Random Acts of Kindness Day is held on Feb. 17, hosted annually by the Random Acts of Kindness Day Foundation, or the RAK Foundation. The goal of the RAK Foundation is to make the world a little bit more of a better place. Their website is home to hundreds of different ways to be kind, resources for teachers to use in their classes and different stories that inspire kindness. They note that “scientific evidence shows us the positive effects of doing kind acts for others as well as receiving them or even witnessing kindness.” In honor of making the world just a little bit more kind, here are some ways you can spread kindness on campus.
Set daily goals for yourself
Do you have a lot on your plate, metaphorically speaking? Practice some self kindness and set daily goals for yourself. Divide your work into what needs to be accomplished, and remember to leave room for flexibility. Be kind to yourself and give yourself plenty of time to complete your goals, stretching them out over days, weeks or months if needed.
Make special bookmarks
Do you enjoy reading or spending time in the library? You might be able to make someone smile by creating customized bookmarks for others. You can hand them out to others, or leave them in your favorite books in the library as a little surprise. There’s nothing better than a quality bookmark made with love to make someone’s day.
Be kind to staff
This act of kindness should be something we do every day, but choose to be a little more kind to staff and servers who work at NSU. Ask the Starbucks employees how their day is going, be patient if your food takes a little longer to make and thank professors and custodial staff. Remember that even though they’re working, they are people too and may be dealing with things during work or in their lives and may benefit greatly from a little extra kindness.
Pick up trash
Noticing a soda can here or an Einstein’s bag there? Grab a garbage bag, some gloves and a trash stick and get to gathering. The students, the animals and the environment on campus will all benefit from a little garbage collection. After you’ve collected any trash you find out and about, be sure to dispose of it in a dumpster or safely in a garbage can to make sure it doesn’t find its way back out again.
Remember that during Random Acts of Kindness day to not only be kind to others, but to yourself as well. You can find loads more ideas to be kind from the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation online at https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/.
