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Kindness

Today marks the start of the 4th annual Kindness week in Ottawa.  It’s a city-wide initiative that encourages community members to choose to be kind and recognizes those who engage in everyday acts of kindness.  What is kindness to you? 

For me, it’s an act of selflessness to make someone else feel better.  Choosing to go the extra mile to make another person’s life a bit easier and happier. It’s putting a smile on another person’s face. It’s warming someone’s heart. It can be big or small. Sometimes it is planned, other times spontaneous. How can you help spread kindness?  Here’s a list of 100+ ideas to get you started!  For more information on Ottawa Kindness Week vist, www.kindottawa.ca.

3. Bring flowers to work and share them with coworkers.

4. Pay it forward.

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. Use spare change to top up an expired parking meter and possibly save someone from getting a parking ticket!

8. Extend a hand to someone in need. Give your full attention and simply listen.

9. Merchants can donate a percentage of receipts for the week to a special cause.

10. Bring coworkers a special treat.

11. Students can clean classrooms for the custodian.

12. Buy a stranger a free pizza.

13. Distribute lollipops to kids.

14. Sing at a nursing home.

15. Offer a couple of hours of baby-sitting to parents.

16. Slip paper hearts that say "It's Kindness Friday! Have a great day!" under the windshield wipers of parked cars.

17. Have a charity day at work, with employees bringing non-perishable food items to donate.

18. Offer to snowblow or shovel paths that lead into retirement homes or palliative care centres.

19. Serve refreshments to customers.

20. Draw names at school or work, and have people bring a small gift or food treat for their secret pal.

21. Reach out to those in need.

22. Remember the bereaved with phone calls, cards, plants, and food.

23. Pay someone a compliment at least once a day.

24. Call or visit a homebound person.

25. Hand out balloons to passersby.

26. Give free sodas to motorists.

27. Everytime you do groceries, buy 3 items to donate to a food drive.

28. Be a good neighbor. Take over a baked treat or stop by to say "Hello."

29. Transport someone who can't drive.

30. Mow a neighbor's lawn.

31. Say something nice to everyone you meet today.

32. Send a treat to a school or day-care centre.

33. Volunteer at an agency that needs help.

34. When drivers try to merge into your lane, let them in with a wave and a smile.

35. Write a note to the boss of someone who has helped you, praising the employee.

36. Send home a note telling parents something their child did well.

37. Adopt a homeless pet at the humane society.

38. Organize a scout troop or service club to help people with packages at the mall or grocery.

39. Host special programs or speakers at libraries or bookstores.

40. Offer to answer the phone for the school secretary for ten minutes.

41. Volunteer to read to students in the classroom.

42. Write notes of appreciation and bring flowers or goodies to teachers or other important people, such as the principal, nurse, custodian, and secretary.

43. Give a hug to a friend.

44. Tell your children why you love them.

45. Write a note to your mother/father and tell them why they are special.

46. Pat someone on the back.

47. Bring extra mittens to share with kids who have lost theirs.

48. Write a thank-you note to a mentor or someone who has influenced your life in a positive way.

49. Let the person behind you in the grocery store go ahead of you in line.

50. Collect goods for the food bank.

51. Pay for the meal of the person behind you in the drive-through.

52. Visit hospitals with smiles, treats, and friendly conversation for patients.

53. Stop by a nursing home, and visit a resident with no family nearby.

54. Plant flowers in your neighbor's flower box.

55. Give free car washes.

56. Leave a treat or handmade note of thanks for a delivery person or mail carrier.

57. Show appreciation to others

58. Clean graffiti from neighborhood walls and buildings.

59. Tell your boss that you think he/she does a good job.

60. Tell your employees how much you appreciate their work.

61. Let your staff leave work an hour early.

62. Have a clean-up party in the park.

63. Tell a bus or taxi driver how much you appreciate their driving.

64. Have everyone in your office draw the name of an "acts of kindness buddy" out of a hat and do a kind act for their buddy that day or week.

65. Give a pair of tickets to a baseball game or concert to a stranger.

66. Leave an extra big tip for the waitperson.

67. Drop off a plant, cookies, or donuts to the police or fire department.

68. Hold the door for others.

69. Donate blood.

70. Share a smile with a stranger.

71. Leave a bouquet of flowers on the desk of a colleague at work with whom you don't normally get along.

72. Call an estranged family member.

73. Volunteer to fix up an elderly couple's home.

74. Pay for the person behind you in the movie line.

75. Give flowers to be delivered with meal delivery programs.

76. Give toys to the children at the shelter or safe house.

77. Give friends and family kindness coupons they can redeem for kind favors.

78. Be a friend to a new student or coworker.

79. Renew an old friendship by sending a letter or small gift to someone you haven't talked with in a long time.

80. For one week, act on every single thought of generosity that arises spontaneously in your heart, and notices what happens as a consequence.

81. Offer to return a shopping cart to the store for someone loading a car.

82. Invite someone new over for dinner.

83. At a restaurant, write a card of thanks and leave it with your tip. Be sure to be specific in your thanks.

84. Shovel a neighbour's driveway.

85. Pay for the coffee of the person behind you.

86. Donate time at a retirement or nursing home.

87. Buy cold drinks for the people next to you at a ball game.

88. Distribute kindness bookmarks that you have made.

89. Create a craft project or build a bird house with a child.

90. Give a bag of groceries to a homeless person.

91. Laugh out loud often and share your smile generously.

92. Plant a tree in your neighborhood.

93. Make a list of things to do to bring more kindness into the world, and have a friend make a list. Exchange lists and do one item per day for a month.

94. Use an instant camera to take people's photographs at a party or community event, and give the picture to them.

95. As you go about your day, pick up trash.

96. Send a letter to some former teachers, letting them know the difference they made in your life.

97. Send a gift anonymously to a friend.

98. Organize a clothing drive for a shelter.

99. Buy books for a day care or school.

100. Slip a $20 bill to a person who you know is having financial difficulty.

101. Take an acquaintance to dinner.

102. Offer to take a friend's child to ball practice.

103. Waive late fees for the week.

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