The History of Random Acts of Kindness Day - February 17th
Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17th!
We have pulled together what we believe is the most accurate version about the history of Random Acts of Kindness Day. Random Acts of Kindness Day occurs annually on February 17th. There have been various anecdotes written about this special day, but nothing comprehensive enough to provide a detailed explanation. Below is a concise summary of the Random Acts of Kindness Day. It will give you a better understanding of how it came to be.
Random Acts of Kindness started in 1982 in Berkeley, California.
The Random Acts of Kindness movement started more than 40 years ago in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1982, Berkeley writer and activist Anne Herbert published the first known account of “Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Acts of Senseless Beauty” in a CoEvolution Quarterly. After her article appeared, the kindness movement began to spread in surrounding communities.
Fast forward to 1991 when a local woman noticed the phrase scrawled across a warehouse wall in her neighborhood. She shared the phrase with her husband, who was, at that time, a 7th grade teacher. He decided to share it with his students. One of the students happened to be the daughter of a San Francisco Chronicle columnist, who then wrote about Anne Herbert and the phrase. The article was picked up nationally by Reader’s Digest. It was later reprinted by the editors of Conari Press, a small press in Berkeley, California.
A book about kindness.
Inspired by the phrase and the people involved in the movement, the editors at Conari Press published a book highlighting stories of kindness. The book, aptly titled Random Acts of Kindness, was published in February 1993 and was immediately embraced by hundreds of thousands who helped continue the movement. Readers of the book and admirers of the phrase began creating local Random Acts of Kindness Days in mid-1993.
Conari Press facilitates and funds Random Acts of Kindness Day.
In February of 1995, the first national Random Acts of Kindness Day took place with participants from coast to coast. As a gift to many grassroots organizations, Conari Press funded and facilitated the kickoff year.
Random Acts of Kindness Foundation (RAK) was created in 1995 in the Bay Area to facilitate future celebrations, always taking place in February during Valentine’s Day week. RAK was purchased soon after by a private foundation and moved to Denver, Colorado where it is located today.
Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a small nonprofit.
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a small nonprofit that invests resources into making kindness the norm. RAK is rooted in the belief that all people can connect through kindness. The nonprofit follows a simple framework for everything they do.
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Day and Week every year since 1995 with various initiatives and campaigns, always in an effort to remind the world that a simple act of kindness is sometimes all it takes to change a person’s day, week, or possibly their life.
Random Acts of Kindness Deck and Hack Decks™
Our Random Acts of Kindness Deck gives users simple, yet effective and meaningful ways to offer Random Acts of Kindness to friends and family. Even strangers! The deck of 52 cards provides simple ways for users to show love in ways that make a difference in the lives of others.
Random Acts of Kindness Decks are a great gift for those who know that gratitude, kindness and love are a way of life rather than a one-off event or act. To use, work through the deck and then gift it to another person who can then continue the ripple effect of kindness. No action of kindness ever goes unnoticed. And remember, giving kindness to others is a gift. Pay it forward to someone so that they feel they can pay it forward to someone else.