Several community groups have joined together to develop an event that focuses on random acts of kindness. This year the event was initially going to happen alongside the Willapa Festival, but the pandemic interrupted it. Now the Day of Kindness is scheduled for August 1.
The goal of this event is to prompt people to do random acts of kindness for others. It is to encourage people to give back to the community by doing something positive for other people.
Things to look for:
•Coffee at the espresso stands in Raymond and South Bend
•Popcorn packets taped on the movie rental at Thriftway
•Random free movie rents at Everyone's Video along with free popcorn
•Laundry supplies given away at the laundromat
•Painted rocks for people to find while out walking
•Money given to PUD, City of South Bend and Raymond to pay some past due utilities
As the time gets closer, more acts will be planned. These are random acts of kindness which means you will not know if you will benefit from them or who did the act. Several different churches, groups and individuals are donating time and money to this project.
"Remember that any individual may participate in the Day of Kindness by just doing something nice for a stranger," said Penny Burns, administrator of the Willapa Harbor Random Acts of Kindness Facebook page. "Give up your place in line. Buy coffee for the person behind you at an espresso stand. Offer to return someone's cart. And, most importantly, smile and say hello to everyone you pass."
Check out their Facebook page or call Penny Burns at (360) 580-8216 if you would like to volunteer or donate something that they need. "Hopefully, next year we will be able to add many more activities and have many more volunteers," said Burns. The hope is that this will become an annual event.