Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Week in Medicine Hat November 14th – 20th

Posted on 9 November 2021 by Prairie Post

The Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta (CFSEA) is honored to partner with FCSS and the City of Medicine Hat to facilitate Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Week in the community. As division within the community increases, compassion fatigue continues, and the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs the affects, CFSEA is encouraging businesses, schools, charities, families, and individuals to think of ways to provide random and planned acts of kindness throughout the week and to help make kindness the norm. The goal with this week-long, city-wide initiative is to enhance the social well-being of others and engage residents to become active members of the community. RAK Week will take place from November 14th – 20th. 

“RAK week falls within our We Inspire pillar and will help to encourage leadership and kindness throughout the community. We hope businesses, schools, charities, families, and individuals will feel inspired to participate in RAK week and continue random acts of kindness all year long,”  explained Niki Gray, Acting Executive Director, CFSEA. 

Current planned activities include: 

• Be YOUth Centre is passing out Kindness Boxes to neighbors in the North Flats community. 

• Canadian Mental Health and The Post staff will be providing goodies and self care tips throughout downtown during the week and on Midnight Madness, self care kits for various front-line businesses, and flowers/notes for Meals on Wheels participants. 

• The Intercultural Connection is offering Intercultural Ambassador Training to volunteers on November 18th at 6pm. Contact Yusuf at info@connectionvillage.org or 403-458-4928. 

• Medicine Hat Public Library offering coffee cards, cookies, and sweet treats at various locations throughout the week. 

• Redcliff Bakery is offering a ‘buy one, give one’ donut sale on November 16th. 

• Salvation Army is offering a special meal and care package to anyone struggling financially on November 18th at 5pm at 457 3rd St. SE. 

• Ronald McDonald House staff and volunteers will be handing our newspapers and coffee on November 19th from 7:30-9:00am on 1st Ave, by City Hall. 

• Medicine Hat Police Service staff will be picking up garbage and raking leaves during their off-duty hours on November 15th. 

• Police Point Park is encouraging people to connect with a friend and take a walk in a park they don’t normally explore. 

• The Southeast Watershed Alliance and Grasslands Naturalists are encouraging Kindness to Nature through their Adopt-a-Pond project. For more information contact Ian at the Nature Center at 403-529-6225. 

• Nurture Pregnancy Centre will give a gift to all healthcare workers in the maternity ward at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital. 

• Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter is offering various programs for clients such as making buttons with kind messages for clients to give out to others. 

“The Medicine Hat Public Library is excited to participate in RAK Week this year. After two years of increased isolation, we look forward to connecting with our patrons and members of our community, to not only provide small tokens of kindness, but to make social connections. We are honoured and grateful to be a recipient of funding from the City of Medicine Hat, FCSS, and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta to help us in our goal of connecting with Hatters.”- Gillian Reimer, Head of Marketing Services, Medicine Hat Public Library” 

If you have an idea of how your agency, business, or school can be a part of this city-wide, week-long event or want to be involved but don’t know how, please connect with the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta. You are encouraged to share pictures of RAK events on social media with the hashtag #MHRAK and #MakeKindnessTheNorm.