If there is one complaint Lianne Carter has heard over and over again about Random Acts of Kindness Day, it’s that kindness should be celebrated every day.
“Absolutely it should be every day,” agrees Carter, communications manager at the Guelph Community Foundation. “But guess what? Everyone is super busy. Everyone has 500 things that are consuming their mind. All we are saying is let’s select a day where it’s top of mind for five minutes.”
By participating in the Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Day’s events, Carter said the hope is people will continue to celebrate kindness on the other days in the calendar.
“I think people are looking for that goodness — that thing they can do. It’s not a five week committment, it’s not a once-a-week committment,” noted Carter.
Friday Nov. 3 marks the ninth year RAK Day will be recognized in Guelph.
The Guelph Community Foundation acts as the local headquarters for RAK Day, which is celebrated across Canada.
Carter said she is always amazed at the creative ways people choose to mark the occasion, from visiting a seniors centre or buying coffee for a stranger to just taking the time to compliment someone or even saying thank you.
“It can be really simple. Kindness doesn’t have to be an elaborate, grand gesture,” she said.
Knitting mittens for the needy or paying the gate fee for people visiting loved ones in the hospital are ways Carter said businesses or agencies have chosen to mark the day.
Elementary schools have taken to celebrating RAK Day as a way to combat bullying, said carter, and last year Grade 7 kids from Elora Public School raked the leaves of the properties adjacent to the school.
“It’s interesting to see what people choose to do,” said Carter.
Guelph Community Foundation is one of 191 commnity foundations that exist across Canada. Each is a locally-run public foundations which accepts and invests charitible donations to make grants supporting local registered charities.
Investments are made using interest from the donations, while the capital remains untouched.
RAK Day is one day of the year the Guelph Community Foundation shifts their focus to overseeing the Random Acts of Kindness.
“This isn’t fundraising, it has nothing to do with money — which is refreshing — all we are doing is trying to shove some good out there to hopefully tip the scales,” said Carter.
The result of people showing kindness to each other is impossible to gauge at a macro level, said Carter.
“It goes against every business strategy — but that isn’t what this is. We can’t measure it, really, but we know it’s good.”
Earlier this week, staff at Guelph Community Foundation cooked a pancake breakfast for clients of Lakeside Hope House as their Random Act of Kindness.
“Because the day of is so busy for us, we did it a few days ago,” said Carter.
The Foundation is asking people who witness or experience a Random Act of Kindness to share on social media using the hashtags #RAKGuelph and #believeinkindness.
