Anonymous Acts of Kindness and  Other World Changing Ideas

I’m not sure there are many activities more fun than anonymous acts of kindness – it’s like being an undercover agent for good.

Putting something out there is an optimistic act – not knowing who it will help or how far it could go, but imagining that it’s bound to inspire smiles at the very least.

What if anonymous acts of kindness drove your whole day?

I have a feeling doing some anonymous acts of kindness it would be MUCH harder to have a bad day.

We really want our family to be characterized by a kind and generous mindset. We want it to be second-nature to spot, and take advantage of, opportunities to exercise kindness.

Creating habits like these takes practice, so I wanted to put together a big, juicy list of ideas…

And then, I remembered a dream/vision/idea David and I had in 2005. He wanted to call it Guerilla Giving. (see why here)

So I felt that it was finally time to birth what we had conceived so long ago.

We would love, love, love if many people could be inspired to join us in creating a community spreading light and love through simple acts, but we intend to have loads of fun with it as a family if nothing else! 😀

Check it out if you like! You’ll find the beginning of a site that will become filled with ideas, tools to help, inspiring printables, and who knows how else it might evolve since we just put it up this week 🙂

Ok, so now that we’ve introduced that, here are a few other ideas for giving and acts of kindness that aren’t necessarily anonymous. (We’ll be sharing much more over on the Guerilla Giving blog.)

Did you know there’s a whole week dedicated to random acts of kindness? It’s the week of Valentine’s and it’s called #RAKWeek.

Cultivating a Giving Mindset

You’ve got to check out The Giving Challenge for inspiration and real-life examples of what a difference a giving shift in mindset can make in your life! (Side note: I had the opportunity to design Stephanie’s social media and site banners promoting her book, and she was awesome to work with! 🙂 )

Starting Simple

Many of us probably need to start with learning to look for, recognize, and acknowledge kindness – and sometimes it’s as simple as creating a visual reminder.

I love this idea of a kindness paper chain, especially for younger kids. When someone spots an act of kindness they get to add another link to the chain.

Positive reinforcement is something we could ALL use a little more of in our lives, instead of so. much. focus. on the negative.

There are probably limitless ideas for visual reminders… I’m going to be thinking about this more for our family.

A Community-Brightening Activity

Our family had so much fun doing this one year for a Valentine activity, but you could do it any time of the year!

Acknowledging Over-Looked People Who Serve

There are so many people we take for granted in our lives, and probably don’t really even know. Here’s an idea for some of the people who serve your community. It could extend to more than garbage collectors – postal workers, police officers (like below), firefighters, etc.

A Fun Gift that Keeps on Giving

When I was a kid, there was something called “friendship bread” that went around our community. I’m not sure if what we ate originated from an Amish household, or if an “English” family liked the idea and started their own, but there was something so cool about sharing a treat like that.

When I came across “the Giving Plate” that childhood experience came to mind, but this is like a much more versatile version of the same concept – the plate is what passes from home to home rather than a bread starter.

This is a great idea for a housewarming gift or to give to new neighbors, not to mention anyone, really 😀

Note: Be sure to use an oil-based sharpie, and here are several more tips for creating your plate successfully.

There are several wording variations out there but since I’m always mentally editing, I decided to come up with my own twist on them. Feel free to use this for your own plate if you prefer it 🙂

This plate belongs to everyone, wherever it may go – traveling from home to home, the circle of love grows. So please enjoy the treats it holds, then fill it up again, and give it with your blessing to family and friends.

Family or Group Kindness Scavenger Hunt

Date Night Kindness Scavenger Hunt

We wish you a week filled and overflowing with love!