What does the word "kindness" mean to you? The first thoughts that may come to mind are a nice compliment received, or, perhaps, a door held open for another. One organization seeks to make it something much larger than that. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is an organization conceived and built on the idea that the small things that people do for one another go way beyond being friendly or helping another person in a small way. They call themselves "raktivists" and their website contains all things "RAK."
The "Kindness Ideas" section of their website is filled with suggestions of ways to be kind to another person, whether you may know them or not - small things such as paying someone's toll, making blankets for the homeless, and even ways to be kind to yourself such as eating a healthy snack or drinking more water. Another section includes "Kindness Quotes" taken from all different time periods and sources to inspire and motivate.
You can share your story of an act of kindness as well as be inspired by the stories of others. Comments are commonly found reflecting one act of kindness sparking another, creating "rak" ripples, perpetuating and spreading the feel-good chain.
They have kindness down to a science, literally! An entire portion of their website is dedicated to why they believe that kindness can be broken down in the same manner as science with resources provided to back up their argument. Their Blog includes great articles promoting the idea that the brain can be trained for compassion and argue that the key to happiness for teens and children are random acts of kindness.
Lessons are available to be brought into a classroom or taught at home. A section entitled "For Educators" contains prepared lesson plans explaining how to utilize and teach ideas encouraging children and teens to be more kind to one another, potentially changing bullying into befriending . The lesson plans work through a site called "Share My Lesson" where information can be found about RAK clubs, videos, as well as project ideas.
This organization is founded upon ways to make the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time, and Giva is very pleased to salute them!