February 17th is National Random Acts of Kindness Day, and it's a day to remind everyone how to make the world a better place. Kind gestures put a smile on the faces of people around you and knowing you’ve helped someone is a great feeling. The kindness doesn’t have to stop when the day is over. Any day calls for a random act of kindness.
Buy flowers for an unsuspecting person — local barista, your mailperson, a neighbor, or maybe your bank teller!
Stop and help someone having car trouble.
Let someone in a hurry go ahead of you at lunch or the coffee shop.
Place encouraging notes on windows or bathroom mirrors for people to find later.
Take the time to tell a colleague at work how much you truly appreciate them.
Find more opportunities to give compliments. It’s free to do and takes almost no time.
Buy an extra bag of groceries and drop it at the food pantry on your way home.
Stock your car with little things to pass out to the homeless – bottles of water, granola bars, or gift cards for a nearby restaurant make nice gifts.
Pay for the person behind you in line at the drive-thru.
Buy a few $5 gift cards and hand them out throughout the day.
Send postcards to children suffering from illness at sendkidstheworld.com.
Shovel your neighbor’s driveway or mow their lawn.
Set up Amazon Smile, a service that makes a donation to your favorite nonprofit every time you make a purchase on Amazon.
Say “thank you” to the people who make a difference in your community, like police officers, soldiers, firefighters, and teachers. You can write a letter to a soldier through Soldier’s Angels.
Call someone you love just to say you love them.
Most of these ideas take very little time, money, or effort, but they can mean the world to someone else. And once you experience the joy of giving an unexpected gift — the thrill of seeing someone’s eyes light up — we’re betting you’ll be hooked and want to share that love all year round!