By K Vora
Witnessing acts of kindness has a rippling effect, so what’s stopping you from starting this chain of positivity? Here are 12 ways you can spread kindness in our community!
- Pay for the meal or drink of the person behind you in a drive-through. This is an incredible way to instantly brighten someone’s day, that will likely result in a chain of people paying it forward.
- Go to the Calgary Blood Services and donate plasma or blood. During any time of the year, and especially during a health crisis, there is always a need for such donations and they can go so far in helping save someone’s life.
- Deliver sweets or a meal to someone who you know is going through a difficult time or someone for whom you want to show your appreciation. Food is something that brings people together and embodies what community is in a delicious tangible form!
- Donate necessities to Calgary homeless shelters such as the Mustard Seed, Inn From the Cold, Mary Dover House Emergency Shelter or any others near you. Homeless shelters always appreciate community support through donations and if you have extra or outgrown clothing from your spring cleaning we encourage you to donate it to someone in need!
- Send letters and flowers to seniors at a senior centre. To protect the health and safety of elderly individuals, there is a limitation to their number of outside interactions but, just as any individual would, seniors greatly value some love and appreciation from the youth in their community. Take the time to write a letter about anything that you think they might be interested in hearing about, and call a local senior centre so see if you can connect with a senior by sending them a kind letter!
- Do a mental health check-in with the people around you and people you haven’t had a chance to catch up with in a while. Seeing a text or hearing a phone call from someone asking how you have been doing and you letting them know that you’re here for them can go incredibly far.
- Donate food to a foodbank. A small donation of a couple of canned or preserved food items is a large act of kindness for someone who’s next meal may come from that donation. Take time to check your pantry during your spring cleaning to see if you can donate some extra items.
- Cook a meal for your family. You can say thank you to the individual(s) who graciously takes on the responsibility to cook meals for you, by preparing a delicious meal for not only them, but your entire family. This gives them the opportunity to relax and you the opportunity to perfect your impressive cooking skills!
- Leave a note for delivery drivers thanking them for delivering all of your online shopping orders, your spontaneous 2-day shipping Amazon prime packages and much more!
- Support a small business in Calgary such as The Livery Shop, Cococo Chocolatiers, The Paper and Ink Boutique and more when gifting or purchasing something wonderful for yourself!
- Mow the lawn or water the grass for one of your neighbours! With the weather warming up, and the grass slowly getting greener, a neighborly act of kindness like this is greatly appreciated and undoubtedly welcomed by your neighbours.
- Take some time for some self-care by reading a book, spending time with family or doing whatever makes you feel happy. The greatest way you can be a positive community member is by making sure you take care of yourself, because joy can only be shared if it is emitted from within you!
Remember to spread kindness not COVID-19!
Take care!
Image of a thank you sign from the Official Calgary Website
Link to the image from the website: https://www.calgary.ca/csps/cema/covid19/support/individuals/covid-19-helping-others.html