World Kindness Day is an annual celebration that takes place on November 13th. The holiday was created by the World Kindness Movement - a group made up of various humanitarian groups across several countries. Its members pledged to “join together to build a kinder and more compassionate world” - inspiring people to commit acts of kindness.
The World Kindness Movement hopes to attain official recognition status as a day of observance by the United Nations. A large step forward was taken to this end when the UN tweeted about the day last year. In a year where the world needed kindness perhaps more than ever, the UN gave a nod to the day by tweeting about its importance, sharing its hashtag, and encouraging people to participate. In an effort to continue the important movement this year, here are some different ways that you can take action on World Kindness Day.
There is truly no act of kindness that is too small. Keep your impact local: you can give someone a compliment, go out of your way to help someone at the store with their bags or with the door, pay for the person behind you in the drive thru, or donate books, clothes, or food to your community.
Think about the amount of good you can do by simply being kind intentionally. Was there a time you received a compliment at the start of your day? Or when someone held the door for you at the coffee shop or picked up something that you dropped? These little acts of kindness can often kick start our day in a positive direction and allow us to brighten the days of those around us.
OR take your impact internationally: Connect with someone you wouldn’t normally in your video game chat, share your knowledge with others by answering a yahoo post, or support a new charity or organization in the business of helping others! Kindness works in a ripple effect. Go out of your way today to be kind to others and encourage them to pay it forward and do the same. Simple compassion has the power to bring us together and contribute to a more positive society.
You can celebrate World Kindness Day with LtN by joining us in our Giving Tuesday Campaign. In the end of the month, we and those that have joined our campaign will be honoring mentors in our life through social media, so that we can in turn provide mentors to our student athletes. Even if you can’t donate yourself, you can share a post that can spread the word and encourage others to donate. And if you are able to give, consider donating even as little as your daily coffee. Your donation alone can go a long way, and imagine the impact if everyone chose this small act of kindness today.