Smile

Earlier in the month we had World Laughter Day. Well, today is National Smile Day. Smiles are powerful! I'm told that smiling has a direct link to our brain and can help to reduce stress.  A friendly smile is always a kind act.  Let's do a lot of smiling today!

Ending with more

I'm ending the week with a few more ideas. 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. Tell your parents/children why you love them. Give another driver your parking spot. Give flowers to be delivered with meal delivery programs.

more kindness ideas

Give your full attention to someone in need and simply listen.  Stop by a nursing home and visit a resident with no family nearby.  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. Deliver fresh-baked cookies to city workers.  Share your smile generously.

Thursday ideas

Take an acquaintance to lunch.  Sponsor people in fundraising walk-a-thons.  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.  When drivers try to merge into your lane, let them in with a wave and a smile.  Volunteer to be a tutor in a school.  Remember the bereaved with phone calls, cards, plants, and food.  Make a point of finding the name of a supermarket or drugstore employee and then praise him/her through that company’s corporate office.

midweek kindness ideas

Tell your boss that you think he/she does a good job.  Pay for the meal of the person behind you in the drive-through.  Donate blood.  Bring flowers to work and share them with coworkers.  As you go about your day, pick up trash.  Call or visit a homebound person.  Make telephone calls in support of equality urging others to put aside hate.  Pay a compliment at least once a day.

Additional ideas

Here are some additional ideas - Transport someone who can’t drive.  Say something nice to everyone you meet today.  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.  Volunteer to fix up an elderly couple’s home.

Monday Ideas

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.  Say nice things randomly to followers on social media.  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.  Clean graffiti from neighborhood walls and buildings.  Buy a stranger a free pizza.  Mow a neighbor’s grass or sweep a neighbor’s walk.