Random Act of Kindness Day

Not an official holiday, but still an important one. Each year on February 17th, Random Act of Kindness Day is celebrated throughout the world. Initiated from Denver, Colorado in 1995, it has been increasingly recognized worldwide after being spread to New Zealand in 2004. This is a day that we are all challenged to do something kind, whether it be complimenting a stranger or donating groceries to your local food bank.

Throughout human history, several important figures have made selfless acts of kindness. Princess Diana, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Teresa were all significantly known for being kind through their considerate actions. It may seem like a simple compliment won’t accomplish much, but one act of kindness can cause a ripple effect of more positive outcomes. 

Studies have shown that people who are usually kind tend to have higher self-esteem and a sense of self-efficiency. In Gallup’s nine items of spiritual commitment, Albert L. Winseman examined the fifth behavioral item, “I speak words of kindness to those in need of encouragement.” To the right, the graph shows that people with higher levels of compassion are more kind in their attitudes towards others. The results were based on telephone interviews with 729 adult members of a church, synagogue, or other religious faith community, aged 18 and older, conducted October through November 2001. These people offer encouragement to those experiencing difficulty in their life simply by offering words of kindness.

As for supporting the holiday, several foundations have promoted it in the hopes of gaining more attention for the holiday across the globe. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is one of the more well known organizations. It is a small non-profit that believes all people can connect through kindness and that kindness can be taught effectively. They have created “Kindness in the Classroom” which is a social emotional learning curriculum focusing on making kindness the norm. The foundation provides benefits by offering downloadable lesson plans, kindness resources, and even kindness calendars.

According to the Random Act of Kindness Foundation website, the lesson plans have been downloaded in 195 countries and have been translated into 10 languages. Additionally, there have been more than 1 million downloads of the lessons since they were introduced in 2006. This is very valuable towards promoting mental health for students when incorporating social and emotional learning into educator’s curriculums. 

SpreadKindness.org is another non-profit organization committed to encouraging and empowering people to practice kindness in everyday life. Just like the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, this organization provides tools to spread awareness for kindness. For instance, they have free kindness cards that encourage people to pass them along and promote kindness. The organization provides ideas to write on the cards, filled with kind messages. Besides these cards, they also have loads of tips for being kind, free and accessible for anyone to look upon. Varying from simple to fun, some of these ideas include:

• Opening the door for someone
• Dropping off a toy or game at a hospital
• Paying for someone’s groceries
• Inviting a friend to do something fun, like going to the movies or out to dinner
• Paying someone a compliment
• Leave a book you have already finished somewhere for someone else to read
  

Random Acts is an additional organization created to inspire kindness. After an earthquake hit Haiti, actor Misha Collins decided to use resources and earnings from his career to raise funds for a UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) disaster relief program. This led to their first big project, which was focusing on the destruction from the earthquake that hit Haiti. Over $30,000 was raised. They started working in more and more countries around the world, no matter how big or small the population. Currently, the global organization has gained more than 150+ volunteer staff and millions of supporters. Over 90% of donations to Random Acts go directly to this program, which has helped sponsor over 1,000 acts of kindness worldwide.

Random Act of Kindness Day implements the true meaning of kindness and shows the importance of making the world a happier place for everyone. People coming together to make organizations just expands the message behind it even more. Just performing a small gesture of kindness can show that being good to others can also be good for you. As Morgan Freeman states, “How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.”

Citations

“Random Acts of Kindness Day 2023.” The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/. 

 Winseman, Albert L. “‘I Speak Words of Kindness to Those in Need of Encouragement.”.” Gallup.com, Gallup, 12 June 2021, https://news.gallup.com/poll/6313/speak-words-kindness-those-need-encouragement.aspx. 

“Spreadkindness.org.” Spreadkindness, https://www.spreadkindness.org/. 

David, Mariella, et al. “Non-Profit Dedicated to Acts of Kindness Worldwide.” Random Acts, 29 Nov. 2022, https://www.randomacts.org/.