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:
- Hold the door for the person behind you
- Buy someone a coffee
- Cook a meal for a family in your neighborhood
- Leave quarters in the laundromat
- Donate old towels to A Better Companion for doggy baths
- Bake cookies for your elderly neighbors
- Tell your kids they are superheroes with the power to do good
- Be kind to the customer service rep on the phone
- Give someone the rest of your pack of gum
- Say yes when someone asks for a favor
- Congratulate someone who has worked hard and succeeded
- Do a chore for someone without their knowledge
- Call that friend you disagreed with long ago and make up
- Thank a nurse, police officer, or firefighter for serving our community
- Send a card to a soldier or veteran
- Be kind to yourself
- Call your parent or grandparent and tell them about your day
- Make a donation to Bread of Life in Malden
- Buy tissue and hand sanitizer for a teacher
- Give a lottery ticket to a stranger
- Leave heads up pennies on the sidewalk
- Smile, it’s contagious!
- Buy groceries for the person behind you in line
- Be friendly to your waitperson when you go out to a restaurant
- Leave a funny note on a random car
- Visit the Melrose Library and thank a librarian for always being so helpful
- Leave flowers on someone’s doorstep
- Buy something from a local artist
- Drag your neighbors’ trash/recycling bins back to their house
- Give a ride to someone who needs one
- Participate in a fundraiser for a good cause
- Share your favorite piece of music with your parent or a friend
- Visit a local store you have not been to before and purchase something, regardless of how small
- Run an errand for someone
- Send a holiday card to an elderly friend or neighbor
- Write a thank you to someone who has helped you or touched you in some way
- Donate toys at local hospitals
- Thank a teacher or administrator or secretary
- Offer your talent (cooking, carpentry, gardening, etc.) to help someone with a project
- Write a letter to the editor about something you love about our community
- Ask a family member about how their day is going
- Introduce yourself to someone new
- Compliment a stranger
- Leave the biggest tip you can afford
- Send a floral arrangement anonymously to Melrose Wakefield Hospital
- Let someone in the check out line go ahead of you
- Tell whomever is helping you to take his or her time, you’re in no hurry
- Give someone a book you think they’d like to read
- Surprise someone with a box of chocolates
- Pick up litter and dispose of it
- Put a sticky note with positive words on a bathroom mirror
- Drop off some treats for our public safety officials working long hours overnights or on holidays
- Give blood
- Give up your seat on the T to someone who looks like they would like to sit down
- Send dessert to another table
- Hug your sibling
- Tell your mom, dad or another person who has cared for you how much you appreciate them
- Take a bike ride with your kids
- Invite a friend to go for a walk
- Say yes when the cashier asks you if you’d like to donate to a cause
- Commit to using reusable bags
- Clean someone’s windshield
- Do the dishes, even if it isn’t your turn
- Tell someone how great he or she looks today
- Don’t say one negative thing all day long
- Have a clean-up party at your local park
- Give things away that you no longer need
- Play basketball with your kids, or your neighbor’s kids
- Write someone a real letter on paper and mail it
- Call your father or a father figure and tell him your favorite memory of him
- Let someone else have that parking space
- Compost and be a friend to the earth
- Donate to A Servant Heart’s Food Pantry or Pantry of Hope
- Write your partner a list of things you love about them
- Bring your parents breakfast in bed
- Slow down and let pedestrians cross the street when you’re driving
- Donate socks to an organization that helps the homeless
- Sign up at the Council on Aging to shovel snow for an elderly person this winter
- Donate your maternity or baby clothes to Mothers Helping Mothers
- Rake your neighbor’s leaves
- Donate your old eyeglasses to the Lions Club for distribution to those in need in developing countries
- Contact the Melrose Emergency Fund to see how you can help Melrose families this holiday season
- Donate a turkey to Bread of Life for Thanksgiving
- Relay an overheard compliment
- Make a donation to a homeless shelter
- Text an old friend just to say hello
- Encourage someone in an unexpected way
- Return the grocery cart when you’re done with it
- Sing a song
- Don’t interrupt when someone is speaking
- Be kind on social media
- Be the person who only has nice things to say
- Fold the laundry and put it away, even if it’s not your chore
- Smile at people you pass by on the street
- Call a parent and tell them how great their kid is
- Give your dog, or someone else’s dog, a belly scratch
- Give a hug to someone who’s having a hard day
- Thank your teacher, or your child’s teacher, or your retired teacher
- Send anonymous flowers to someone who won’t expect it
- 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.