MELROSE — MelroseKind will celebrate their seventh annual Random Acts of Kindness Day, a celebration of kindness, on Sunday, November 20. On this day, Melrosians look for ways to honor kindness in our community and beyond. Please join in by showering kindness on others throughout the day. Melrose Public Schools will celebrate Kindness Day on Friday, November 18.

Can’t think of a way to spread kindness in our community? Never fear! The city has compiled a list of 100 ways to be kind:

  1. Hold the door for the person behind you
  2. Buy someone a coffee
  3. Cook a meal for a family in your neighborhood
  4. Leave quarters in the laundromat
  5. Donate old towels to A Better Companion for doggy baths
  6. Bake cookies for your elderly neighbors
  7. Tell your kids they are superheroes with the power to do good
  8. Be kind to the customer service rep on the phone
  9. Give someone the rest of your pack of gum
  10. Say yes when someone asks for a favor
  11. Congratulate someone who has worked hard and succeeded
  12. Do a chore for someone without their knowledge
  13. Call that friend you disagreed with long ago and make up
  14. Thank a nurse, police officer, or firefighter for serving our community
  15. Send a card to a soldier or veteran
  16. Be kind to yourself
  17. Call your parent or grandparent and tell them about your day
  18. Make a donation to Bread of Life in Malden
  19. Buy tissue and hand sanitizer for a teacher
  20. Give a lottery ticket to a stranger
  21. Leave heads up pennies on the sidewalk
  22. Smile, it’s contagious!
  23. Buy groceries for the person behind you in line
  24. Be friendly to your waitperson when you go out to a restaurant
  25. Leave a funny note on a random car
  26. Visit the Melrose Library and thank a librarian for always being so helpful
  27. Leave flowers on someone’s doorstep
  28. Buy something from a local artist
  29. Drag your neighbors’ trash/recycling bins back to their house
  30. Give a ride to someone who needs one
  31. Participate in a fundraiser for a good cause
  32. Share your favorite piece of music with your parent or a friend
  33. Visit a local store you have not been to before and purchase something, regardless of how small
  34. Run an errand for someone
  35. Send a holiday card to an elderly friend or neighbor
  36. Write a thank you to someone who has helped you or touched you in some way
  37. Donate toys at local hospitals
  38. Thank a teacher or administrator or secretary
  39. Offer your talent (cooking, carpentry, gardening, etc.) to help someone with a project
  40. Write a letter to the editor about something you love about our community
  41. Ask a family member about how their day is going
  42. Introduce yourself to someone new
  43. Compliment a stranger
  44. Leave the biggest tip you can afford
  45. Send a floral arrangement anonymously to Melrose Wakefield Hospital
  46. Let someone in the check out line go ahead of you
  47. Tell whomever is helping you to take his or her time, you’re in no hurry
  48. Give someone a book you think they’d like to read
  49. Surprise someone with a box of chocolates
  50. Pick up litter and dispose of it
  51. Put a sticky note with positive words on a bathroom mirror
  52. Drop off some treats for our public safety officials working long hours overnights or on holidays
  53. Give blood
  54. Give up your seat on the T to someone who looks like they would like to sit down
  55. Send dessert to another table
  56. Hug your sibling
  57. Tell your mom, dad or another person who has cared for you how much you appreciate them
  58. Take a bike ride with your kids
  59. Invite a friend to go for a walk
  60. Say yes when the cashier asks you if you’d like to donate to a cause
  61. Commit to using reusable bags
  62. Clean someone’s windshield
  63. Do the dishes, even if it isn’t your turn
  64. Tell someone how great he or she looks today
  65. Don’t say one negative thing all day long
  66. Have a clean-up party at your local park
  67. Give things away that you no longer need
  68. Play basketball with your kids, or your neighbor’s kids
  69. Write someone a real letter on paper and mail it
  70. Call your father or a father figure and tell him your favorite memory of him
  71. Let someone else have that parking space
  72. Compost and be a friend to the earth
  73. Donate to A Servant Heart’s Food Pantry or Pantry of Hope
  74. Write your partner a list of things you love about them
  75. Bring your parents breakfast in bed
  76. Slow down and let pedestrians cross the street when you’re driving
  77. Donate socks to an organization that helps the homeless
  78. Sign up at the Council on Aging to shovel snow for an elderly person this winter
  79. Donate your maternity or baby clothes to Mothers Helping Mothers
  80. Rake your neighbor’s leaves
  81. Donate your old eyeglasses to the Lions Club for distribution to those in need in developing countries
  82. Contact the Melrose Emergency Fund to see how you can help Melrose families this holiday season
  83. Donate a turkey to Bread of Life for Thanksgiving
  84. Relay an overheard compliment
  85. Make a donation to a homeless shelter
  86. Text an old friend just to say hello
  87. Encourage someone in an unexpected way
  88. Return the grocery cart when you’re done with it
  89. Sing a song
  90. Don’t interrupt when someone is speaking
  91. Be kind on social media
  92. Be the person who only has nice things to say
  93. Fold the laundry and put it away, even if it’s not your chore
  94. Smile at people you pass by on the street
  95. Call a parent and tell them how great their kid is
  96. Give your dog, or someone else’s dog, a belly scratch
  97. Give a hug to someone who’s having a hard day
  98. Thank your teacher, or your child’s teacher, or your retired teacher
  99. Send anonymous flowers to someone who won’t expect it
  100. Commit to making kindness a habit!

Other ways to participate in Random Acts of Kindness Day:

  • Come visit the Kindness Corner outside of the YMCA on Main Street. Snap a photo with our interactive chalk mural and check out our kindness swag
  • Display our kindness poster in your window
  • Wear your kindness sticker and ask everyone you know to do the same
  • Use our kindness card in creative ways to celebrate kindness

Community members who participate on Kindness Day can share their experiences with Melrose Kind by kindness by emailing the organization at maribeth@melrosekind.com or stephanie@melrosekind.com and tagging #melrosekind on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Submitted photos and videos will be included in videos in our kindness video.

About MelroseKind

MelroseKind is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Each year, our mission grows bigger as we find new ways to celebrate kindness throughout the year. We have big plans in the years to come, including inspirational speakers, celebration of kindness through community movie viewings and the creation of an ongoing pen pal program between senior citizens and grade school students. The organization is actively seeking new ideas to celebrate  kindness in the Melrose community and beyond. For more information, visit melrosekind.com.