Random Acts of Kindness Day

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Thursday September 1

New Zealand’s had a tough year on so many levels, and this year’s RAK Day has never been such a salve. We are thrilled to let you know that New Zealand’s Random Acts of Kindness Day is coming up on September 1st.

This year marks the 7th anniversary of RAK Day and New Zealand is the only country in the world to have a Random Acts of Kindness Day!

RAK Day is all about people doing kind things for others – for no reason at all. To lift the kindness temperature in our country, step out of our comfort zone and do something randomly kind for a stranger or friend.

Over the last six years people have been RAK’d by strangers buying them coffee, paying for their parking, neighbours arriving with gift hampers, pizza being delivered to the local fire station for lunch and even huge giveaways like flights and cruises.

While the concept isn’t new, the dream to make this a national day came about after four friends: Josh de Jong, Marshall Gray, Megan Singleton and Reubyn Gwyn, got together in mid 2004 and thought it would be great if Kiwi's had a day where we all did something kind for others – without any retail pressure!

Thus began our national RAK Day and this September 1st we would love your support to encourage New Zealanders to get involved.

Here are some RAK ideas:

• Send a pizza to the local fire station, school staff room, boyfriend’s work
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• Give money to the café cashier to buy the next person a coffee
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• Pay the bus fare of the person standing behind you
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• Let someone into the traffic (!)
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• Merge like a zip
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• Take muffins to the office for morning tea
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• Give a box of Roses to say thank you to someone who deserves it
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• Mow the neighbour’s lawn
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• Pick someone a flower
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• Wash your partner’s car
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• Put toothpaste on your partner’s brush
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• Put the neighbour’s wheelie bin out
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• Phone your mum
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• Get your kids to donate their pre-loved toys to charity
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• Drop clothes in to the Sallies
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• Offer to walk the neighbour’s dog
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• Babysit for friends so they can have a night out
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• Run round the streets offering free hugs – ok that might get you into trouble!
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You get the idea – the possibilities to RAK New Zealand are endless!

Businesses, schools, community groups, churches and individuals around New Zealand are currently planning what they might do on RAK Day 2011.

Our hope is for all New Zealanders to get onboard and make our nation a kind place – even just for one day.

ends