Examples of Random Acts of Kindness

When you receive good, decent, attentive service in a store or restaurant, get that employee's name and write a note to their manager to compliment them. I usually make a point to tell the manager in person, but a note will go into their employee file. Keep a small supply of note-cards in your car or purse so you can write it and hand it to the manager in person.

 

So many patients in nursing homes don't have anyone who visits them but because of privacy laws, the staff can't tell you who the patients are. Put together a small gift basket or bouquet of flowers and deliver it to the nursing home during the day and ask them to put them in a patient's room who otherwise wouldn't get anything.

 

Donate to a food bank. With kids home from school and this not being the holidays, donations are often low. We think of treats as things like candy or sweets, however the food banks get tons of that stuff. What they don't get is the more expensive meats in a can (like a canned ham that doesn't need refrigeration) or brand name processed foods like real Kraft Mac N Cheese (not the generic stuff.) You can also do something like buy a flat (or two) of strawberries and deliver it to the food bank on their distribution day during their distribution times.

Going through the drive-thru and paying for the person's order behind you

Bring up a neighbor's newspaper or trash cans

Share coupons, I always print extra store coupons to pay forward

DH is in the field managing 13 stores.  Let me tell you, those little notes for a LONG way!!!  They usually get rolled up to corporate and the employees get a certificate of thanks.  Makes me happy to see him printing a slew of those out to take to the stores.

Compliment  a stranger, especially one that seems to be having a hard day.

Let someone in front of you at the grocery checkout.

Offer to take someone's shopping cart back to the cart return.

Bring treats in to the office.

Call a friend who may need a pick me up.

Let someone merge in front of you in traffic.

Make an effort to say kind words to someone you don't really care for.
Go that extra mile at work
Call your mom and say "I love you". ( dad would work too, my dad is no longer living)
Let someone go ahead of you in line.
Write your spouse a letter telling him all the things you love about him.
Donate books to your school library
Tell your kids' teachers that they are doing a great job!

Hold the door for someone...even if it means standing there for a moment while they cross the parking lot.

Bring up your neighbors trash can for them after pick up on trash day....we often do this for a neighbor and yesterday she had a root canal gone bad and she was out on her back deck letting her dog out and caught me...lol, she said thank you and she was wondering who kept doing that, it was such a sweet gesture...I told her the kids like to secretly do it for her but since they're not here today, I was filling in). She loved it...so simple and yet it meant a lot to her.
Leave a treat in the mailbox for your carrier.

Make cookies or brownies for your local volunteer fire department.
Drop off some crayons and coloring books at your local doctors office, or hospital.
Bring flowers to a local nursing home.
Leave change on a vending machine somewhere.
Smile at someone for no reason (it's the smallest thing we could do but probably has the biggest impact!)

I agree with giving a person a compliment.

 

A few years ago when DD was doing cheerleading, several girls on her team went to the same private Christian school. The kids in the 6th grade have a one month assignment where they have to give different people compliments daily just to see how it makes changes in their life. Okay, so I know they have to give people a compliment and there were obviously times where they were struggling to say something nice to me and I could so easily slough it off, but DARN IT, I'd still feel good for the rest of the day.