Kindness Ideas for Adults
There are a lot of simple and inexpensive or free things people can do to make a difference to someone. We hope you are inspired by some of the kindness ideas below.
- leave flowers on a windscreen
- help the elderly with their shopping
- leave a chocolate for the cashier
- bake a cake for someone
- feed an expired parking meter
- pay for someone's meal
- give a compliment
- listen to and play with children
- clean someone's home
- clean someone's car
- buy coffee for the person behind you
- visit someone in a nursing home
- take food or clothing to the homeless
- bake some biscuits to leave desks at work
- collect hotel toiletries for a care basket
- help in a soup kitchen
- give someone a warm hug
- leave your coin in the cart for the next person when you return it
- leave a note in a lunch box
- do some work for free
- become an organ donor
- write a love note to your partner
- ask an elderly neighbor if they need help
- let someone checkout ahead of you
- babysit for someone
- listen to someone
- clean someone's car
- acknowledge people who deserve to be
- when shopping, pick up things that have fallen off shelves or hangers
- hand make cheer up cards and deliver them to a hospital for patients
- allow staff to leave an hour early one day
- pay for the someone's bus or train ticket
- host a BBQ & invite your neighbors
- clean a sick friend's house
- give a mum a break for some 'me' time
"For more than twenty years, Marcia and I have been writing love notes to each other on days we're apart. These three boxes represent maybe half of the love notes Marcia's written to me over the years." - Mike
Kindness given by the Ripple Community during Random Acts of Kindness & World Kindness Week
- I cut out coupons from the paper and leave them with the items featured in the store for people to find when they're shopping. - Michelle
- On Valentine's Day, we were served by a super helpful and cheerful waitress.
I overheard her say she was a single mum and her 5-year-old was her Valentine. So, my friend and I went halves and surprised her with a long-stemmed rose. She was so excited. - Shirley - I am co-leading a free community children's event this evening during which the kids will be making cards of thanks and encouragement for our veterans and soldiers. We are also collecting food items to donate to the Veterans food bank. Other activities will include learning about friendship through eating together and playing games together, and reading stories. - Amber
- Today my family and I delivered 40 stuffed animals and 25 boxes of chocolates to UCMH Family Services for Foster kids! I'm excited to see what other kind deeds people did for Valentine's Day today! - Kelly
- I was sitting next to a woman in my favorite beauty shop. She was very distressed because the hairdresser had given her a really bad haircut. I bought her a bouquet of flowers to cheer her up. - Barbara
- I saw a man run out of his house with a very new looking coat and give it to a man standing at the bus stop in the 30 degree weather here in the NW. The man tried it on as I was pulling up to the stop and as I opened the doors he said "Wow! It fits perfectly, thank you so much." And the man who gave him the coat smiled and said "you're very welcome, stay warm today!" And ran back across the street to his house. - Michelle
- I offered to write a personalised versed children's book for a six month of baby with Cancer. Her battle has been well documented on facebook so I was seeing posts through my friends interactions. I don't know the family at all. They have accepted which is great news. The little girls results look good so we will wait until she gets a little older. That way we'll have a good idea what her personality and interests are. - Elissa
- My students made paper turkey pictures with "thankful thoughts" on them and we are sending them to a nursing home in town. - Karen
- I donated to UNICEF for the typhoon victims. - Tina
- Offered my car as a gift to a single mum. It's not much, but I'm a single mum myself... If it's suitable for her, it's a win all round. - Sarah
- I live in Georgia and my friend back home in NY was having a lousy week just like me. I was taking my daughter for girls nite out. Since I couldn't be with my friend I arranged for her to have a pedicure and sent her a money gram to pay for. Now we all feel better. - Andrea
- I am starting Dubuque Blessing Bags in my community for the homeless! - Jeff
- It was pouring rain in Sydney this week. On days like this I like to buy a few umbrellas and hand them out to people getting rained on and of course to share my big umbrella with someone and have a little chat and giggle. - Betty
- Last school holidays we deemed to be "Acts of Kindness" school holidays. We set up a chart for our 4 kids to document an act of kindness each day. It was a challenge to teach them what a truly altruistic act of kindness was... but by the end of the 2 weeks they were getting it. It's important for kids to learn this young. They experience what it feels like to be giving & how rewarding it can be. - Julie
- Lots of people have been kind to me so far this week, in so many little ways; I don't need it, but I certainly appreciate every single smile & happy comment. - Frank
- I left a bouquet of roses on a neighbors door step. Just to start their day with a surprise. - Carrie
- I gave a homeless man dinner and he was so hungry I guess he ate it all quickly. If you give, you will receive. If you give a lot, you'll be rich. That's magical! You go and bless other people's lives. - Leza
- I'm putting $ on a child's account so they can eat lunch all week. I also recently helped a man at the grocery store by buying the items he was unable to get. For me I love the feeling of knowing I was able to pass a good feeling that would not be forgotten. - Anon
- I bought an all-day travel ticket and left it on the seat when I was done with it.
- I am helping my brother who is in sobriety with me. Well, last night his ankle has swelled up as he has arthritis so bad, I'm doing all kinds of nice things for him this week.
- I'm heading over to the local nursing home and giving my aunty and everyone else there a big hug and my home-made muffins. Tying a massive pink ribbon on the basket and handing out Ripple Kindness Cards.
- I was at work at the airport and a traveler needed change for the pop machine.
I couldn't break the bill he had, so I just gave him $2.50. It turns out that it was also his birthday! - This afternoon I bought the "homeless vet" that stands near the gas station coffee, an apple and a packet of cheese and sausage. I have no idea if he's legitimately homeless or a vet, but he looked cold and hungry. - Tina
- I bought lunch for two people who had no funds to celebrate a birthday!! - Enti
- Apart from my usual card giving passed to strangers in malls and to those who serve me in shops, I look at people, connecting eyes and smiles whilst wishing them a good day. I'm up to giving about 600 Kindness Cards since I've been in Adelaide. I also gave two kindness packs away to one lady who served me drinks and another to an older man who was sitting in his car slumped/hugging the stealing wheel. I also volunteered my time to help a lady move house. Instant gratification as I was offered a job from offering my help. So blessed - Amanda
- I work at a middle school and we are celebrating World Kindness Week. Students are sending words of encouragement/ kindness to each other from our counseling office. - Hilda
- I made two batches of cookies for the Salvation Army's Red Kettle kick off. - Laurie
- My seven year old and I made purple cancer bags for some of the children at the pediatric cancer center. Some small items to maybe for just a moment, put a smile on their little faces. - Nicole
- There's a man on my way to work that sells the big issue magazine and he is always so friendly, he says hello to everyone and wishes them well. I had made some peanut butter love heart shaped cookies for work today so I have him one and he was so delighted and he gave me a kiss on the cheek. Made my day and I hope it made it his too! - Tina
- Monday I gave gas attendant $10.00 for someone ahead of me counting coins for gas. I hugged everyone at my last chemo treatment told them thank you for their kindness in the journey on Tuesday. Today will visit my mother whose in a nursing home and we'll pass out treats, jewelery and hugs. - Lisa
- For my sister Laura's birthday, I will do one purposeful act of kindness each day for a week. - Stanley
- I bought a coffee for a stranger and left flowers on my sister's doorstep.
- While shopping an old man came up and yelled at the service desk lady in front of everyone. I told her not to worry, he was probably having a bad day.
I get it all the time she said because people are impatient. When I finished shopping I went and found her and handed her a chocolate and a kindness card
and told her I hope her day got better. Big smiles lit up my heart! - Lisa - Picked up clothing that had fallen on the floor in the store and rehung them.
I shoveled snow from the driveway, sidewalk and porch of my neighbors whom we've never really met. - Raked up the leaves and sticks from the tennis courts after a storm.
- The guests of a nursing home were given a red heart which had a hug on it.
They had to show the card to people passing by them and when they were hugged, the person had to write their name on the card. It was fun to see how they got their hugs. One man sat near the door and asked everyone who passed. - Just fixed a student's eyeglasses while he waited for free, because he told me
he had to study tonight for an exam tomorrow. - In my town all our trolleys are coin trolleys. I was at the supermarket and saw
an old man bent-double trying to find a gold coin for a trolley, so I gave him one. He in turn tried to give me some silver coins but I said it was ok. Felt good.