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30 Random Acts of Kindness

A few years ago, the Random Acts of Kindness movement gained considerable momentum, and everyone was trying to do RAOK (Random Acts of Kindness). It was exciting. For instance, can you remember the first time someone paid for your coffee in the Starbucks drive-thru? And then remember how great it felt when you paid it forward so that the next car was paid for as well? Really Amazing!

Random Acts of Kindness

It Feels So Good!

This is probably the most notable RAOK, but there are so many others. And although it feels good to have someone complete a Random, Act of Kindness on your behalf, it feels even better to do a RAOK for someone else. I love the look on someone’s face when a stranger buys them a cup of coffee, shovels their front walk, or rakes their lawn. Or, when someone is a bit short at the grocery store, and without pomp or circumstance, the next person in line simply pays the rest of the bill. It is contagious. But, something well worth catching.

With that in mind, today I am sharing a list of 30 Random Acts of Kindness. Some are free, some cost money. Some are quick, some take a while. But all of them will brighten the day of someone, and will bless you too!

Kindness

Quick and Easy

• Take the Cart back to the supermarket.
• Pick up a piece of trash.
• Make a blanket and give it to a homeless person
• Make a positive comment on Facebook, or refrain from making a negative one.
• Give a book that you have read and enjoyed to a friend. You might just end up having a great conversation when they are finished.
• Give a genuine compliment.

Only a Few Hours

• Talk to someone at the airport. Years ago I met a woman with a small baby at the airport. She was exhausted, overwhelmed, and tired. She was making a cross-country flight and moving in with her parents who were going to help her with the baby. And, she really needed someone to talk with. Someone to say it was all going to be okay. Someone to listen to her challenges. I, too, was exhausted, but she needed a friend. It was worth the time and effort.
• Help before, during, or after the party. I recently held a birthday party for my daughter, our family, and some of her friends. One of the Mothers, a dear longtime friend, brought her apron and offered to jump in and help. It was such a huge blessing. She helped by carrying items in and out of the house, cleaning up, and serving the cake and ice cream. In addition, we had a good time chatting. Her kindness blessed me more than I can share.

Tori Opening Gifts

Slow and Steady

• Choose to leave the best parking spot available for someone else, every day for a month.
• Plan to visit a retirement home, memory care center, or home for the elderly.
• Look through closets and drawers and donate clothing to a thrift store, church, or homeless shelter.
• Send a Thinking of You card to a friend, or someone under the weather.
• Start or work in a community garden.

Donation Box

Share a Little More Time

• Start volunteering at a local charity using your talents to help them grow. Often smaller charities could benefit from the talents and skills of someone outside their charity. Are you a Social Media or Marketing Guru? Offer an hour of your time to share your skills with the charity. Are you skilled in web page design, photography, or writing? Offer to help build, update, or evaluate the charities web page. Whatever your skill set, the charity could benefit from an hour or more of your time.
• Train for and run a 5k for a good cause.

Drop a Few Coins in the Parking Meter

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Cheap or Free

• Pay the Bridge Toll for the car behind you.
• Drop a few coins into the Parking Meter
• Pay for a coffee for the person behind you in line.
• Leave a roll of quarters behind next time you visit a Laundromat.
• Talk with someone, just a random stranger.
• Take a meal to a family in need. You can check out more information on this on my post on building a Meal Train.
• Write to someone in the military, whether you know them or not.
• Make lunch for yourself and your partner or children.

 

Oscar Wilde Quote

Give a Homeless Person Your Leftovers.

A few years ago, when we were purchasing two cars at once, a group of 7 women in our family went to the car dealership. 4 hours later we walked away with the two needed used cars and a healthy appetite. So, we all went to a local restaurant and had a great dinner laughing and relaxing after the stress of car shopping.

The only downside was that my Mom’s order was wrong. She is gluten free and ordered her burger both Gluten Free and Well Done. When her burger arrived it was not Gluten Free and was incredibly rare. She sat and ate a few fries while waiting for her burger to be remade. The second time it was brought out she started eating it only to realize the inside was close to rare. So, she ate more fries and again waited for her burger to be brought out. Finally, the burger arrived. She was full of fries by that point, and we were all finished so she asked for it to go.

Random Acts of Kindness

And Then I Met A Stranger

Everyone else in our party had already left by the time her burger came back in a” to go” container. She left for the restroom and I said I would meet her outside. I carried her package outside. It was a dark and cold evening with a strong January drizzle starting to come down. A Homeless man walked up to me dressed in old torn clothes and covered with a plastic bag as a coat.

The stranger asked if I had any money to give him as he was very hungry. I rarely if ever carry cash so I let him know that I was sorry, but I did not have any cash. He said it was okay and I started to walk away. Suddenly, I realized I was carrying a brand new hamburger, with steaming hot French fries. So, I walked over to the man and asked if he would be interested in our to go food. He said he would love it. I gave him the food and walked to my car.

Eventually, my Mom came out to the car and I had to let her know…I gave her food away. My Mom is very generous but was probably a little frustrated that she had not been able to enjoy a hot hamburger as the rest of us had. She was not immediately pleased.

And Then We Left

I started the car and flipped on the lights and pulled out.  Through the beams of lights, we both looked up to see the stranger sitting on the curb, in the rain, with an open package of steaming food. He was stuffing it into his mouth at a quick pace, I am sure due to great hunger. Yep, as we drove away, we both cried. We both knew that the reason my Mom’s hamburger had been made wrong, the reason it was made wrong a second time, and the reason my Mom had filled up on fries, was that this stranger needed a meal, and this was to be his meal, not my Mom’s.

Random Acts of kindness

Cost involved.

• Pay the electric or gas bill for a family in need.
• Pay for a car repair or oil change for a widow.
• Give a family a grocery store gift card
• Support the Make A Wish foundation or another organization that makes the dreams of chronically ill children come true.
• Buy and give away a cord of wood. We had the opportunity to participate in a gift, similar to this, one holiday season, and you can read about it here.

30 Random Acts of Kindness

15 Minutes of Time, A Year of Giving

• Set up an ongoing monthly donation to a favorite charity. I support several charities throughout the year but have a small monthly donation automatically scheduled to be drawn from my account. I wish it could be more, but it is a choice I made because I am committed to making a difference. You can read about one of my favorite charities here. Think of what you want to make better in the world, where you want to make a difference, and make a monthly commitment.

Whatever you choose to do, do something. Use your Time, Talents, and Money to make the world a better place.

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Has a stranger ever completed a Random Act of Kindness for you? What are your ideas for blessing a complete stranger? Share in the comments below. And Checkout the websites below for more ideas on Random Acts of Kindness.

Random Acts of Kindness

Acts of Kindness 

 Buzz Feed Article on Random Acts of Kindness 

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