Research has shown that humans, as innately social beings, are biologically predisposed toward acts of kindness. Acts of kindness are essential to our feeling of well-being individually and collectively. It doesn’t matter who the recipient is; a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor, a friend, a victim of a crime, a down on their luck civilian on your beat, or even a whole community, kindness counts.
Five Law Enforcement Acts of Kindness Stories That Went “Viral” This Year
· 10/31/18: Beckley/Fayette County, W.VA - Police officers will be donating $25 each to the West Virginia Kids Cancer Crusaders. And in an effort to raise even more funds, the public will be able to go online and vote for their favorite beard for $1/vote and people can vote as many times as they would like.
· 10/31/18: Pleasant, CA – Members of the SWAT team dropped in to spread Halloween happiness to students at two elementary schools and young patients at a children’s hospital. Dressed as Spider-Man, Superman, Captain America, Batman and other superheroes the team scaled the sides of buildings.
· 10/24/2018 Buffalo, NY: Officers Wagner and Donovan helped 6-year-old Easton Jordan, with cerebral palsy, finish a fundraiser race without his wheelchair. The department also awarded him with: a 7-year-old a uniform, handcuffs and police helmet (bearing his name, and a battery powered kids motorcycle with the Buffalo PD insignia.
· 10/23/18 Elk Grove, CA - Officers Meyerdick and Freitas helped an 82-year-old man struggling with yard work.
· 7/24/18 Tallahassee, FL - Officer Tony Carlson helped a homeless man shave his beard so he could apply for a job at McDonald's.
***Helpful hint: Capture members of your department (or yourself) on video or body cam when they have gone above and beyond. Share those videos widely.
The Personal Benefits of Being Kind
Fact: Scientifically, kindness improves both your mental and physical health. There are four primary natural chemicals in the brain that effect happiness: dopamine (memory, attention, libido), oxytocin (pain, anxiety), serotonin (mood, anxiety) and endorphins (euphoria, calmness). Kindness elevates all of these naturally. Plus, kindness decreases cortisol levels (stress). Additionally, kindness benefits include:
· a decrease in the effects of diseases such as ulcers and asthma
· increased life span (63% lower likelihood of dying early).
· a decrease in blood pressure
· strengthening of the immune system
· a decrease in both the intensity and the awareness of physical pain
· an increased sense of self-worth, greater happiness, and optimism
· enhanced feelings of energy, vigor and emotional resilience
· a definite decrease in Scrooge signs and symptoms over the holidays
· even better; the health benefits and sense of well-being return for hours, or even days, whenever the act of kindness is remembered.
We have all been recipients of acts of kindness. Receiving an act of kindness also improves your health. Remember how you felt by these displays of kindness; appreciated, surprised, happy but most importantly validated.
100 Acts of Kindness Police Officers Can Do Related to Their Job and Their Community
"To Protect and to Serve" motto is probably in your job description. And you do, and more. In fact, every law enforcement officer reading this article has performed countless acts of kindness. Here are some additional ideas that motivate you:
1. Let a homeless individual use your phone to make contact with family/friends on holidays.
2. Recycle uniforms you have outgrown.
3. Attend a Military or Veterans event and thank them for their service and sacrifices.
4. Provide an impromptu K-9 demonstration at a school.
5. Teach bike safety to any kid you see not wearing a helmet.
6. Carry Junior Officer or Deputy stickers to hand out to eager children.
7. Participate in “Dinner with a Cop” and “Shop with a Cop” programs
8. Leave food or leftovers for the homeless on your beat
9. If someone truly needs a hug, give one.
10. Stop and give directions if someone looks lost or stranded.
11. Give a traffic warning.
12. Yes, tell someone about an extra-long nose hair.
13. Follow a funeral procession with lights, and offer condolences to the bereaved
14. Save hotel and sample toiletries and hand them out to the homeless in despair.
15. Investigate “Make a Wish Programs” that your department can participate in to host a child terminally child who wants to be a police officer.
16. Stop and introduce yourself to all of the department’s volunteer staff and thank them for their service.
17. Stop by dispatch after every shift and say thank you – they have a tough day too.
18. Buy a stranger a meal or a cup of coffee.
19. Ask your school resource officers if they need an extra set of hands for a program.
20. Compliment your supervisor.
21. Give someone in need some of your sick hours.
22. Shoot some hoops with the neighborhood kids.
23. Direct traffic with a smile and a dance.
24. Complain less.
25. Hold and comfort a traumatized child, reassure them that they are alright and safe.
26. Keep a bag of small stuffed animals to give out to small children during DV calls
27. Tell a joke to someone who looks down.
28. Offer to babysit for a partner who wants to take a significant other out to dinner.
29. Apologize when you need to.
30. Clean someone else’s gun when you clean yours, or buff their shoes.
31. Volunteer to work the holidays for an officer who wants to spend time with the kids.
32. Stop and help a little old lady cross the street or parking lot; hold her hand.
33. Help someone find their “lost” car in a parking lot.
34. Help an elderly or disabled person unload their shopping cart.
35. Stop by and introduce yourself at a HOA or a neighborhood watch meeting.
36. Give someone a second chance.
37. Just really listen sometimes.
38. Let youngsters see the inside of your patrol car and experiment with your light bar.
39. Sign-up to take citizens on ride-alongs.
40. Join the peer support team at your department.
41. Remember – mistakes happen
42. Show your department’s admin staff some love; flowers, cookies, cupcakes
43. As you go about your day, pick up trash.
44. Visit a nursing home on your beat with smiles and friendly conversation for patients.
45. Visit the survivor of an act of violence
46. Call or visit a homebound person on your beat.
47. Transport someone who can’t drive.
48. Take a stray animal to an animal shelter.
49. Invite a rookie over for dinner.
50. Remind a depressed citizen that his/her life matters to you.
51. Forgive yourself.
52. Organize some teens to help you clean graffiti off neighborhood walls and buildings on your beat.
53. If you share a patrol car fill it up with gas and clean it out before you pass it on.
54. Say thank you to a janitor or maintenance worker at the station.
55. Make a referral to the volunteer patrol for an isolated, lonely individual
56. Bring donated toys to the children at the shelter or safe house throughout the year.
57. Buy air freshener products for the locker room.
58. Call a retired officer just to “catch up”
59. Leave a bouquet at your local hospital — the nurses will know who needs it the most.
60. Bring a box of our donuts, bagels, or muffins to the Fire Department.
61. Don’t gossip.
62. Make a fresh pot of coffee.
63. Pay for a shave or a haircut for someone looking for employment.
64. Show patience.
65. Donate blood.
66. Run in a 5K run for a good cause.
67. Pay off someone’s layaway at Walmart.
68. Feed the birds in the park with children.
69. Write something nice about your waitperson on the back of the bill and leave a generous tip.
70. Slip a $20 bill to a person who you know is having financial difficulty.
71. Put extra change in a vending machine or at the laundromat.
72. Donate to a food bank.
73. Donate your old car, clothing, furniture to a charity you support.
74. Volunteer at an agency that needs help.
75. Say yes at the store when the cashier asks if you want to donate $1 to whichever cause.
76. Roll a neighbor’s garbage cans back up the driveway at the end of trash pick-up day.
77. Pay the toll for the person behind you.
78. Shovel your neighbor’s driveway or mow their lawn.
79. Pat someone on the back.
80. Ring bells for the Salvation Army during the holidays.
81. Help serve a holiday dinner at a homeless shelter or church.
82. Coach a little league team.
83. Sign up to be an organ donor.
84. Pay for the meal of the person behind you in the drive-through.
85. Return shopping carts for people at the grocery store.
86. Let the person behind you in the grocery store go ahead of you in line.
87. Ask the grocery clerk to apply your unused coupons to another customer's items.
88. When drivers try to merge into your lane, let them in with a wave and a smile.
89. Become a scout leader or volunteer at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
90. Give up a good parking spot.
91. Fill an expired parking meter for someone.
92. Help someone take a photo.
93. Stop and help someone with a flat tire.
94. Give away stuff for free on Craig’s List.
95. Help a neighbor move, or take trash to the dump.
96. Bring brightly colored helium balloons to a preschool.
97. Use a reusable water bottle or cup to help the environment.
98. Participate in a community clean-up project; bring your children.
99. Plant a tree.
100 Share your umbrella or carry a spare.
The Three Most Important Things to Remember About Kindness:
· To be kind to others, be kind to yourself first.
· Kindness starts at home.
· Kindness is infectious.
Stay safe out there and stay kind. Thank you for all that you do.
