10 Great Random Acts Of Kindness Ideas

At the end of the day—or perhaps more poignantly at the end of your life—you may just look back and try to evaluate your impact on the world around you. One way to do that is to look at your impact on those less fortunate than you might be. We at Wisdom Times truly understand that. Here, behind the scenes, we donate much of our profits to Rang De in order to change all the lives that we ourselves can change. We also write articles and create courses designed to help those who visit us improve their lives in any way that we can. Almost all of it is done for free.

10 random acts of kindness ideas

This article is just one more way we might have a impact: teaching others a few great random acts of kindness ideas they can either implement, or share with those who can implement them. Thank you for all that you do.

1. Socks

Though you likely don’t know it, the homeless populations rarely spend their money on their feet. In wet or cold areas socks (or even shoes) can go a long way. More so for the children of the homeless considering they also get a self-esteem boost as well from the higher ranking from their peers. In hot areas, sandals can also spare them pain. And because shoes are so personalized they feel more value from having something all of their own that doesn’t have to be shared and are also less likely to have them taken away from them by an adult (not the most fun to think about, but it happens).

In my own life I purchased a thousand pairs of socks from a manufacturer who had many spare, defective socks left over from a production run (most of them did not match. It’s VERY common in the production process and those are not always discarded.). I was able to buy them for a couple hundred dollars and then I gave them to a facility that did one-to-one outreach. Everybody won.

2. Post-it notes

Cheaper than socks (by almost 99%) and yet has a similar idea. Fill out each post-it note with a personal compliment written on it and leave it where someone can find it and have their day brightened. “You are beautiful.” comes to mind. Or even a personal wish for their success. Don’t just leave these for your friends—although that is nice, too. Leave them around for just anyone to find. Make each one personal (and not just general like, “birds are pretty”). Although, hey: who am I to boss around your post-its‽ Nobody.

3. Food, medicine and toys to a village

This is easy if you have access to a village. Just gather up your extras or take a trip to the store. Remember to throw in something simple like aspirin or medicine for fevers—things the poor may not have. Put them in shoe boxes and make little packages. Drop one at each house.

For those who do not have access to a village, that’s okay. Either use skid row in your own city, or perhaps join a group like Rotary. In my own life, I used Rotary and went to Mexico. The pictures I took were haunting. The feelings I got from helping children, fantastic!

4. Library in Africa

Yes. I know, this one is a stretch to be listed under random acts of kindness ideas. But it isn’t a stretch to ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH. That’s why I left it here. As it turns out, one only needs a thousand books to fill a small library. I had no idea. From there just go to the African Library Project website and they will match you up with a village and ship them for you. You will get a picture back for your records, and amazing warmth back for your karma.

So how do you actually GET a thousand books? In my case I used a two-pronged method. For one, I found a dollar bookstore and negotiated a bulk-purchase deal for a flat 1,000. This actually brought the price down significantly. That was step one. Step 2 relied on the fact that I was already a published author. I set up a book-signing there in exchange for an even greater discount. I think I may have spent a couple hundred bucks total. When you consider that I actually accomplished having a full library for kids now done, it was well worth it.

One more thing. Do this one with family. Let everyone get in on the deal. My wife helped and she loved it. Also, it was my youngest daughter’s idea so obviously she was a HUGE part of it as well. She started a non-profit at 13 and we did it on behalf of her organization. I could not have been more proud. Trust me. Include the family.

How do you do it if you are NOT a known author doing a book-signing? Have a book drive. You can either go door-to-door and ask for books or set up giant bins at a school. It works!

5. Free food for the homeless

As you know, the food doesn’t HAVE TO be free to you, but it helps if you don’t go broke in the process of helping others. In my case I simply find food banks and pick up a bag of groceries. From there I leave them wherever I think they are needed. You can also do a full on food drive. It works just like the book drive, above. Also, little-known fact . . . Gather enough food, and you can do a large-scale event and help literally thousands of people and it won’t cost you more than just your time. The last time my wife and I did this, we had 1 hundred helpers available to pass it all out. It was amazing.

6. Invest in those who want a brighter future

Muhammad Yunus was given the Nobel Prize for the idea of micro-lending and I have used it probably a hundred times to help a hundred different families. In India, try Rang De (like we do here at Wisdom Times) or Kiva for those in the US. Basically it is the idea that small loans—literally $5—can change a life. It can buy a chicken for an egg dealer, or wood for a carving business, or help with a sewing machine or fabric for a seamstress business. After they pay it back, you can reloan the money or withdraw it for yourself.

7. Buy an extra meal or food package when you are at the store

The simple act of keeping a cooler in the car that has snacks or bottles of water in it, can really make someone’s day. In some instances it can also save a life. It’s easy to do and if you buy non-perishables, you are ahead of the game. Or, if you see someone standing at the corner, stop in a market and buy them a treat. Both their day AND your day will change!

8. Keep coins for the meter

This one is big in Los Angeles. It may not be so big where you are. I usually kept a roll of quarters around to drop them in the meter to keep people from getting tickets. But guess what? I found out that this was against the law!! Check your own local laws to be safe.

9. Pay for a meal of a person dining alone

If you are at a restaurant and see that a person is dining alone, tell the waitress you would like to pay for their meal. If they are alone, they may be super happy for the little consideration. But for your own sake, the solo person is usually cheaper than an entire family of 4 eating at the same place. This tip keeps you safe! Do it anonymously, of course.

10. Run a marathon for charity

Yep. Giant one, I know. Another contender that doesn’t fit on the random acts of kindness ideas list. And yet . . . Here it is. Just hear me out before you decide.

My wife and I met this way, so it changed not only our own lives, but also the lives of those the charity benefited as well. In our case, they also flew us—for free—to Hawaii. Talk about a win-win. I got married. People were helped. And we went to Hawaii as well. Look into Team-in-Training, Team-to-end-AIDS, or literally ANY local event that sponsors a charity. There are some that climb mountains, some that run marathons, and others that just do fun little things like food-fights or water-balloons. No matter which one you pick, it’s fun for everybody!