in good condition) toys to your local children's hospital to help children in hospital and their siblings continue to play.
32. Join the bone marrow registry. You can order your pack online and will be sent a swab for the inside of your cheek, which you then send back. Bone marrow donation is often done nowadays by taking blood so is rarely a major procedure. In the unlikely event that you are matched with someone in need of a transplant, you'll be guided through the simple process, and could save a life.
33. Follow up with a friend or relative who had a bad time a while ago. Whether it's divorce, illness, bereavement or something else, people often receive a lot of help in a time of crisis but feel down later when it all naturally falls away. Get in touch to find out how they are and do something nice for them.
34. Make a concerted effort to let other drivers out in front of you in traffic. You're not really in that much of a hurry, are you?
35. Next time you see someone taking a photograph of their companion at a tourist site, offer to take a picture of them both together.
36. If you get back to the car and there's still some time left on your parking ticket, look for someone else who is just parking that you could give it to.
37. When you're out, compliment a parent on their child's behaviour. Parents love to hear praise about their children.
38. Introduce yourself to a new neighbour. It's hard not knowing anyone so just knock on their door and let them know you're nearby if they need anything and answer any questions they may have about the neighbourhood.
39. Next time you get good service in a shop or similar ask to speak to the manager and give them positive feedback regarding the member of staff who helped you out.
40. Instead of birthday gifts ask for donations to a charity close to your heart, either monetary gifts or items such as foodbank gifts or toys for children living in poverty.
Seasonal Random Acts of Kindness
41. Put an uncarved pumpkin on every doorstep in your street a couple of days before Hallowe'en.
42. Bake gingerbread biscuits at Christmas and share them with the neighbours.
43. On Mother's Day and Father's Day, pay special attention to those who have lost parents or children. Don't necessarily remind them of their sadness but keep an eye on them and try to make their day better.
Random Acts of Kindness That You Can Do Without Leaving Your House
44. Go onto Facebook or another platform you use and take time to actively engage with lots of people. Tell them their pictures of kids look cute, put laughing emoticons at their funny posts, thank them for sharing interesting articles and make lots of people feel good in one fell swoop.
45. Endorse someone for a professional skill on Linkedin. Make sure you have worked with them and can honestly endorse the skill, of course. You could even write them a review to help boost their career.
46. Write a good review of a business (or several) that you've used recently.
47. Go through your phone and text anyone you haven't been in touch with recently. Make sure you ask them how they're getting on and say you were just thinking about them. They'll be touched to hear from you and you might enjoy re-establishing some connections.
48. Every time you open your e-mail for the day, make sure you start the day by writing an e-mail praising someone. It can be a short paragraph thanking them, recognising something they've done or just showing them you value them.
49. Make someone a playlist to cheer them up. It might be motivational songs, songs to help them study, breakup songs or music from nights out you've shared together.
50. Remember that kindness starts at home. Every day write down three things that were good about your day and look back on them when you're having a tough time. You deserve kindness too!