365 Random Acts of Kindness
This weekend, the kids and I sat down and talked about what happened Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary. While they wanted to do something for the families of the children, I wanted this lesson in kindness to last for more than just the time it would take to write a letter or send a donation. We discussed Random Acts of Kindness and the kids decided that they wanted to do 365 Random Acts of Kindness next year, one for each day. While there are the #20Acts and #26Acts that Ann Curry of NBC News initiated. While this is a great way to remember the lives that were lost on December 14th, I want my children to remember that we should be kind throughout the year, not just when tragedy happens. So with that in mind, here is our partial list of 365 Random Acts of Kindness. Please feel free to add your ideas in a comment, just remember the kids are young, under 12 and would like to do most things with very little or no help from us adults (though I am "allowed" to drive them around)!
365 Random Acts of Kindness
1: Donate to your local food bank (we do this once a month, so adding an extra donation)
2: Hold the door open for someone (the kids do this daily)
3: Send a Thank You card to your local Police Department
4: Send a Thank You card to your local Fire Department
5: Put someone’s cart away at the store
6: Visit an Animal Shelter (volunteer to walk the dogs, help clean cages, play with cats/kittens)
7: Adopt a Solider (sending a care package or even a note to let them know you appreciate their service)
8: Thank Your Mail Carrier (“Thank a Mail Carrier Day” on February 4th)
9: Say Something Nice To Someone
10: Send a Handmade Card to Someone
11: Have a Lemonade Stand to Raise Funds (Kids do this every summer for LemonAID Days here in KY)
12: Write a Positive Note to a Classmate (or draw them a picture)
13: Make a special craft or baked treat for your teacher
14: Organize a Teddy Bear Drive
15: Take blankets to Homeless in your area (best to do during the day with a group)
16: Donate outgrown clothing to local shelters (we choose to give to a Domestic Violence Shelter)
17: Leave Quarters in the Candy Machines
18: Create a “Dress-Up” box for another kid
19: Gather toys after the holidays and give to shelters/churches/children's hospitals in the area
20: Donate art supplies to an elementary school or scout troop
21: Make little cards (postcard or business card size) that say "Smile" or "Have a nice day" and hand them out
22: Invite a lonely neighbor or friend over for a "family night"
23: Leave a whole bunch of pennies heads-up for kids to find on the sidewalk or other public places
24: Put coins in the meters while downtown
25: Make cards and pictures for the kids in the children's ward at the hospitals.
26: leave kid-made book marks in books at library
27: make small birthday bags with balloons, horns, candy, stickers and leave in public place—include a TAKE THIS IF IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY note
28: Stop and say thank you to grocery clerks, waitresses. Ask them how they are doing.
29: At home: make each other’s beds, clean up someone else’s mess
30: Make up some Hygiene Bags to pass out to local homeless people
31: Make birthday cards and deliver them to a local nursing home monthly
32: Donate coloring books/crayons to hospital emergency rooms
33: Make a Care Bag for a child in need
34: Bring water, coffee, or hot chocolate to outdoor workers (police officers or crossing guards, for example)
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I found lots of inspiration for all 365 Acts all around the web.
http://andthenwesaved.com/random-acts-of-kindness-ideas/
http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-ideas
https://www.facebook.com/KindnessRev
And a special thanks to all of you and our facebook fans for helping us add to this list! Thanks to our facebook fan Amanda, we have a way to document our progress and let the kids see exactly what they have accomplished throughout the year. We have this amazing tree painted on our living room wall that the kids normally add their Thankful Leaves to during the year, this year we will add a post-it note with all the random acts they have done and at the end of the year we will add them to a scrapbook along with any photos taken. (Don't mind the sparkly spider web, the hubby put it up for the Elf last night!)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Our soon to be 365 Random Acts of Kindness Tree[/caption]
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