By: Breeanna Greer
Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17
Random Acts of Kindness Day is celebrated yearly on February 17th. According to National Today, this day originated in 1995 in Denver, Colorado by The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. This foundation also does Random Acts of Kindness week (this year is February 12th –18th.) World Kindness Day is November 13th, 2023. It is said that this foundation was inspired after Princess Diana shook the hand of someone with AIDS, making a small act of kindness spread a powerful message.
How can you participate?
Some easy random acts of kindness according to National Day Calendar include:
· “Pay for the coffee or meal of the person in front of you in line.
· Leave a kind note for someone, no explanation is needed.
· Share words of encouragement. You never know who might need them.
· Put your skills to work for someone in need. For example, offer to create a résumé for someone seeking a new job.
· Drop off a load of groceries at the local food pantry.
· Mail a “thinking of you” card to someone you’ve not to talk to in a while.
· Order a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to anyone in the hospital. That means, call the florist and tell them to pick a hospital or nursing home and deliver flowers to the person the front desk thinks needs it the most. It could be a sick child, an elderly person with no family, or a college student down on their luck.
· Send a thank-you note to the local fire department, police departments, or any military personnel.
· Just smile.
· Share your random acts of kindness using #RandomActsOfKindnessDay to post on social media.”
Why should you participate?
You may wonder why you should participate. Not only will these acts make someone’s day, but they will also make you feel better and can help relieve stress. By being kind, you release “endorphins which relax the body, improve your mood, and make you feel good, it increases the production of oxytocin in the body, and it can increase your levels of dopamine and serotonin.”