In honor of National Random Acts of Kindness Day, which occurs every February 17, Ross Medical Education Center in Granger, IN decided to celebrate with a week-long Kindness Challenge from February 18 to February 22.
Students and staff were tasked with completing as many random acts of kindness as possible throughout the week, and it’s safe to say they were up for the challenge! The campus provided suggestions for acts of kindness the students and staff could perform, but they were also encouraged to come up with their own ideas to spread kindness throughout the community. In addition to acting kindly in honor of the event, students passed out cards to anyone they met to encourage them to pass on a kindness to someone else.
Granger’s challenge participants chose to share kindnesses with others in a wide range of ways. Some helped clean up the community by picking up litter, bought coffee or a meal for the person behind them in line, shoveled driveways, or helped the elderly load groceries into their cars. Others complimented strangers, brought in food to be shared, and posted inspirational quotes in the campus hallways to encourage others.
The challenge served as an excellent reminder that being kind to someone, even someone you don’t know, is easy, meaningful, and can be done all year long. The smallest gestures can brighten someone’s day, and the fact that so many of Granger’s staff and students participated in the Random Acts of Kindness Challenge is wonderful and surely appreciated by all who they encountered throughout the week.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop