For this blog post I have partnered with Life of Dad and KIND Snacks to recognize and celebrate kindness in our communities.
The fact is, in spite of all the difficulties going on around the world, every day there are wonderful acts of kindness taking place and I share the belief with KIND that it is important to recognize and celebrate acts of kindness.
KIND has been on a mission since day one to inspire and celebrate kindness and the program they are launching now really resonates with me as I teach my own kids the importance of being kind, recognizing kindness and celebrating kindness.
So when I stop and think about some of the acts of kindness I see in my community, at times I am overwhelmed with feelings of joy and happiness to know that I have so many wonderful people in my life and my community.
As an example, a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving there was a terribly destructive fire in an apartment complex close to my home. As a result of the fire, some 40-60 people were displaced from their homes. Right before Thanksgiving, a day when families typically come together to celebrate all the things there are to be thankful for.
Well, the people who’s homes were burned or had serious smoke or water damage had no homes to celebrate in. No homes, no cooking tools, and no place to sit and gather to be with family.
Time for a random act of kindness – while I was in my local butcher shop, a small independent butcher shop called Meat Craft Urban Butchery, I overheard a woman talking to the butcher about buying five relatively large turkeys.
Greg the butcher asks, “Ummm, five turkeys is a lot of turkey. What are you planning?”
The woman told him that, along with her friends, she was going to cook the turkeys and all the fixings and hold a community meal for the people forced out of their homes because of the fire.
Greg hears this and says, “Well then there is no charge for the turkeys.”
An act of kindness brings another act of kindness.
I kept thinking about kindness and all the people I know who do wonderful and kind things for people nearby and far away.
And a name came to me as I was walking up the stairs to my classroom – Santa.
Well not actually Santa, but Richard, a friend and colleague of mine who plays the part of Santa for community groups.
Although it may seem strange to some, some people like to have a picture of their dog with Santa. Richard quite happily gets his Santa suit on and spends his time letting people get a picture of their dog with Santa.
The really kind aspect of Richard’s Santa work? He volunteers his time in an effort to help raise funds to help support a dog rescue group. He uses his ability to show kindness to help creatures who have been put in situations where their lives are at risk.
Who in your community inspires kindness? If you want to celebrate their kindness checkout the work that KIND is doing as they continues to seek new and fun ways to recognize kindness.
One of the ways KIND has helped spread kindness is through their #kindawesome cards, a physical card you can give to someone when you spot them doing a kind act – which is what I handed to Richard as soon as I saw him walking in the hallway at school. And then I explained to him what I was doing!
To recognize the kind acts your friends and community members are doing you can access the KIND program online which will empower anyone in the KIND community to actively celebrate the kindness around them.
To learn more about how we’re spreading kindness and how you can also get in on the recognizing, inspiring and celebrating of kindness, visit How Kind Of You.
Of course you can also check out @kindsnacks and #kindawesome on social media.
Whatever you do, be kind.
Disclosure: AS I said at the start of this blog post, I have partnered with Life of Dad and KIND for this promotion.