Acts Of Kindness Day Began When Who Wrote On A Napkin “Practice Random Acts Of Kindness And Senseless Acts Of Beauty?”

Each year, on February 17th, National Random Acts of Kindness Day grows in popularity. It is celebrated by individuals, groups, and organizations nationwide to encourage acts of kindness.

• 1982 –  Anne Herbert is believed to have begun the day. She wrote the words, “practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty” on a placemat at a restaurant in Sausalito, California, in 1982.
• 1987 – Princess Diana shakes the hand of a man with AIDS, changing and challenging the belief that the disease is transmittable by touch.
• 1993 – Anne Herbert’s book Random Acts of Kindness is published. Continuing to mull over the idea of stories that portray random acts of kindness, Herbert finally writes her book of the same name
• 1995 – Random Acts Of Kindness Day was first created in Denver, Colorado,
• 2005 – Called ‘RAK Day’, this day became an official national day in New Zealand and reached all throughout the country (September 1). The idea also continues spreading through many countries around the world.
• 2009 – Caitlin Boyle begins sticking sticky notes with positive messages in public places to encourage self-love.
• Quotable:
  • Princess Diana – “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”
  • Barbara De Angelis – “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.”
  • Dalai Lama – “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
  • Joseph Joubert – “A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.”
  • Mark Twain – “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
  • Aesop – “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
  • Scott Adams – “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”
  • Unknown author – “Kind words and actions can seem so small, but their effects are truly endless.”
• The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is an internationally recognized non-profit organization founded upon the powerful belief in kindness and dedicated to providing resources and tools that encourage acts of kindness.
• In New Zealand, where this day originated, Random Acts of Kindness Day is celebrated on September 1st. However, it is also recognized by some on other days throughout the year. Nevertheless, doing random acts of kindness is something that can be done every day of the year.
• Kindness makes us happier and more satisfied with life. 
• Studies show that being kind makes you more energetic and increases your sense of self-worth.
• Acts of kindness are often accompanied by emotional warmth. Emotional warmth produces the hormone, oxytocin, in the brain and throughout the body.
•  Research has shown that doing random acts of kindness triggers the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in mood stability and oxytocin, a hormone that makes you feel connected to other people. Combined, this has the effect of making you feel loved and emotionally stable when you are frequently kind to others.
• Did you also know that kindness is teachable?   “It’s kind of like weight training, we found that people can actually build up their compassion ‘muscle’ and respond to others’ suffering with care and a desire to help.”
• kindness is contagious?  The positive effects of kindness are experienced in the brain of everyone who witnessed the act, improving their mood and making them significantly more likely to “pay it forward.” This means one good deed in a crowded area can create a domino effect and improve the day of dozens of people!
• People 55 and older who volunteer for two or more organizations have an impressive 44% lower likelihood of dying early, and that’s after sifting out every other contributing factor, including physical health, exercise, gender, habits like smoking, marital status and many more. This is a stronger effect than exercising four times a week or going to church.”
• Committing acts of kindness lowers blood pressure.
• People who are kind and compassionate are usually the most successful.
• When people benefit from kindness they “pay it forward” by helping others who were not originally involved, and this creates a cascade of cooperation that influences dozens more in a social network
• Helping a neighbor, volunteering, or donating goods and services results in a ‘helper’s high,’ and you get more health benefits than you would from exercise or quitting smoking.
• Those who spend money on others report much greater happiness than those who spend it on themselves.
• Aging on a biochemical level is a combination of many things. Still, two culprits that speed the process are Free Radicals and Inflammation, both of which result from making unhealthy lifestyle choices.
• Five [random acts of kindness] in a week will increase your happiness for up to three months.
• Acts of kindness you can do:
  • Pay for the coffee or meal of the person in front of you in line.
  • Leave a kind note for someone, no explanation needed.
  • Share words of encouragement. You never know who might need them.
  • Put your skills to work for someone in need. For example, offer to create a résumé for someone seeking a new job.
  • Drop off a load of groceries at the local food pantry.
  • Mail a “thinking of you” card to someone you’ve not talked to in a while.
  • Order a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to anyone in the hospital. That means, call the florist and tell them to pick a hospital or nursing home and deliver flowers to the person the front desk thinks needs it the most. It could be a sick child, an elderly person with no family or a college student down on their luck.
  • Send a thank you note to the local fire department, police departments, or any military personnel.
  • Donate your old clothes to the Salvation Army.
  • Help a senior with their groceries.
  • Shovel a neighbor’s driveway when it snows.
  • Walk a neighbor’s dog.
  • Babysit for free.
  • Plant a tree.
  • Do a favor without asking for anything in return.
  • Take someone new in your neighborhood on a tour of the city.
  • Just smile.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Days of the Year

Good and Kind

Random Acts of Kindness

Honey Foundation

National Today