MelroseKind will celebrate their seventh annual Random Acts of Kindness Day, a celebration of kindness, on Sunday, November 20. On this day, Melrosians look for ways to honor kindness in our community and beyond. Please join in by showering kindness on others throughout the day. Melrose Public Schools will celebrate Kindness Day on Friday, November 18.

Can't think of a way to spread kindness in our community? Never fear! We've compiled a list of 100 ways to be kind:

1.    Hold the door for the person behind you

2.   Buy someone a coffee

3.    Cook a meal for a family in your neighborhood

4.    Leave quarters in the laundromat

5.    Donate old towels to A Better Companion for doggy baths

6.    Bake cookies for your elderly neighbors 

7.    Tell your kids they are superheroes with the power to do good

8.    Be kind to the customer service rep on the phone

9.    Give someone the rest of your pack of gum 

10.  Say yes when someone asks for a favor

11.  Congratulate someone who has worked hard and succeeded

12.  Do a chore for someone without their knowledge

13.  Call that friend you disagreed with long ago and make up

14.  Thank a nurse, police officer, or firefighter for serving our community

15.  Send a card to a soldier or veteran

16.  Be kind to yourself

17.  Call your parent or grandparent and tell them about your day

18.  Make a donation to Bread of Life in Malden

19.  Buy tissue and hand sanitizer for a teacher

20.  Give a lottery ticket to a stranger

21.  Leave heads up pennies on the sidewalk

22.  Smile, it’s contagious!

23.  Buy groceries for the person behind you in line

24.  Be friendly to your waitperson when you go out to a restaurant

25.  Leave a funny note on a random car

26.  Visit the Melrose Library and thank a librarian for always being so helpful

27.  Leave flowers on someone’s doorstep

28.  Buy something from a local artist

29.  Drag your neighbors’ trash/recycling bins back to their house

30.  Give a ride to someone who needs one

31.  Participate in a fundraiser for a good cause

32.  Share your favorite piece of music with your parent or a friend

33.  Visit a local store you have not been to before and purchase something, regardless of how small

34.  Run an errand for someone

35.  Send a holiday card to an elderly friend or neighbor

36.  Write a thank you to someone who has helped you or touched you in some way

37.  Donate toys at local hospitals 

38.  Thank a teacher or administrator or secretary

39.  Offer your talent (cooking, carpentry, gardening, etc.) to help someone with a project

40.  Write a letter to the editor about something you love about our community 

41.  Ask a family member about how their day is going

42.  Introduce yourself to someone new

43.  Compliment a stranger

44.  Leave the biggest tip you can afford

45.  Send a floral arrangement anonymously to Melrose Wakefield Hospital 

46.  Let someone in the check out line go ahead of you

47.  Tell whomever is helping you to take his or her time, you’re in no hurry

48.  Give someone a book you think they’d like to read

49.  Surprise someone with a box of chocolates

50.  Pick up litter and dispose of it 

51.  Put a sticky note with positive words on a bathroom mirror

52.  Drop off some treats for our public safety officials working long hours overnights or on holidays

53.  Give blood

54.  Give up your seat on the T to someone who looks like they would like to sit down

55.  Send dessert to another table

56.  Hug your sibling

57.  Tell your mom, dad or another person who has cared for you how much you appreciate them

58.  Take a bike ride with your kids

59.  Invite a friend to go for a walk

60.  Say yes when the cashier asks you if you’d like to donate to a cause

61.  Commit to using reusable bags

62.  Clean someone’s windshield

63.  Do the dishes, even if it isn’t your turn

64.  Tell someone how great he or she looks today

65.  Don’t say one negative thing all day long

66.  Have a clean-up party at your local park

67.  Give things away that you no longer need

68.  Play basketball with your kids, or your neighbor’s kids

69.  Write someone a real letter on paper and mail it

70.  Call your father or a father figure and tell him your favorite memory of him

71.  Let someone else have that parking space

72.  Compost and be a friend to the earth

73.  Donate to A Servant Heart’s Food Pantry or Pantry of Hope

74.  Write your partner a list of things you love about them

75.  Bring your parents breakfast in bed

76.  Slow down and let pedestrians cross the street when you're driving

77.  Donate socks to an organization that helps the homeless 

78.  Sign up at the Council on Aging to shovel snow for an elderly person this winter

79.  Donate your maternity or baby clothes to Mothers Helping Mothers

80.  Rake your neighbor's leaves

81.  Donate your old eyeglasses to the Lions Club for distribution to those in need in developing countries

82.  Contact the Melrose Emergency Fund to see how you can help Melrose families this holiday season 

83.  Donate a turkey to Bread of Life for Thanksgiving

84.  Relay an overheard compliment

85.  Make a donation to a homeless shelter

86.  Text an old friend just to say hello

87.  Encourage someone in an unexpected way

88.  Return the grocery cart when you're done with it

89.  Sing a song

90.  Don’t interrupt when someone is speaking

91.  Be kind on social media 

92.  Be the person who only has nice things to say

93.  Fold the laundry and put it away, even if it's not your chore

94.  Smile at people you pass by on the street

95.  Call a parent and tell them how great their kid is

96.  Give your dog, or someone else’s dog, a belly scratch

97.  Give a hug to someone who's having a hard day

98.  Thank your teacher, or your child’s teacher, or your retired teacher  

99.  Send anonymous flowers to someone who won’t expect it

100.  Commit to making kindness a habit!

Other ways to Participate in Random Acts of Kindness Day:

- Come visit the Kindness Corner outside of the YMCA on Main Street. Snap a photo with our interactive chalk mural and check out our kindness swag
- Display our kindness poster in your window
- Wear your kindness sticker and ask everyone you know to do the same
- Use our kindness card in creative ways to celebrate kindness

Community members who participate on Kindness Day can share their experiences with Melrose Kind by kindness by emailing the organization at [email protected] or [email protected] and tagging #melrosekind on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Submitted photos and videos will be included in videos in our kindness video.