100 Ideas for Kindness

1. Deliver fresh-baked cookies to city workers
2. Collect goods for a food bank
3. Bring flowers to work and share them with coworkers
4. Garden clubs can make floral arrangements for senior centers, nursing homes, hospitals, police stations, or shut-ins
5. Adopt a student who needs a friend, checking in periodically to see how things are going
6. Volunteer to be a tutor in a school
7. Extend a hand to someone in need; give your full attention and simply listen
8. Merchants can donate a percentage of receipts for the week to a special cause
9. Bring coworkers a special treat
10. Students can clean classrooms for the custodian
11. Buy a stranger a pizza
12. Distribute lollipops to kids
13. Sing at a nursing home
14. Offer a couple of hours of babysitting to parents
15. Slip paper hearts that say “It’s Random Acts of Kindness Week! Have a great day!” under the windshield wipers of parked cars
16. Have a charity day at work, with employees bringing nonperishable food items to donate
17. Serve refreshments to customers
18. Draw names at school or work, and have people bring a small gift or food treat to their secret pal
19. Remember the bereaved with phone calls, cards, plants and food
20. Treat someone to fresh fruit
21. Pay a compliment at least once a day
22. Call or visit a homebound person
23. Hand out balloons to passersby
24. Give free sodas to motorists
25. Be a good neighbor; take over a baked treat or stop by to say “Hello”
26. Transport someone who can’t drive
27. Move a neighbor’s grass
28. Say something nice to everyone you meet today
29. Send a treat to a school or daycare center
30. Volunteer at an agency that needs help
31. Wipe rainwater off shopping carts or hold umbrellas for shoppers on the way to their cars
32. Give the gift of your smile
33. Send home a note telling parents something their child did well
34. Adopt a homeless pert from the humane society
35. Organize a scout troop or service club to help people with packages at the mall or grocery store
36. Host special programs or speakers at libraries or bookstores
37. Offer to answer the phone for the school secretary for ten minutes
38. Volunteer to read to students in the classroom
39. Write notes of appreciation and bring flowers or goodies to teachers or other important people, such as the principal, nurse, custodian, and secretary
40. Incorporate kindness into the curriculum at area schools, daycare centers, or children’s classes in faith organizations
41. Give a hug to a friend
42. Tell your children why you love them
43. Write a note to mother/father and tell them why they are special
44. Pat someone on the back
45. Write a thank-you note to a mentor or someone who has influenced your life in a positive way
46. Give coffee to people on their way to work in the morning
47. Donate time at a senior center
48. Give blood
49. Visit hospitals with smiles, treats, and friendly conversation for patients
50. Stop by a nursing home and visit a resident with no family nearby
51. Plant flowers in your neighbor’s flower box
52. Give another driver your parking spot
53. Leave a treat or handmade note of thanks for a delivery person or mail carrier
54. Give free car washes
55. Clean graffiti from neighborhood walls and buildings
56. Tell your boss that you think he/she does a good job
57. Tell your employees how much you appreciate their work
58. Let your staff leave work an hour early
59. Have a clean-up party in the park
60. Tell a bus or taxi driver how much you appreciate their driving
61. Have everyone in your office draw the name of a Random Acts of Kindness buddy out of a hat and do a kind act for their buddy that day or week
62. Give a pair of tickets to a baseball game or concert to a stranger
63. Leave an extra big tip for the waitperson
64. Drop off a plant, cookies, or donuts to the police or fire department
65. Open the door for another person
66. Pay for the meal of the person behind you in the drive-through
67. Write a note to the boss praising an employee who has helped you
68. Leave a bouquet of flowers on the desk of a colleague at work with whom you don’t normally get along
69. Call an estranged family member
70. Volunteer to fix up an elderly couple’s home
71. Pay for the person behind you in the movie line
72. Give flowers to be delivered with meal delivery programs
73. Give toys to the children at the shelter or safe house
74. Give friends and family kindness coupons they can redeem for kind favors
75. Be a friend to a new student or coworker
76. Renew an old friendship y sending a letter or small gift to someone you haven’t talked with in a long time
77. For one week, act on every single thought of generosity that arises spontaneously in your heart, and notice what happens as a consequence
78. Offer to return a shopping cart to the store for someone loading a car
79. Invite someone new over for dinner
80. Buy a roll of brightly colored stickers and give them to children you meet during the day
81. Write a card of thanks and leave it with your tip; be specific in your thanks
82. Let the person behind you in the grocery store go ahead of you in line
83. When driver try to merge into your lane, let them in with a wave and a smile
84. Buy cold drinks for the people next to you at a ball game
85. Distribute kindness bookmarks that you have made
86. Create a craft project or build a bird house with a child
87. Give a bag of groceries to a homeless person
88. Laugh out loud often and share your smile generously
89. Plant a tree in your neighborhood
90. Make a list of things to do to bring more kindness into the world, and have a friend make a list; exchange the lists and do one item per day for a month
91. Use an instant camera to take people photographs at a party or community event, and give the picture to them
92. As you go about your day, pick up trash
93. Send a letter to some former teachers, letting them know the difference they made in your life
94. Send a gift anonymously to a friend
95. Organize a clothing drive for a shelter
96. Buy books for a daycare or school
97. Slip a $20 bill to a person who you know is having financial difficulty
98. Take an acquaintance to dinner
99. Offer to take a friend’s child to ball practice
100. Waive late fee for the week

For these and other ideas, visit www.actsofkindness.org