Random acts of kindness during the Coronavirus outbreak
The Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) has taken a lot of us by surprise. Some people have described it as an episode of Black Mirror that they want to turn off, while others have said that they feel like the entire world is upside down.
It will help to try and see this as a different period of time in your life, and not necessarily a bad one, even though you didn’t choose it. And there are still lots of things that we can do for other people to inspire kindness in unforeseen times, with a little help from the Mental Health Foundation:
- Pick an item from the list below
- Take action
- Share the kindness on social media
- Tag @mentalhealth on Twitter and @mentalhealthfoundation on Instagram and Facebook
- Use the hashtag #CoronavirusKindness
- Call a friend that you haven’t spoken to for a while
- Tell a family member how much you love and appreciate them
- Make a cup of tea for someone you live with
- Arrange to have a cup of tea and virtual catch up with someone you know
- Help with a household chore at home
- Arrange to watch a film at the same time as a friend and video call
- Tell someone you know that you are proud of them
- Tell someone you know why you are thankful for them
- Send a motivational text to a friend who is struggling
- Send someone you know a joke to cheer them up
- Send someone you know a picture of a cute animal
- Send an inspirational quote to a friend
- Send an interesting article to a friend
- Contact someone you haven’t seen in a while and arrange a phone catch up
- Spend time playing with your pet
- Reach out to call a friend, family member or neighbour who is experiencing loneliness or self-isolation
- Donate to a charity
- Lend your ear – call a colleague and ask how they’re finding the change in routine
- Give praise to your colleague for something they’ve done well
- Arrange to have a video lunch with a colleague
- Send an inspirational story of kindness people around the world are doing for others to someone you know
- Donate to foodbanks
- Offer to skill share with a friend via video call – you could teach guitar, dance etc.
- Offer support to vulnerable neighbours
- Offer to send someone a takeaway or a meal
