Gay Men’s Choir Serenades Mall Shoppers for #KindnessMatters
There’s nothing like a serenade to bring a smile to one’s face.
On Saturday, a dozen members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte (GMCC) wandered around the SouthPark Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina, offering to sing to shoppers with no other goal than to cheer them up.
“It’s been a bad couple of weeks,” artistic director John Quilin told WCNC, “so we’re spreading out a little bit of happiness and joy.”
Quilin was no doubt referring to the recent fatal police shootings and the death of policemen in Dallas and Baton Rouge, as well as the shocking terrorist attack in Nice, France, last week. With so many bleak headlines, an impromptu concert certainly couldn’t hurt.
The gesture was part of #KindnessMatters, a social media movement started by reporter Michelle Boudin earlier this month that promotes selfless and unexpected acts of kindness.
“The idea is that people will be inspired to perform random acts of kindness Saturday in honor of the lives lost in recent weeks,” states the movement’s Facebook page. “Don’t make it political. Just make someone’s day. Make a difference.”
Shoppers stopped to listen appreciatively as the GMCC performed uplifting songs like Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are” and inspiring classics such as Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror,” a plea for making the world a better place through personal change and action.
“It made me feel warm,” said one shopper. “I kept on smiling. It made me smile, and one smile makes everyone’s day better.”
Other acts of kindness as part of #KindnessMatters included placing flowers and notes on the windshields of patrol cars in Asheville, North Carolina, and a distribution of free gift cards by the retail store Belk.
Here’s a short clip of the CMCC performing at the mall:
