search clock-o tags map-marker mail-forward calendar external-link twitter facebook caret-down caret-up caret-left caret-right envelope angle-double-left angle-double-right angle-double-up angle-double-down calendar-o instagram wheelchair automobile pinterest-p youtube bars arrow-right2 arrow-right arrow-left arrow-left2 shopping-basket user Pedddle Pin shop shopping-bag2 close

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Good News Stories

We’re spreading kindness and uniting stallholders from all over the UK at our next Online Market…

A random act of kindness is an unexpected act of charity or helpfulness and is often done for a stranger. It’s about spontaneity with a hint of altruism, to spread joy. 

Originally started in America, International Random Acts of Kindness Day is on 17th February. On this international day, Pedddle is hosting a Random Acts of Kindness Virtual Market via the brand new virtual event platform for creatives – Tresstle. People can shop from small creative UK-based businesses, sending a small gift that is wrapped with a lovely note to a friend, neighbour, colleague, stranger or loved one! 

We want to encourage you to shop for a gift from a small business and gift it for no other reason that it is a little random act of kindness for a friend, loved one or family member. To let them know you are thinking of them.

5 facts about the the term ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ 

  1. The term ‘random act of kindness’ is generally attributed to Anne Herbert, who wrote, “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty” on a restaurant place mat in 1982 – surely a motto to live by. Her book with the same title followed in 1993. 
  2. Danny Wallace’s Join Me is a book in which he tells of the cult he started by accident; the group’s purpose is to encourage members (called Joinees and collectively known as the KarmaArmy) to perform random acts of kindness, particularly on Fridays, which are termed “Good Fridays”. Wallace has also published a book called Random Acts of Kindness: 365 Ways to Make the World a Nicer Place – both are definitely worth a read, the Pedddle team can vouch for! 
  3. The Jewish concept of a mitzvah (commandment from God) is also used to mean ‘a good deed or an act of kindness’. Judaism teaches that “the world is built on kindness”, as do many other religions. 
  4. In 2021, The Newton Project was formed, which attempted to quantify the benefits of the Random Act of Kindness concept in order to motivate people to perform additional acts of kindness. One kind act could easily spark another.
  5. In 2014, the Feed the Deed campaign began to inspire over 10,000 random acts of kindness around the world, and continues to this day.

The kindness movement is spreading, and is something that we see daily. Artists often draw ‘be kind’ graphics and it’s a phrase we see repeated on social media, alongside phrases such as ‘self love’, ‘self care’ and ‘spread joy’.