National Random Acts of Kindness Day is on Wednesday, February 17, 2027, and it falls on February 17 every year. It asks you to do something kind for someone, whether you know them or not. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation promotes the day, along with a full Kindness Week around it.
When Is Random Acts of Kindness Day?
It’s always February 17, and it sits inside Random Acts of Kindness Week. In 2027, the foundation lists RAK Week as February 14 to 20. The week always falls during Valentine’s Day week.
How Did Random Acts of Kindness Day Start?
The phrase came first. In 1982, Berkeley writer Anne Herbert published “Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Acts of Senseless Beauty” in CoEvolution Quarterly.
In 1991, a San Francisco Chronicle column helped spread the phrase. Conari Press published a book called Random Acts of Kindness in 1993, and local kindness days followed later that year.
The first national day took place in February 1995, according to the foundation. That same year, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation formed in the San Francisco Bay Area. It later moved to Denver, Colorado.
Why Small Acts Matter
The day’s goal is to make kindness a habit, not a one-off. And research suggests small acts land bigger than people expect.
A 2022 study by Amit Kumar of UT Austin and Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago tested this. In one experiment, people in a Chicago park gave a stranger a hot chocolate.
Givers guessed the recipient’s mood would rate 2.7 on a scale from -5 to 5. Recipients actually reported 3.5. The study appeared in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
The researchers suggest that underestimating this effect can make people hold back from small kind gestures. The day is a nudge to go ahead anyway.
The foundation also offers free posters, bingo cards and kindness tags for schools and workplaces, so classrooms and offices can join in easily.
How to Celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day
At work
- Write a specific thank-you to a coworker’s manager, naming the project they helped on.
- Restock the office printer or clean out the shared fridge without being asked.
- Bring a coffee to the night shift, security desk or cleaning crew.
At school
- Leave sticky notes with compliments on classmates’ lockers.
- Write letters to the cafeteria staff, custodians or bus drivers.
- Run a kindness bingo card and try to fill a row by Friday.
At home and in your town
- Shovel a neighbor’s walk or bring in their trash cans.
- Leave quarters taped to a laundromat machine or a vending machine.
- Pay for the order behind you in the drive-thru.
- Donate a bag of pet food to your local animal shelter.
- Leave a positive online review for a small business you love.
- Call an older relative or neighbor just to check in.
- Let someone with fewer items go ahead of you in line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the same as World Kindness Day?
No. World Kindness Day is on November 13. February 17 is the U.S. day tied to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.
Does kindness really spread?
It seems to. In the 2022 study’s lab game, people who benefited from someone’s kindness gave a stranger $48.02 of $100 on average. Others gave $41.20.
What is a RAKtivist?
It’s the foundation’s name for volunteers who sign up to spread kindness in their communities through its free program.