It goes without saying that we should be kind to others all the time but 'Random Acts of Kindness Day' helps to highlight the importance of being kind and gives us all the opportunity to put others first.

Did you know that being kind increases serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins, while decreasing cortisol and other stress hormones?  And that’s just yourself, just think how good the recipient will feel!

This year, Random Acts of Kindness Day is on Saturday 17th February 2024 so you have plenty of time to plan something and maybe think of how you could get the family involved.

Being kind doesn’t have to cost a penny and below you will find some ideas for things you can do with the majority being free or low cost.

We’d love to record how many random acts of kindness are completed by the Dorset community during the week so please do make a record and get any photos if you can.  You can either Email Us or share the details on the Dorsetmums Facebook post on Saturday 17 February so we can all see what the community has achieved together.  There's also a Facebook Event if you would like to join.

Random Acts of Kindness ideas:

1. Call a friend or family member you haven’t spoken to in a little while and ask how they’ve been.

2. Get the children involved in making edible gifts like rocky road or biscuits and bag them up with ribbons for someone who deserves a treat.

3. Does your child have an outstanding teacher or nursery worker?  Some kind words in a card and/or gift will make them feel much appreciated.

4. Send a postcard from a recent day out to a grandparent or older relative.

5. Get the children to paint stones with kind messages or bright colourful pictures and then leave them on your walks for others to find.

6. Give blood or sign up to be an organ donor.

7. Contact your local food bank and ask what they are low on.  Quite often they may have an abundance of tinned goods but they may be short of other everyday items like tea/coffee or cereal ect.

8. Contact a local Soup Kitchen like Hope for Food or Routes to Roots and offer assistance in serving food to the homeless or maybe even offer to provide some food which is needed for the meals.

9. Homelessness has increased in recent years and the depressing truth is that every large town in Dorset has at least one person living on the streets.  If you are aware of someone in need then you could put together a rucksack of snacks, drinks, toiletries and new underwear, socks and a warm hat ect and ask if they would like it.  Even offering a hot coffee in this cold weather will bring comfort.

10. Contact your local care home or home care provider and ask if they have a resident or client who needs cheering up, maybe they have someone in their care who has recently lost a loved one or not long come out of hospital.

11. Offer to cook a meal or provide a food parcel to a local family who may be struggling.

12. Take nuts to the park for squirrels and wildlife to enjoy or bring food for the ducks.

13. Give a box of biscuits to your local ambulance, police or fire station.

14. Bake a cake for a friend who has just had a baby or drop round a homemade meal for them to have for dinner or pop in the freezer for another day.  We all know how hard those newborn days are!

15. Buy a gift from a small local business and remember to leave them a shining review as this alone will make them do a happy dance.

16. Give a stranger a lottery ticket.

17. Make up a care package for a sick friend.

18. Do you have a talent for knitting, painting or crafts ect?  Maybe you could gift something special to a person who gives up their time to help others.

19. If you have a single person living in your street or maybe even someone elderly who has no family to look after them then give them a knock on the door and ask if there is anything they need.  Quite often those in need are too proud to ask for help but offering to grab them a pint of milk or walk their dog could make their day.

20. Buy a plant pot, seeds and soil to make a gift for someone to enjoy when Spring comes.

21. Get the children to make a card or something crafty to post to a family member who lives far away.

22. Send an IOU lunch date voucher or an offer of babysitting to a friend.

23. Some local community eateries and church cafes offer customers the opportunity to buy a coffee or meal for someone else.  This will then be gifted to a customer in need or homeless person.

24. A litter pick can be cheap to buy and is handy for organising litter picks in parks or the beach.

25. Volunteering for a local charity can be very rewarding if you have any spare time.  The Volunteer Centre Dorset lists roles like admin, care support, befriending, counselling, animal care, driving, youth work and much more.

26. Take doughnuts or a basket of fruit into work for your colleagues to enjoy.

27. Buy a bunch of daffodils or make up a big flower bouquet for a loved one or stranger on the street.

28. Leave a £1 coin in your supermarket trolley or you could cut money off vouchers out of magazines and leave them hidden by the product for a shopper to find.

29. Plan a charity fundraiser.  If you have a charity or worthwhile cause that’s close to your heart then think of a challenge and ask family to donate.  You could go big and complete a long walk or jump out of a plane, or keep things simple and get the kids to do a reading challenge or sponsored silence.  (My kids would definitely fail on the latter!)

30. Make a donation to your favourite charity.

31. Donate some animal food to a local charity like the Margaret Green Animal Rescue, Every Paw Matters, Monkey World or Fancy’s Farm.

32. If you have an empty piggy bank at home then ask they children which charity they would like to support and then fill with your small change over the coming weeks and donate the money when it’s full.

33. Have a clearout of your old clothing, kids toys ect and either give them to charity shop or do a table top sale and give a percentage of money raised to a charity of your choice.

Do you have any more Random Acts of Kindness ideas?  If so, please do Contact Us so we can add it to the list.