If someone is being unusually kind to you, or perhaps surprising you with a good deed, don't be surprised.
It might just be a part of Random Act of Kindness Day in the Battlefords, which is today, Nov. 9.
The initiative is being promoted by the Battlefords and District Community Foundation who have set aside Friday, Nov. 9, as a special day for acts of kindness to take place in the community.
Community foundation board member Heath Gabruch has been actively pitching the idea of a special day for acts of kindness at various community events he has attended recently, such as the premier's luncheon hosted by the Chamber of Commerce Oct. 22.
At that event, cards were handed out to people at the various tables that read "you have been touched by a Random Act of Kindness. Please return the favour and perform a Random Act of Kindness for a fellow citizen today!"
Random Act of Kindness Day is a day where people "go about our daily lives," said Gabruch, and maybe somewhere through that day, we might "take two seconds to do something for someone that we wouldn't normally do to make their day."
He stresses this is "not a fundraiser" and there is no ulterior motive behind it. It's simply a way to promote acts of kindness. Grabruch said it's an awareness of "looking at our community as a whole and the fact that we all live in the community together, and if we can do something as small as opening a door or saying hello to someone or offering a smile to someone, you can make someone's day with something as simple as that."
The initiative was first started by a community foundation in Kitchener-Waterloo five years ago. Gabruch said what they are trying to do is spread this movement across Canada to get other community foundations on board, and get it to the point where one day can be allocated Random Act of Kindness Day across the country.
Gabruch was quick to add that you don't have to be kind to people one day a year. "We can do it every day," he said.
The acts of kindness could include opening doors for a stranger or rekindling a relationship with someone you hadn't spoken to in a long time, Gabruch notes.
There are "no limits to what it can mean - really, the imagination is the only limitation, so whatever it means to you is what the day is all about."
Already the idea of a Random Act of Kindness Day has taken off with people throughout the Battlefords community.
Gabruch says the idea has been well received by area businesses, and schools have gotten on board enthusiastically. So don't be surprised if Friday winds up being a very good day for you in the community.
