Feb. 10-16 has been designated as national "Random Acts of Kindness Week." According to Rebecca Glathar of The National Alliance of Mental Illness of Utah, simple kindnesses, such as a smile, can save a life.
"There have been studies that have shown something as simple a smile has changed the mind of an individual who's considering taking their own life," Glathar said.
Founder of 365Aware, Braden Thompson, says he is grateful for the little opportunities- like when he passed a man carrying groceries up a hill in the cold.
“About half a mile up the street I was like, yeah, whatever I’m just going to turn around and see what happens. You know, as soon as I rolled down my window, he was just, ‘Oh yeah, that would be great, thank you.’ It’s a blessing to have the ability to help people,” he said.
The Random Acts of Kindness foundation, which created the week-long event, was established in 1995 as a resource for people committed to spreading kindness. On their website, they have a collection of ideas to bring a smile to others- no matter your time or budget.
The ideas include buying a variety of cake and giving it out for free in a public place, giving away your parking spot, buying coffee for the person behind you, and recommending an employee of a store who helps you out.
For more ideas on what you can do, visitrandomactsofkindness.org. To share your acts of kindness, use #RAKWeek on Facebook,