Mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 13th, and plan to spread kindness to others! In fact, the day is officially called World Kindness Day. According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, one of the day’s purposes is to make kindness a norm for all ages. As stated in a blog post on the foundation’s website, Vice-President Brooke Jones says, “What if we started being intentional about not only noticing and absorbing the kind acts when they happen to us, but creating those moments for others? What if we made it a point to go slightly outside of our comfort zone at least once a day to make someone smile? What if we stopped thinking about them as random acts of kindness and started thinking about them as intentional acts of kindness?” Let’s get the ball rolling and start a kindness norm on November 13th and carry it on every day for generations. I’ve provided you with some ideas for random acts of kindness that all ages can do.

• Help out your neighbors by raking leaves, pushing their trash to the curb, or carrying in their bags after they have run errands.
• Paint positive messages on pumpkins, rocks, or paper and place in public sites. Create a kindness sign for your local coffee shop or spread a message of kindness on a pumpkin to set outside your post office. Always remember to ask the owner or manager of the place of business if you can put something out, before doing so.
• Start a piggy bank and donate the money to your favorite cause. This act is a great way to get your family and children involved. All the loose change that drops between the sofa cushions or is left in the laundry can be put into a jar. Then, after a certain period of time or amount, give the money to a nonprofit. You can also encourage your children to add money to the jar every so often.
• Tell someone what you like about them or something positive. This can be for a loved one, stranger, or business. Everyone loves hearing good comments and that they are doing something right. This little action can start a chain reaction of positives. Post online, tell in person, or send a text or an e-mail. Another option is to compliment a parent on how well-behaved their child is in public.
• Think about random acts of kindness you and your family could do for the environment. Recycle, switch to paperless as much as possible, plant a tree, hang clothes out to dry instead of using the dryer, go vegetarian for a day, and ride a bike or walk are simple acts that can make a big impact on the environment over time. If you are looking for a bigger, immediate impact, try starting a community garden, hosting a clean-up at a park, school, or other public place.
• Donate used books to a public library, hospital, or nonprofit. Movies and CDs are also great items to give to others. Just because you are done with an item doesn’t mean another person can’t give it new life.
• Ask a senior or veteran about their experiences. Sometimes just talking and listening to someone can make their day. It shows the person that someone cares about them. Then, you can take it a step further and create a scrapbook for them to remember those special times by.
• Complain less and be less judgmental. There is enough negativity in this world. Every day on the news, online, and in public, we hear people putting down others. Instead, we should lift them up by talking about the positives. Try to go a day without judging others and complaining. Then, add on another day and another day until you are free of negativity.
• Be spontaneous with your random act of kindness. Whenever you feel like it, and       whatever action fits the time, carry out an act of kindness. Sometimes the best deeds come within the moment.

On November 13th, World Kindness Day, spread kindness to others, but don’t let this be the only day you spread kindness. Use this day to move forward and make kindness a norm. Easy ways to show kindness can be remembered through the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation’s line, “Kindness starts with one. One smile. One compliment. One cup of coffee. One conversation. Let’s lift the fog and make kindness the norm.” For more information about the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, visit randomactsofkindness.org/.