Random Acts Of Kindness Day : How To Get Involved

This year, Random Acts of Kindness Day is taking place on February 17th so there isn’t too long to go.

The purpose of this special day is to encourage people to perform small acts of kindness towards others and spread positivity and happiness – we’re LOVING it.

This event is a reminder that small acts of kindness can make a big difference in someone’s life and can have a ripple effect.

We mean, how great does it feel when someone is kind to you? It makes our whole day!

If you’re wondering how you can get involved with random acts of kindness day you’ve come to the right place.

Find out more within our post…

 

History Of Random Acts Of Kindness Day

Random Acts Of Kindness Day was first celebrated in 1995 and reminds us that you never know what someone is going through and how important it is to just be kind.

Do you remember how nice you felt the last time you received a compliment from a stranger?

Or perhaps someone paid it forward for you at the Starbucks drive-thru (this is a dream come true for us).

The point is, small acts of kindness can make us all feel uplifted and doing something good for others can have a big impact on someone’s life.

Whether it’s paying for someone’s coffee or holding the door for someone, even the simplest of actions can help us spread kindness and positivity, as well as influence others to do the same.

The day allows people to come together and celebrate the power of kindness, you can find out how to spread kindness to others within our next section!

How You Can Get Involved

There are so many different ways to get involved and practice random acts of kindness for this annual day.

Discover our suggestions below to get the kind vibes in full force…

1. Give Someone A Compliment

There are many ways to participate in Random Acts of Kindness Day, including giving someone a compliment.

Whether it’s a stranger or someone you don’t really speak to on campus or in your student accommodation, this random gesture could have such an impact on their everyday lives.

If it was us and someone paid us a compliment about how we dressed or how we looked, we’d be walking around smiling all day, how about you?

For this special day, give out a few compliments to people you interact with to make someone’s day.

After all, kindness releases feel-good hormones and can reduce anxiety and stress no matter if it’s a small act or not!

2. Give Someone An Unexpected Gift

Surprises really are the best, don’t you think?

We’re not saying you have to go out there and give random strangers luxurious gifts, but you could treat people in your life to a little something if you have some spare cash.

It doesn’t have to be anything too expensive, we know how student life gets!

Even something small like buying lunch for your flatmate or picking up their favourite snacks when you go shopping has the power to really make them feel good, along with yourself too.

It can also strengthen your current friendships or relationships.

You never know, someone might be having the worst possible day and this gesture really boosted their mood.

We know we’ve had people do things like this for us!

3. Send A Thank You Note

If someone in your life deserves some praise, why not write them a thank you note this Random Acts Of Kindness Day 2023?

Whether it’s for a friend, your lecturer, a family member or even just someone in your student accommodation who was helpful to you.

It can be a great way to spread kindness and is more meaningful than just saying it!

This will show the recipient that you’re grateful and appreciate the support they’ve given you, and it’s pretty darn cute if you ask us – make someone else’s day!

4. Volunteer Your Time

Another great way to get involved with Random Acts Of Kindness Day is to volunteer your time and skills to help out people or organisations in need.

There’s many different ways to start volunteering like helping out at a homeless shelter, supporting or donating to a food bank, participating in a fundraiser, or even an animal rescue.

Another example is donating your unused clothes to a charity shop, it’s better than them sitting in the bottom of your drawers!

As a student, a great volunteering opportunity can be working as a tutor to help make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged young people.

From being kind, this boosts serotonin and dopamine which has an impact on your mental wellbeing, so not only will you be having a positive effect on others, but you’re bound to feel good from your actions too.

5. Smile To People You Encounter

Being kind doesn’t have to cost anything and it can be as simple as smiling at people you encounter.

We’ve all heard of that phrase turn that frown upside down, right?

Well, this Random Acts Of Kindness Day try to smile more, even if you’re not having the most stress-free day, you’ll feel better by doing so and we’re sure the people around you will too.

We’re sure you’ll receive some smiles back in return too which is a winner!

Perhaps smiling at strangers is already something you do on a daily basis, if it is, take the time to smile at more people, or even spark up conversations with people you come across.

6. Check In With People In Your Life

There’s no denying it, student life can be hectic sometimes and sometimes staying in regular contact with all those friends and family members who are further away can be difficult.

All of us get caught up in our own busy lives and that’s okay.

For Random Acts Of Kindness Day this year, try to check in with people you haven’t spoken to in a little while, whether it’s friends from home or family members.

Rather than sending a message, make things more personal and call them up.

We’re sure both parties could benefit from having a catch up, it always makes us feel that much better after a good natter!

7.  Pay It Forward

We’ve all seen the trend of paying it forward on our TikTok feeds, right?

If you somehow haven’t and live under a rock, it’s when someone does something for you and instead of paying that person back directly, you pass it on to another person.

There’s tons of videos online of paying it forward challenge where people pay for other’s McDonald’s, Starbucks and other drive-thru orders – this is such a kind gesture!

Although, we know it can be more of an pricey gesture than others so, don’t feel obligated to do it if you can’t!

If you are able to, why not try it out and pay it forward for someone this Random Acts Of Kindness Day?

You never know, you might just get some good karma out of it!

8. Invite New People To Do Things

Next on our list of senseless acts to do for Random Acts Of Kindness Day is to make everyone feel like they belong and are included.

University can be quite a lonely and isolating time for some people, and we never know what people are feeling like behind closed doors.

We think this quote explains it perfectly “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

If you’ve noticed someone on your course tends to be by themselves a lot, why not invite them out with you and your friends?

Or even just ask if they want to grab a coffee or go for a walk, it doesn’t have to be anything extravagant.

You might just make a friend for life from this random act of kindness, or at least make someone feel a whole lot better.

We know, it can feel daunting to reach out to people you don’t really know that well, but just be brave – it can be fun!

9. Carve Out Time For Yourself

We’ve mentioned a lot about how to spread kindness to others for this annual day, but make sure you’re also taking time to look after yourself and be kind to you.

We can all be quite hard on ourselves, so make the effort for this day to make a conscious effort to be kind to yourself.

Whether that’s paying yourself a few compliments, reminding yourself of the positives in your life or spending time doing things you enjoy.

It’s also important to be gentle with yourself and keep reminding yourself that you are human and you will make mistakes but that’s okay, don’t be so hard on yourself.

Don’t put off self care and make it a priority this Random Acts Of Kindness Day!

10. Share On Social Media

Make sure to share your random acts of kindness using #RandomActsOfKindnessDay on social media.

You can help to make the world a better place by sharing your acts with others and inspire them to join in on the kindness movement.

Or, just post positive messages and quotes on your social platforms!

You could even comment on people’s posts with compliments or positively reply to people’s stories.

This way, we can help create a ripple effect of kindness.

Remember, the point of Random Acts of Kindness Day is to make a positive impact on others and help create a kinder world.

It doesn’t matter how small the act may be, it can be as simple as letting someone go in front of you in the supermarket queue.

We hope you celebrate random acts of kindness wherever you are and receive it back thanks to this guide!

You never know what just being kind to others can do to their mental well-being #MakeKindnesstheNorm.

We’d love to hear about your celebrations, let us know @essentialstudentliving.

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