People go out of their way to do something nice for others on birthdays, holidays and special occasions. It’s nice to feel appreciated during those times, but what about the other 364 days of the year?
Every once in a while the University Student Union (USU) has Random Acts of Kindness days. On these days, students are encouraged to carry out kind, selfless acts for others.
As a tool the USU passes out encouragement cards that can be handed to anyone, whether a stranger or a friend. Part of the encouragement note reads: “Anything you set your mind to, you can do. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”
The intention of a random act of kindness is to do something without expecting anything in return. The word “random,” however, may cause some confusion.
It just means that someone carries out a kind action spontaneously rather than for a birthday, holiday or expected reciprocation.
A great way to have a more kind-hearted community is to cultivate one. It starts with you, and the possibilities for how to demonstrate kindness to others are endless. These random acts of kindness don’t have to be extravagant or expensive. Remember, the little things can go a long way.
April Williams (freshman, Business) recently had a co-worker leave a note of encouragement at her work that said, “Smile and have a fantastic day.”  She described that it was a little, unexpected action that helped brighten her day.
“I think random acts of kindness should be practiced more so people have more faith in humanity,” Williams said. “It’s not about the money; it’s about the meaning and thought behind the action.”
These kindness acts can be anonymous, but they don’t have to be. There are always opportunities to sneak in some encouragement to anyone you may interact with throughout the day.
Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, a non-profit organization, has an excellent website of resources and ideas on this topic (randomactsofkindness.org).
The organization is dedicated to inspiring a kindness movement and making it easy for individuals to demonstrate kindness in their community.
These acts of kindness don’t have to be elaborate.
It’s worth the tiniest amount of effort it may take to make someone else’s day.