Random Acts of Kindness
The City of Madison Heights will be participating in Random Acts of Kindness Week. This year, we would like you to remind everyone that Kindness is an Art Form, and we encourage you to display your masterpiece today! Too often we underestimate the power of a kind work, a touch, a listening ear, a smile or how the smallest act of kindness has the potential of turning someone's life around.
How can someone celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week? All it takes is a little effort, perhaps a little time and the knowledge that it only takes one person and one act of kindness to inspire others. Here are some suggestions that anyone can implement into their day:
Make it a point to smile and say hello to people you don't know, drive safely and be courteous to others on the road, collect can goods for a food bank, clean up litter on a street in your neighborhood, say something nice to everyone you meet today, leave a kind note for a family member or friend, tell your children/grandchildren why you love them, shovel snow for a neighbor, cheer up a friend who needs it, donate blood, hug a family member, offer to babysit for free, offer someone to go in front of you at the check-out line in the grocery store, take blankets or warm clothing to a homeless shelter, help an elderly person care for their pet, volunteer, take a meal to a family you know, check in on someone you know is alone, send a bouquet of flowers to a patient who doesn't receive any visitors and is alone, stop into a nursing home to spend a little time with the residents, drop off books and magazines to a hospital or a nursing home and donate to local causes.
What makes our story truly unique? It's because Madison Heights is one of the first cities in Michigan to recognize the importance of Random Acts of Kindness and in doing so has conducted a grass roots campaign. Our local activities have received recognition at the national level and have become an inspiration to thousands of citizens who have participated. Over the past years, participants have done everything from clearing snow for the disabled, providing free legal and tax services for seniors, and offering free chiropractic services and vehicle winter safety checks.
Make it a point to smile and say hello to people you don't know, drive safely and be courteous to others on the road, collect can goods for a food bank, clean up litter on a street in your neighborhood, say something nice to everyone you meet today, leave a kind note for a family member or friend, tell your children/grandchildren why you love them, shovel snow for a neighbor, cheer up a friend who needs it, donate blood, hug a family member, offer to babysit for free, offer someone to go in front of you at the check-out line in the grocery store, take blankets or warm clothing to a homeless shelter, help an elderly person care for their pet, volunteer, take a meal to a family you know, check in on someone you know is alone, send a bouquet of flowers to a patient who doesn't receive any visitors and is alone, stop into a nursing home to spend a little time with the residents, drop off books and magazines to a hospital or a nursing home and donate to local causes.
What makes our story truly unique? It's because Madison Heights is one of the first cities in Michigan to recognize the importance of Random Acts of Kindness and in doing so has conducted a grass roots campaign. Our local activities have received recognition at the national level and have become an inspiration to thousands of citizens who have participated. Over the past years, participants have done everything from clearing snow for the disabled, providing free legal and tax services for seniors, and offering free chiropractic services and vehicle winter safety checks.
It was one single act of kindness that became the facilitator behind the
Random Acts of Kindness movement in Madison Heights. In March 1995,
Madison Heights City Councilwoman Margene Scott and her husband Jack
were dining at a local Madison Heights restaurant. Even though the booth
afforded them near privacy, they noticed a middle-age man, dining alone
and glancing at them throughout the meal.
At the conclusion of their dinner, the waitress delivered the bill but eagerly snatched it from the folder before the Scotts had a chance to read it. Instead, they found inside a small note with the following message:
At the conclusion of their dinner, the waitress delivered the bill but eagerly snatched it from the folder before the Scotts had a chance to read it. Instead, they found inside a small note with the following message:
"OK, here's the way it works. There are too many "Random Acts of Violence" in this world. So I try to offset this with "Random Acts of Kindness." I'm not wealthy. I'm on Social Security Disability. But you two are sitting next to each other!!! So I chose you "young lovers." Have a great evening! -A Stranger-
The stranger paid for the bill of over $30.
Says Scott, "Jack and I looked up and the man was gone. We were so overwhelmed with this kind act but at the same time, quite frustrated that we couldn't rush over to express our gratitude. How would we ever be able to thank him? Jack suggested the best and only way to thank him was to do a kind act for someone else."
Scott approached the City Council later that year with the suggestion to participate along with the national movement. Offers from local businesses poured in almost immediately.
Mayor Roslyn Grafstein and City Council will officially proclaim the week of February 14th-20th as the twenty-fifth annual Random Acts of Kindness Week in Madison Heights at the February 8th Council meeting held at City Hall beginning at 7:30 p.m. We hope that you will join us in promoting "kindness" events and let your consumers know that they can change the world by doing one random act of kindness at a time.
The stranger paid for the bill of over $30.
Says Scott, "Jack and I looked up and the man was gone. We were so overwhelmed with this kind act but at the same time, quite frustrated that we couldn't rush over to express our gratitude. How would we ever be able to thank him? Jack suggested the best and only way to thank him was to do a kind act for someone else."
Scott approached the City Council later that year with the suggestion to participate along with the national movement. Offers from local businesses poured in almost immediately.
Mayor Roslyn Grafstein and City Council will officially proclaim the week of February 14th-20th as the twenty-fifth annual Random Acts of Kindness Week in Madison Heights at the February 8th Council meeting held at City Hall beginning at 7:30 p.m. We hope that you will join us in promoting "kindness" events and let your consumers know that they can change the world by doing one random act of kindness at a time.
Further information on "Random Acts of Kindness" or to arrange interviews or coverage, please contact Margene Scott. To find your own inspiration explore the world of kindness at the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.
We are looking forward to working with you and we hope that our message today will brighten and touch the lives of your media consumers. Your efforts in passing this story along can be the catalyst for even more kind acts - after all, Kindness is like a boomerang, it always returns!!!
We are looking forward to working with you and we hope that our message today will brighten and touch the lives of your media consumers. Your efforts in passing this story along can be the catalyst for even more kind acts - after all, Kindness is like a boomerang, it always returns!!!
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless" - Mother Teresa