65 Random Acts of Kindness to Celebrate World Kindness Day
November 13 is World Kindness Day—here are some ideas on how to pay it forward.
When the weather starts getting cooler, it's the perfect time to focus on spreading warmth through acts of kindness. And luckily, there are plenty of opportunities to do so!
World Kindness Day kicks us off on Sunday, November 13, 2022. Then, Random Acts of Kindness Week 2023 kicks off on Valentine's Day and runs through Feb. 20, 2023—meaning you can have seven heart-warming days of giving back. February 17 is also celebrated as Random Act of Kindness Day, so whether you plan on doing good deeds the whole week or on their designated special day, it all counts—and we've rounded up 65 random acts of kindness ideas to inspire you. Best of all? You can actually do most of these all right from your phone.
So here are 65 easy ways you can spread kindness for World Kindness Day 2022 (or acts that you can do all year long to show others you're thinking about them).
65 Random Acts of Kindness for World Kindness Day 2022 and Beyond
1. Start very simply: Text a friend you haven't spoken to in a while and remind her that she's awesome.
2. Shop with a purpose: Linking your credit card to the Beam app allows you to donate one percent of purchases at sponsoring brands and retailers to charity.
3. Find a volunteer opportunity using VolunteerMatch.
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4. The Blood Donor App alerts you when there's a shortage or need for your blood type in your area and connects you with local blood drives.
5. Round up with Coin Up. This app lets you choose from 250 charitable causes to round up purchases and donate to through the app, and you'll even get a tax receipt at the end of the year. You can also set goals and limits for your donations.
6. Learn about the struggles of refugees using the My Life as a Refugee app from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
7. Leave a kind comment.
8. Alternatively, resist the urge to leave a snarky one. Sometimes it's kind to just roll your eyes and keep scrolling!
9. Download the Karmic app, which will assign you an easy act of kindness every day.
10. Use the Tab for a Cause browser, which donates to charity for—you guessed it—every tab you open. Considering all of us have about 50,000 mental tabs open every day, you can do some serious good with this!
11. Mental health advocate and eating disorder survivor Achea Redd says giving a compliment can go a long way, but be sure to do it well. "Try giving someone a compliment without it being related to their physical appearance," she advises. "In other words, focus on an internal attribute or two that you love about someone." Someone's kind heart or sense of humor is permanent, while their weight loss or haircut isn't, so this will go a really long way.
12. Times are tough and a lot of people are out of work. Write a LinkedIn recommendation for a friend, colleague, or former intern or mentor to help them get back on their feet.
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13. Check-In for Good lets businesses donate to charity each time you check in, and it's also a cool way to discover new local eateries and shops.
14. Therapist and author Jennie Marie Battistin recommends making your neighbors and anyone driving or walking by happy in a simple, creative way. "Create seven lawn signs with kind thoughts or uplifting messages," she says. "Place a new one in your yard each day to brighten up your neighbors' week."
15. Mentoring is huge, says Patty Alper, author of Teach to Work, and can help inspire tomorrow's leaders (and help you down the line too!). If you don't have anyone in the industry to mentor yet, you can mentor someone online using FindAMentor or MicroMentor.
16. Battistin also recommends helping ill or elderly neighbors with yard work. Weed your neighbor's garden or mow the lawn. Live in a colder climate? Shovel or snow-blow their driveway and sidewalk.
Related: 20 Heartwarming Acts of Kindness That We Guarantee Will Brighten Your Day
17. Start a community food pantry. Battistin recommends using a large garden storage box that will withstand the elements (like this one). "Fill with non-perishable items and ask your neighbors to participate in adding items each week," she says. "Put a sign on the box that says, 'Take some items to feed someone in need. Add items to help someone in need.'"
18. Leave nonperishable groceries for a neighbor as a surprise, Battistin recommends. "Leave them in a box on someone's doorstep with a note that says, 'Open me in 3 days.'"
19. Using the One Today app, donate $1 to specially selected charities right through your phone. You can set up periodic alerts and share with friends to increase your giving and do-gooding.
20. Play Games for Change.
21. Share a GoFundMe on social media.
22. Peruse the petitions on Care2 and sign ones that resonate with you.
23. Employ the GiveTide app. When connected to a credit or debit card, it rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and donates that amount to a charity of your choice.
24. Get moving! Charity Miles donates to causes for every mile you walk, skip, run, bike, wheelbarrow-race, roller skate—you get the picture. (You can compound the charitable donations if you use this on a charity-sponsored marathon of some kind!)
25. Make an inclusion pledge.
26. Email a thank you to someone who's made a difference in your life.
27. Download the Kindness App to inspire you to warm someone else's day throughout every day.
28. Help a blind or visually-impaired person with Be My Eyes. The app lets you video chat with someone who may need help checking an expiration date, putting an outfit together or some other small task we take for granted every day.
29. Post literally anything involving puppies, kittens or Chris Meloni and you're pretty much guaranteed to brighten someone's day.
30. Show your dog, as well as pets in need, some love with Wooftrax. The app donates to animals in need with every walk you and Fido take. Whether you're a dog owner, a dog walker, a shelter volunteer or pet sitting for a pal, this would be incredible for you! Walk for a Dog also lets you track your dog walking activity and share it with others. The more you share, the more donations for local animal welfare charities.
31. The STOPit app lets you anonymously report cyberbullying and harassment in the workplace.
32. Be bold and compliment a stranger! "So often it is shyness that keeps us from offering a compliment to a stranger. We notice but are too timid to speak. A woman who passes us, for instance, wearing a color that brings her alive, 'That color is stunning on you,'" Margaret Dulaney, author of Parables of Sunlight and founder of ListenWell.org, recommends. "We notice these things, but too often keep them to ourselves. I would suggest we share these good noticings. They have a great power to lift."
33. Share the Meal lets you donate to fight world hunger through the United Nations World Food Programme. Tapping the app on your phone will donate 50 cents, which can feed a child for a day.
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34. Freerice lets you donate to the U.N.'s World Food Programme through its ad-supported games—you don't have to donate any of your own cash if you don't want to, and you may learn a thing or two while you play.
35. Share or re-post a friend's cause or business.
36. Set up a friendly challenge with friends and family through the Budge app—loser makes a charitable donation, and really, everyone is a winner in the end.
37. Post or share an inspiring Instagram message.
38. Calculate a generous tip, then add an extra buck (or several). "A generous and unexpected tip to a server can go a long way," says Dr. Robert Cole, author of How to Build a Smile: 14 Ways to Build a Better You. "In addition to the extra cash, leaving a small note of encouragement on the receipt will also help them in these challenging times. Sometimes the most powerful inspiration can come from a stranger at the least likely moment."
39. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief.
40. Call a lonely relative and tell them a dad joke.
41. OurCalling helps you find aid for homeless persons in participating areas.
42. If you live in New York City, you can use the 311 app to get assistance for homeless persons.
43. Concrn lets users in participating areas find compassionate responders—not necessarily emergency personnel—to help homeless persons get the help they need.
44. If it's available in your area, download TangoTab to find local restaurants. Check in to a participating eatery and the restaurant will donate to fight hunger.
45. Using your Starbucks app? Secretly pay for the next person in line.
46. Use Greater Good's Click to Give to donate to hunger relief, rainforest preservation, animal welfare, autism awareness, veterans, breast cancer research, literacy, diabetes research, Alzheimer's research and more.
47. Think of someone who constantly posts offensive memes or status updates, but that you haven't unfriended. Then make a choice: Either send them a message saying you hope they're doing well and checking in on how they're doing (because if they're that angry, they could probably use some love in their lives), or unfriend/unfollow them entirely and commit an act of kindness towards yourself.
48. The Pay It Forward App connects you with convenient ways to do acts of kindness in your community every day.
49. Download the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt App (GISH) to do good while having fun and learning new things (and potentially winning prizes like exotic trips).
50. Driving or biking somewhere? Meeting a friend for dinner? Put your phone away!
51. Share an uplifting or empowering song. (Get some suggestions here!)
52. Dr. Paula Durlofsky, clinical psychologist and author of Logged In and Stressed Out: How Social Media Is Affecting Your Mental Health, suggests scheduling a regular phone call to check in with a loved one.
53. Send snail mail! Dr. Margie Warrell says, "Do the old-fashioned thing and buy a pretty card, write a lovely note (it can be short!) and mail it to someone. Nothing beats a handwritten message."
54. Don't necessarily have someone to write to, or just want to write more? Sign up to write for More Love Letters, which sends sweet notes to people going through tough times.
55. Let others know you're there if they need you. "Post on social media if anyone needs anything during these hard times that they can reach out to you," Dr. Karol Darsa, psychologist and author of The Trauma Map advises. "A lot of people are embarrassed to reach out to ask for help. Seeing a post like this can encourage them to ask for what they need."
56. Help the homeless. Check out ways to do so here, or simply reach out to homeless people in your neighborhood with an offer of food, blankets, coats, socks and other necessities—and stop to ask how they're doing and talk to them like the human beings that they are.
57. "Invite someone who may be lonely to a virtual friends and family dinner via Zoom, Skype or Facetime," Jane Enright, author of Butter Side Up™: How I Survived My Most Terrible Year and Created My Super Awesome Life, says. "For some, it may be the only interaction they have during that day or week. It lets that person know you are thinking about them and is an effortless and safe way to express your gratitude for their friendship. The gift of conversation is a gift of kindness."
58. Leave encouraging Post-It notes on mirrors with messages like, "You look great!" or "You're doing an awesome job!"
59. Keep social distancing when necessary to keep yourself, loved ones and frontline workers safe.
60. Donate old linens and newspapers to an animal shelter.
61. Praise a worker to their manager, whether it's your own colleague, a cashier at the supermarket or your pizza delivery driver.
62. Thank a teacher, whether it's one of your own from the past or the teacher who's working tirelessly to educate your child remotely.
63. Teach local kids a skill! If you know local parents or friends with kids
64. Host a virtual class, which can make it easier for people with busy schedules to attend. "Working at home can be a blessing—it can also be stressful for parents who are trying to juggle meetings with homework and homeschooling. It can also be stressful for kids who want to connect with their friends," Enright says. "Offering to do a virtual art lesson, craft session, or storytime with neighborhood children helps give parents and kids a well-deserved break and stay connected."
65. Be kind to yourself. Whether your self-care is a bubble bath, 15 minutes of meditation or just forgiving yourself for something, extend the same kindness to yourself that you would to your best friend.
Craving more warm, fuzzy feelings? Check out these sweet and inspiring quotes about kindness.
