Ending the month but continuing the kindness

As we end the month, I'm not going to mention any more specific ideas (although I certainly will in the future).  I hope a lot of you have joined with me in making November not only a special month of thanksgiving, but also a special month of kindness.  Now, let's keep in going all year long!

30 days of ideas

As the month winds down, here's a few more ideas - Clean graffiti from neighborhood walls and buildings. Buy a stranger a free pizza. Mow a neighbor’s grass or sweep a neighbor’s walk. Offer to return a shopping cart to the store for someone loading their car. Call an estranged family member.  Buy cold drinks for the people next to you at a ball game. Spend some time serving food at a meal program for the needy.  (Often there are more volunteers than are needed on Thanksgiving Day, but today and the days right up to Christmas, they are often short-handed).

Giving Tuesday

It's Giving Tuesday and of course there are even more ideas! Give another driver your parking spot. Tell your boss that you think he/she does a good job.  Open the door for another person.  Give flowers to be delivered with meal delivery programs. Give your full attention to someone in need and simply listen. Stop by a nursing home, and visit a resident with no family nearby. Think about those donations too!

We're not out of ideas

We're getting closer to the end of the month, but we're not out of kindness ideas.  Here are some more for you.  Deliver fresh-baked cookies to city workers. Share your smile generously. Take an acquaintance to dinner. Sponsor people in fundraising walk-a-thons. Make telephone calls in support of equality urging others to put aside hate.

Sunday suggestions

As we near the end of this month (today is the last Sunday) of kindness ideas, I am so grateful for all the contributions from folks who read this.  Together we can make this a kinder world!  Oh and when November ends, we certainly don't have to stop!  Kindness by now if a way of life for us all, right?  Now, some more ideas for today?  Whisper them to me.

The ideas just keep on coming

Kindness ideas are never-ending!  Here are some more.  Send a treat to a school or day-care center. Volunteer at an organization that needs help. Go through your closets and find several nice items and then donate them to a shelter. Buy books for a day care or school. Give toys to the children at a shelter.  Give a Thanksgiving week tip or gift to your mailman or other delivery person.

Leftovers

Everyday should be Thanksgiving and every day should be Kindness Day.  That's just how I feel.  I try to treat others with the respect and dignity that they deserve and I aim to make at least one person smile everyday.  This month we have placed a special emphasis and so today I hope that it's not just a trip to the malls, but that we will spread even more kindness.  Look back on the ideas we have already shared.  Think up some new ones.  Didn't finish all of your big holiday spread yesterday?  Share it!  Who doesn't like leftovers?  Maybe make up some nice turkey sandwiches and share them with hungry folks on the street.

Let us give thanks

Being kind and giving thanks - the two seem to go hand in hand.  That's why I thought it would be great to have a whole month of extra kindness and extra thanks and I am thankful that so many are joining in.  Let us give thanks for all we have and let us eagerly share that, spreading good and kindness wherever we go.  Today, think of those who are hungry and do what you can.  Grab some paper plates and set up a nice array of food from your Thanksgiving dinner, to share with those who might have nothing.  Make as many plates as you are able and then take them to a place where homeless people gather.  Your kindness will be appreciated!

For the feast

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.  All this month we have been suggesting that this be not only the month filled with thanks, but also filled with kindness.  One huge thing that happens on Thanksgiving (as well as Christmas Day, and in some places Easter), is big Thanksgiving dinners for the homeless or folks who just can't afford the banquet.  A kind way to give back is volunteering to help with prep, serving, or cleanup.  Donating food or money helps too.  Having dinner at home?  Maybe make up some take-out containers with traditional food, and then hand them out to folks on the street whom you think will enjoy them.  The list goes on and on!

feeding the hungry

There are lots of folks out there who go hungry, and nobody should have an empty belly.  In two days many of us will sit down to a huge feast.  Think about those who cannot.  As we continue our list of kind acts, consider volunteering to serve at a homeless shelter or other meal program - not necessarily on Thanksgiving Day when more volunteers often show up than are needed.  Help out on those days when nobody else is around.  Meals-On-Wheels or similar programs are usually in need of help too!

Teaching moments

Teaching others to do things can be very kind and helpful!  Teaching someone to read, for example, is a gift that will last forever.  Perhaps tutoring a student, spending more time with your own kids or grandkids, offering to read at a children's library, or volunteering as a helper at an after-school program.  Senior citizens often can use a hand learning things too, especially new technology.  On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, may we also hold in our memories all who have died as a result of hate, and work to see justice and fairness for all.

Giving thanks, being kind

The whole idea of stretching Thanksgiving through the entire month and doing special acts of kindness as well, seemed like such a natural pairing.  (Of course as I often say, I'd like to see this daily throughout the year).  Now about those special acts - we've certainly listed a lot, huh?  We can always add more too.  Anything that is done with love and respect, is worthy of that list.

November 18th ideas

Did you think we could really come up with this many kindness ideas?  Well today we have some more!  Make a point of finding the name of a supermarket or drugstore employee and then praise him/her through that company’s corporate office. Share this blog with friends.  Become active in a cause that is important to you.  When drivers try to merge into your lane, let them in with a wave and a smile.

Your turn

Did you think we could really come up with this many kindness ideas during November? My goodness there are so many more.  Tomorrow I will continue my list, but I was thinking that today could be your turn.  Share with us some ideas of how you can be kind to others or how someone was kind to you.  I can't wait to hear your ideas!

What would you add to our list?

Do we have more kindness ideas?  Of course we do!  Hold a door for someone.  Teach a senior how to text or some other technology they might not be familiar with.  Adopt a pet.  What ideas would you like to add?

Halfway

Well we are halfway through this month, but nowhere near the end of kindness suggestions!  Here are some more.  Volunteer to fix up an elderly couple’s home. Buy a pack of brightly colored stickers and give them to children you meet during the day. Let the person behind you in the grocery store go ahead of you in line. Invite someone new for dinner, either in your home or in a restaurant.

Lucky thirteen

Don't think of today being unlucky because it's a Monday or because it's the thirteenth.  Think instead that you are a very lucky person, sharing your kindness with others and giving particular emphasis on kindness every single day this month.  Thirteen can indeed be lucky!  As you can see, we have a lot of great ideas too with many more to come!  Oh and today is actually World Kindness Day!  Seriously.  Even more of a reason to be kind.

Here are more November ideas

Doing some kind act every single day of the month doesn't have to be a difficult task.  Call up a friend or two just to say hello.  (Note I said call, not text.  Actually connect with them)!  As you go about your day, say something nice to everyone you meet. Be pleasant and you'll notice a lot more folks being pleasant toward you!  Some specific acts?  Leave  a suggestion or two below! 

November ideas continue

Oh there are so many ways to show kindness, as you have already seen.  Please feel free to add your suggestions today (or any day) and let's continue to make this an especially kind month!  How about some Thanksgiving themed ideas too or some surrounding veterans, since today is Veteran's Day.  Donating time to a veteran's health and recovery is a great way to show your appreciation. Check with the VA hospital closest to you.

For the 10th

Here it is the tenth of the month and we have already shared a lot of ideas.  Here are some more.  Have a clean-up party in the park. Bring coworkers a special treat. Give the gift of your smile. Draw names at work/school and have people bring a small gift or treat for their secret pal. Share some of yours in the comments section below.

All month continues

We're really trying to emphasize kindness this month, by listing various random acts every day.  I think people are generally more kind toward others between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's, but why wait?  Let's do kind things every single day!  We already gave you eight days of ideas (and will continue with more tomorrow), but what can YOU add to the list? 

Random kindness all month

Treat someone to fresh fruit Sing at a nursing home. Leave an extra-large tip for the waitperson. Tell a bus or taxi driver how much you appreciate their driving. .

And on the seventh

As our month of kindness continues, we share these ideas.  Tell your parents/children why you love them. Give blood. Give coffee to people on their way to work in the morning. Leave a treat or handmade note of thanks for a delivery person or mail carrier.

Kindness on the sixth

Volunteer to be a tutor in a school. Remember the bereaved with phone calls, cards, plants, and food. Give a bag of groceries to a homeless person. Volunteer to read to kids in the library. Donate time at a senior center. Give a pair of tickets to a concert or baseball game to a stranger. Send a gift anonymously to a friend. Pay for the person behind you in the movie line.

Family ideas

Today is my sister's birthday and she is always doing kind things!  As we continue with a month full of special kindness, I was thinking that we certainly shouldn't ignore our families.  When you are under the same roof, or even in the same community, it's a lot easier, but you can regularly do kind things for family members, even when you are far away.  Frequent text messages, emails, or phone calls help let folks know you care.  My sister bakes a lot, and she always makes something extra for me.  If she isn't going to see me right away, she'll freeze it and then give it to me when we next get together.  What ideas would you like to share?

It's never-ending

Like I said, the list of random acts of kindness is never-ending.  Here are more:  Pay for the meal of the person behind you in the drive-through. Smile. Bring flowers to work and share them with coworkers. As you go about your day, pick up trash. Pay a compliment at least once a day.  Buy some bottles of water and randomly hand them out to strangers on the street. Drop off a plant or a plate of cookies to your nearby police or fire station.

Third day of November suggestions

Start a fundraiser for someone in need and surprise them with money (which you could also present in the form of gift cards or groceries).  Go and sing at a nursing home.  Have a clean-up party in the park. Volunteer your time at an organization with special meaning for you.  Please add to these in the comments section below!

The November list of kindness

Starting a list yesterday, I said there was much more we could include.  Do you have some ideas to add to these?  Make telephone calls in support of equality urging others to put aside hate. Let the person behind you in the grocery store go ahead of you in line.  Leave an extra-large tip for the waitperson. Open the door for other people.   Bring coworkers a special treat.

Listing kind things

The month of Thanksgiving can also me the month of kind acts.  Some ideas: Call or visit a homebound person, especially on the holiday when they may feel even more lonely.  Give toys to the children at a shelter. Say nice things randomly to social media friends. Transport someone who can’t drive. Give a bag of groceries to a homeless person. Tell a bus or taxi driver how much you appreciate their driving.  Can you add to this list?  There are lots of things we can do!