Melrose Random Acts Of Kindness Day Returns For 7th Year

MELROSE, MA — Random Acts of Kindness Day is back this week for a seventh year in Melrose.

Returning as the city’s unofficial holiday for kindness, the initiative this year is bringing back some familiar traditions while expanding in still other directions.

As Kindness Day continues to grow, though, its organizers say the core message remains the same.

“No one is kind all the time,” Maribeth Darwin told Patch on Monday. “We're very cognizant of that.”

“It's more about allowing people and organizations to have a reset and say ‘Okay, we're fallible. We’re human. We don't always do the right thing. But let's shake it off,’” she continued.

Darwin helps organize Kindness Day each year alongside friend and fellow community member Stephanie Nelson.

The program, in turn, operates under the umbrella of the nonprofit Melrose Kind, which has since expanded with monthly donation drives for various causes, among other programs.

Kindness Day roots back to a middle school bullying incident in 2015. A push for kindness was part of the reaction to that incident, with Darwin and Nelson launching Kindness Day as an annual fall staple for Melrose on Nov. 20.

“There's real connections that are happening,” Darwin said of progress in the kindness mission over recent years.

This year’s Kindness Day will take place over several days. Darwin and Nelson will be outside the Melrose YMCA on Sunday, Nov. 20 handing out “kindness capers” with prompts encouraging small acts of kindness, such as raking a neighbor’s leaves.

The YMCA will serve as organizers’ self-proclaimed “Kindness Patch,” where Kris Rodolico and Chiara Pieri of Follow Your Art Community Studios will also help create a kindness mural to mark the guiding theme of Random Acts of Kindness Day.

The mural project is backed by a grant from the Melrose Messina Fund for the Arts. It will help set the scene as a slate of musical guests rotate through the YMCA site for performances between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The Kindness Patch at the YMCA will host other attractions throughout the day, as noted by organizers.

“It will be a celebration of kindness,” Darwin said.

Some initiatives by "Kindness Warrior" individuals and groups are beginning early this week.

Melrose Schools and municipal buildings will then observe Kindness Day on Friday. There will be “kindness murals” in lobbies, treats for teachers from various parent teacher organizations and a performance by the Melrose High School band for teachers and students.

Elementary school students will bring back a letter writing campaign to local senior citizens that has been popular in recent years. Middle school students will participate in their own card campaign for hospital workers and patients. High school students will write letters to teachers that made an impact on them during their educational journeys to date.

The list goes on in terms of planned Kindness Day programing this week.

Melrose Kind, is additionally promoting its Kindness Warrior Challenge, posing 10 ways for people to be kind to each other.

The organization has other initiatives running outside of Kindness Day programming, including its monthly donation drives.

Learn more about Melrose Kind and Kindness Day here.

And see updates on Kindness Day programming via social media here.