In recognition of Random Acts of Kindness Day observed on Feb. 17, Macaroni Kid College Park-East Point-Morrow challenges the parents in our communities to encourage and support your children to do selfless acts. It’s never too early to learn how to be a good citizen, and with all that is going on in our world, the time is NOW.
Random Acts of Kindness Day has grown in popularity each year. It is celebrated by individuals, groups, and organizations, nationwide, to encourage acts of kindness. Whether it’s the fireman that pulls someone from a burning building or a random person buying a meal for a homeless neighbor, we have all witnessed an angelic act. Doing kind things for our loved ones, and even people we do not know feels good and it's addictive. Like eating your favorite dessert, the more you eat, the more you want. Wouldn’t it be awesome to create a culture of young people who are addicted to being kind?
In 2013, when my son was only 5 years old, he told me that he wanted to help children. Being the overachieving mom that I am, I saw this as an opportunity to develop a miniature philanthropist as I have been for most of my life. He told me that he was concerned about children being lonely so we created a program called Blankies 4 My Buddies, and every winter for the past 7 years, we have raised funds to purchase blankets to donate to children who are ill or displaced in shelters, orphanages, group homes, and homeless. In 2019, he was an ambassador for the Giving Tuesday Kids, a spinoff of the global generosity movement Giving Tuesday, coming up on Dec. 1 this year.
It’s no secret that our country is in chaos. But one day, we will be gone and our kids will be the leaders. My motivation is to secure a safe and bright future for my children and it starts with them. The act can be big or small. Being an angel to a person in need has no boundaries. As Giving Tuesday Kids proves, anyone can give.
Here are some ideas to inspire the little leader in your child:
- Mow a senior citizen’s lawn
- Babysit a single mom’s kids for a few hours so she can run errands or have a little time to herself
- Make a card for someone you know that could use a kind word
- Fill a random parking meter
- Volunteer at a soup kitchen
- Plant a tree or two
- Clean up litter at your local park
- Donate clothing or other items from your home that you don’t use anymore
- Feed a homeless individual or family
- Make cards for sick children in a local hospital
- Donate books to your local library or elementary school
- Donate canned goods to your local food bank
- Read books to smaller children
- Donate baby items to a shelter for teenage moms
- Distribute socks to homeless individuals when the weather is cold
- Spend time at a senior center
- Attend or donate to a local charitable event
- Team up with a local business to collect items for people in need
- Coordinate a meal for the families at Ronald McDonald House
Every action we take that helps another can counteract a positive result and catapult into something greater. Your family’s actions might make a sad person smile, find a lifelong friend, inspire a program or foundation that helps thousands, or just have a simple feeling of contentment of doing something good. Whatever your goal or the outcome, you can’t find out if you don’t get started. We hope that you will share your stories with us. Please email kristenwm@macaronikid.com for advice, or to share pictures of your family doing good things in our communities.
Macaroni Kid College Park East Point Morrow is a free hyper-local weekly newsletter and website focused on fun family events and activities for kids in College Park, East Point, Morrow, Union City, South Fulton, Forest Park, Hapeville, Jonesboro, Riverdale, and the surrounding areas. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides, and more. We are your go-to-guide for kids activities in South Fulton County and some of Clayton County. For more articles like this delivered to your inbox once per week, please subscribe. If you have an extraordinary event that you would like to share in our community, you can submit it for free here.
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