As the holiday classic goes “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Things are a bit more full of cheer, the lights are brighter, *NSYNC Christmas songs are being played all across this nation making me a happy girl. This is the time of year that people go out of their way to give back to their fellow man and perform even more random acts of kindness than they usually do. The other day I was reminded of a status I posted around this time last year about finding a holiday card with a $20 bill in it at the train station and how it made my day. I paid it forward by buying someone else breakfast and I would like to think that they continued to pay it forward.
I wanted to share a few RAOK ideas with y’all today and hope that they inspire you to get out there and spread a little cheer because it’s needed this time of year.
Pay off local students’ lunch balances – I don’t know about the schools and districts in your area, but I’ve heard about this being done in Houston. Call first, but see if there’s a fund that they have that goes towards paying off the lunch balances for the kiddos. A little bit will go a long way.
Treat a stranger to breakfast or coffee – This is what I did last year when I received the $20 bill in a holiday card, and it instantly brightened their day. The look on their face when I answered their question of “why” with “just because” brought a smile to my face too.
Volunteer at a local women’s shelter – Whether it’s baby-sitting, helping make repairs or even helping out with mock interviews, taking time to volunteer at a local women’s shelter not only benefits the women there; often times it benefits their children too.
Deliver ‘Meals on Wheels’ – I feel like this one speaks for itself. I hate to say this but the elderly are often neglected and this program is so much more than just delivering meals. This is beneficial to all parties, but you guys get to enjoy each other’s company and often times they’ll share old stories of when they were younger.
Share your coupons with the less fortunate – We all get those mailers and often times they get thrown away. Well you should consider saving them and passing them out to the less fortunate. I had an Uber driver do this once and when he explained that he would rather the coupons for restaurants get used by someone than end up in the trash it clicked and I started doing the same. So even if you don’t have cash to hand out along with the coupons, the coupons will go a lot further with cash that they get from other people.
Make goodie bags for the less fortunate and pass them out – I saw a clip on Facebook recently about a girl who makes purses and passes them out to women on the street. Purses with toiletries and essentials and I thought that was a great idea. You don’t have to use purses, but any kind of reusable bag filled with mittens, gloves, a hat, granola bars, bottles of water, soap, a towel (buy a pack of 10 and split them up between bags; they’re super cheap), feminine care products will go a long way.
Compliment a stranger – It doesn’t cost a penny to pay someone a compliment.
Offer to take someone’s picture for them – I don’t know about y’all, but the décor I see around town is gorgeous and I’ve already snapped a few pictures on my phone of various lit trees and decorated homes. Now there are only so many selfies a girl can have, so when I was downtown recently and a stranger saw me struggling to get the perfect selfie they offered to snap the picture for me and the picture turned out great. It really made my day.
Help someone with their luggage at the airport – You don’t have to be a strapping young man to help someone at the luggage carousel at the airports. Why not help someone else out while you’re waiting for your luggage to come down?
Leave a snack for your UPS, USPS, FedEx delivery people – They’re working really hard this time of year and it doesn’t cost much to keep a bucket of bottled water and snacks out for them.
So what do you say? How about we commit to performing at least one random act of kindness this year. It doesn’t have to be one that I suggested above, but if you do decide to do one of those let me know by commenting below or tweeting me!
[…] gesture can go along way. It got me thinking about the post I shared last winter featuring 10 RAOK ideas with you guys and I wanted to share a few more office themed ones with y’all […]