Yes, I realize that the official Random Acts of Kindness Day in Niagara Falls was this past Friday, November 1st. Here in Niagara, It started with the Niagara Community Foundation with its partners “to embark on a simple, yet extremely meaningful new initiative called Random Acts of Kindness Day. With two thoughts in mind – to reinforce the Niagara Community Foundation’s vision of building a better community and to encourage the ‘pay it forward’ philosophy. The day is an invitation for individuals, schools, community groups, service clubs, businesses, healthcare institutions, and churches to join hearts and hands to celebrate the kind and friendly community in which we live.”
The idea is that “Random Acts of Kindness” cards begin circulating across the community and when one falls into your hands you do a simple, kind gesture for somebody and then that person receives the card and the simple act of doing something kind repeats itself. It’s the 4th year in a row that the Niagara Community Foundation has taken part in this event and the results were (obviously) a success. More than 70,000 cards were distributed throughout the city, and simple gestures like holding open a door for someone made a difference.
The fact that there even has to be a “Random Acts of Kindness Day” is sad to me. Small gestures really do make a difference because unfortunately we tend to notice the negative things that people do more so than the positive. I work on Clifton Hill and not a day goes by that someone doesn’t open a door for me whether just leaving the office or walking in to the Tim Horton’s there to get my morning java on — and yet, I only seem to remember the —hole that refused to let me merge in front of him on my morning commute in. Why do people speed up to deliberately NOT let you go in front of them? Would it really make a difference? That kind of selfish, yet trivial glitches in behaviour set the tone for the rest of the day. So — I put together a small list of random acts of kindness. These aren’t just things that I am pulling out of the top of my head though…these are actual events that I can honestly say made an impact on me and made me smile, so hopefully they would make a positive impact on you too:
1. Write a Thankyou card:
I work closely with Heartland Forest, which is a registered charitable organization here in Niagara Falls. It’s a welcoming place for children, seniors, families, schools and community groups of all abilities to learn and grow while enjoying a multitude of free activities. There’s 2.5 kn of accessible trails with a butterfly garden, animal carvings, mini-putt and picnic areas, all free to enjoy year-round. They also take part in a number of programs such as their Junior Woodcarving Club and PD Day Camps.
On August 10th, 2013, I helped out with their Heater’s Heroes charity event that raises money for local children in need. About a week later I received a personalized thankyou card from Heartland Forest with a nice message inside that I still have sitting in my office because it makes me smile. Such a simple, unexpected gesture can go a long way. So next time someone does something nice for you, why not pay it forward and thank them right back?

 2. Buy a stranger a coffee:
This one made my day. Anyone that knows me, knows I love coffee. On my way into work a couple of months ago, I pulled up to the drive-thru at the Tim Horton’s on Stanley Av. here in Niagara Falls, only to find out that the gentleman in front of me bought my coffee for me. No idea who he was and he didn’t stop to introduce himself or anything — he just smiled and drove away. God bless that man. The rest of my day was sunshine and lollipops and it only cost him $1.80 to make a stranger smile. A couple of days later I was at the same drive-thru and I could see the man behind me in the rearview mirror searching for change somewhere on the passenger side. Needless to say, I bought his coffee. Again, doesn’t cost much but it makes you feel just as good to help somebody as it probably made them feel to receive it.

 3. Sharing discounts and coupons:
The other night I was at a restaurant where the person next to me had a coupon for $10 off when you spend $30 or more. They spent under $30 so it didn’t apply, so they were nice enough to approach my table and give it to me.  They could have easily held on to it or threw it out, but instead they were nice enough to share it with a complete stranger. Made my night! 🙂 My son is now two and is (sort of) in the process of potty training, so I have no use for the coupons that I received after registering at Pampers and Enfamil after he was born. When you register at these places they send you great samples, coupons and gifts — so I took all the coupons (that have yet to expire) and brought them to a neighbour that I knew could use them. Diapers and formula add up, and if you can save someone $5-$20 why throw them away? Social Media boards like Pinterest make it easy to share coupons and deals as well. People go nuts pinning printable coupons on there!
And yes, because I work on Clifton Hill, I am going to talk briefly about watching a nice couple let the people behind them get in to the Niagara Skywheel for free. When you purchase the Clifton Hill Fun Pass online you get 5 great attractions plus bonus tokens for the Great Canadian Midway , but as an added incentive to purchase online you will receive an additional Niagara Skywheel admission for completely free. Instead of using the Niagara Skywheel again, these people chose to let the people behind them (who they didn’t know) get a free ride! These people were so thankful and it was nice to see.

 4. Help thy neighbour!
Shovel their driveway, cut their grass, help carry in their groceries, take their garbage out, give them some vegetables from your garden, help rake their leaves. My husband sees to it every Winter morning that our neighbour across the street (who has his hands full of three kids under the age of 4) has his car windows cleaned off before he heads into work in the morning. The man is constantly rushing and because of my husband taking the time to take 5 minutes to clear off his windshield, he pays it forward and cuts our grass periodically. It’s a win-win.
5. The Customer is NOT always right — treat people with respect:
The other day I was in Walmart and I heard a lady rip into the cashier calling her stupid and worthless because the product the lady was purchasing didn’t come up as the sale item it was intended to be. I stood there in shock as I could see the cashier was visibly shaken and in the verge of tears! Come on people, don’t treat people in a negative manner because you feel entitled. Take a moment to examine the situation — take a deep breath and nicely and calmly bring up the issue. Working in customer service for many years, I can tell you that the nicer you are in dealing with a situation, the more likely you are to receive the customer service that you want to receive — they may even go above and beyond and give you something extra for being kind and courteous in dealing with the situation at hand. It’s that simple. And if you witness someone being mistreated, step up and step in. And yes, I most definitely did tell the woman to calm down at Walmart.
And that’s my rant of the day over this one.

These are just a few examples of Random Acts of Kindness. Click here for 101 more Random Acts of Kindness that the Niagara Community Foundation had listed on their website.
Pay it Forward everyday! 🙂

Christine Lynn
www.cliftonhill.com
Facebook: www.CliftonHill.com/fb
Twitter: www.CliftonHill.com/twt
Google+: www.CliftonHill.com/gplus