By Julie Summers
Special to the Islands’ Weekly
We all remember Valentine’s Day. We eat chocolates and heart-shaped candies, we watch sappy movies, we spend time with our loved ones; some of us eschew those traditions and instead celebrate Singles Awareness Day, eating chocolates and heart-shaped candies, watching sappy movies, and cynically declaring disdain for the commercial exploitation of this holiday.
But hopefully people on Valentine’s Day debate can look beyond it and realize the importance of showing love year-round — not just to family and friends, but to individuals, to your community, and to the earth. This week Feb. 13-19 is Random Acts of Kindness Week. Join people across the country in celebrating it by trying out some of these ideas — or come up with your own.
Show kindness to just one person
Leave extra money when you pay for your coffee and tell the barista to use it to pay for the next customer.
Buy a ferry pass for the person in line behind you.
Pay the disposal fee for the person behind you at the dump.
Send a thank you card – even if it’s long overdue.
Offer a night of free babysitting to a family you know.
Invite a neighbor over for coffee or a meal.
Purchase an extra ticket for an event – a basketball game, a concert, a play – and let the ticket sellers give it away to someone in line after you.
Show kindness to your community
Donate to Lopez Fresh (at the LIFRC) or to the food bank (at Grace Church).
Donate a bag of pet food to the Animal Protection Society.
Donate used books in good condition to the library.
Show kindness to the earth
Go for a walk along a street or the beach and pick up trash. (You can get litter bags at the dump, fill them up, and dispose of them for free.)
If you haven’t already, invest in a reusable water bottle and reusable containers for lunch or leftovers.
Participate in a work day with the Conservation Corps.
Keep the kindness going year-round by challenging yourself to practice a random act of kindness once a month. Or add more kindness to your daily, weekly, or monthly schedule by volunteering at a local nonprofit.
— Julie Summers is an intern for the Lopez Island Prevention Coalition.
