Ideas for Sharing Kindness - Church & Community
Give the teachers in your children’s school an appreciation gift, gift card, or a useful gift.
Purchase a Starbucks coffee for the person behind you in line (even at the drive through!).
Gather all the carts in the grocery store parking lot and put them away. Approach shoppers as they finish unloading their carts with the offer, “Hi, can I take that back for you?”
Pray for your wait staff the next time you eat out. Leave a very generous tip with an actual thank you note. In your note, tell them you prayed for them during the meal and you want to extend God’s love to them.
Purchase a car wash when you purchase gas and then give the car wash to the person next to you at the tank.
Get a roll of quarters and visit a Laundromat. Simply go in place quarters in machines or add quarters to people’s dryers (with their permission of course!).
In almost all retail locations, there are several opportunities to make “impulse purchases” such as packs of gum. Ask the cashier, “What’s your favorite kind of gum?” and buy it for them.
Call ahead and plan to take pizzas or a plate of cookies to the Fire Department, Police Station, or Emergency Room on Christmas Eve.
Partake in a Christmas Angel Program. Leave a personal message on the card so they know your motivation of love!
Volunteer at the Roanoke Rescue Mission.
Help your kids clean out their toys and then donate extra toys to charity.
Give a gift card to the clerk at the grocery store.
Provide gift bags and letters to families we cannot help through the Benevolence Ministry.
Visit the SPCA or Angels of Assissi and walk a dog.
Let someone in line before you.
Give an inspirational book to a homeless person.
Crochet a baby’s blanket and take it to the hospital nursery. Premature babies can always use tiny booties and caps.
Anonymously pay for the meal of another table in a restaurant.
Write to management at places where you get especially good service and commend them (specify names!)
Collect hats, socks, and gloves for the homeless. Deliver them to homeless shelters and soup kitchens for distribution.
Offer to babysit for a single mom, a special needs family, or a parent without any other adult family members around.
Donate some books on the topic of grief to the library or a local support group.
Help an elderly person with yard work or grocery shopping. Ask them to share stories of their life and experiences – let them know they’re valued.
Take a box of doughnuts to an elementary school for the teachers lounge.
Organize a large toy, clothing, and diaper drive for Blue Ridge Women's Center or Women's Shelter at the Rescue Mission.
Adopt a family through a social service agency at another time besides Christmas.
Go to the post office in mid-December and ask for a few of the “letters to Santa” that they receive every year. Buy and send the gifts for Christmas.
Deliver a balloon bouquet to the children’s floor of a local hospital. Ask the nurses to deliver them to a child of their choice.
Visit a nursing home and bring cupcakes. Sit and visit with a few of the residents.
Cook a meal for a busy mother.
Purchase extra grocery gift cards and give them away to people in need or donate them to Living Water's Benevolence Ministry.
Bless another family by paying one month’s gas or electric.
Invite a college student to your home for Christmas or Christmas Eve.
“Investigate” your child’s teacher and fulfill a need in their personal life (a car repair, a home repair, or prayer!)
Adopt a single dad in your community. Help him prepare Christmas for his kids.
Organize a “towel drive” for the Rescue Mission. Collect bath towels, wash clothes, hand towels, and more.
