Kindness Week Kicks Off In Beverly Hills

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Kindness Week kicked off in Beverly Hills Sunday and will include activities like a self-care class, story time at the library and environmental activism.

Beverly Hills Kindness Week aligns with the national Random Acts of Kindness Week. The city has recognized the Kindness Week for years, and this year's celebrations will include both new and repeat events, said Rachel Evans, human services administrator for the city.

Kindness Week kicked off at Sunday's farmers market, where residents wrote what down kindness means to them and posed in front of a Kindness Week banner.

“Kindness Week is an annual event that we celebrate in Beverly Hills in which we encourage the community to demonstrate acts of kindness, whether it’s for their neighbor or someone they don’t know,” mayor Bob Wunderlich said in a news release. “Just the simple act of making someone else smile goes a long way.”

Senior residents received red roses and letters from Beverly Hills preschool students with their regular pick-up lunches on Monday. The roses and letters were a welcomed surprise for the residents who regularly pick up lunches at the Roxbury Park as part of the city's Senior Nutrition Program, Evans said.

The commission collaborated with many other municipal departments, including the library, to create engaging programming. The library on Tuesday will hold its first in-person story time in months as commissioners and librarians read stories about kindness at the civic center plaza, Evans said.

The city's regular "Wellness Wednesdays" programming will have a Kindness Week twist with a self-care class.

Throughout the week, residents are encouraged share photos of their kind activities using the hashtag "#BHKindnessWeek." The hashtag was already put to good use at Sunday's farmers market, including city council member Lester Friedman, who said kindness is "free and means everything" to him.

Visit the Kindness Week website to see the full schedule of events.