Thousands of People Mark ‘Random Acts of Kindness Week’ 2017

It is usually rare to spot an unplanned generous deed from a stranger, but you might be able to see plenty of them during this week.

Random Acts of Kindness Week 2017 runs from February 12 to 18. This national altruistic week is spearheaded by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation — who inspire people to be generous during the entire year.

According to their website, thousands of people — including adults and children — have already participated in Random Acts of Kindness Week 2017.

“When students act with kindness in mind, the effect in our community is massive,” Tim Coleman, head of middle school at St. Timothy’s School in Raleigh wrote to North Carolina television station WRAL. “Even simple actions such as holding the door for others can have a widespread impact.”

People have been sharing their kind acts on social media with the hashtag #RakWeek2017 so that simple deeds — like Independence Bank of Owensboro surprising people with small bags of quarters — get noticed.

“It made my day. It gives people a feeling that something more is out there,” Sharon Sholer told Kentucky television station WFIE about the bank. “I didn’t come out here and think someone was going to give me something. I think it’s real sweet.”

#RAKweek2017 #kindnessmatters #BeKindAtMSU pic.twitter.com/zFx6yEP9MR

— MSU Volunteer Center (@MSU_VC) February 14, 2017

#RAKWeek2017 @RandomActs_TV #randomacts #RandomActsOfKindness Rented a movie and left money inside so someone can rent a movie for free. pic.twitter.com/wzCFRHpEPN

— Karen Unander (@KUnander) February 5, 2017

It's Random Acts of Kindness Week! This week several of our castles are visiting their local Humane Society to volunteer and drop off donations. Are you joining this week? Let us know! Post any public pictures with the hashtags #RAKweek2017 and #chivalryinaction – we'll be sharing your stories and pictures throughout the week!

A post shared by Medieval Times (@medieval_times) on Feb 13, 2017 at 10:02am PST

And being kind to others is also good for the person who conducted the kind deed. A 2010 study from a professor at UC Berkeley found that participants who helped other people felt stronger and more energetic.

The Random Acts of Kindness foundation offers a website dedicated to Random Acts of Kindness Week 2017. On the website, users can report on all of the kinds acts that they do during this week. The website also offers suggestions for kind acts — like giving compliments and sending someone a positive message.

Here’s an example of a random kind act:

Your Daily Dish reached out to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation for a comment.