BAIE VERTE, N.L. — Kindness comes to people in different ways — for Amanda Humby, kindness came in the form of a frozen car hood and one person’s help in opening it.
The chief administrative officer with the Town of Baie Verte was at a local gas station recently when she tried to raise the hood of her vehicle.
When it didn’t pop, a person at the gas station offered to help her with the predicament.
“Small gestures can go a long way,” said Humby.
That small act of kindness, and others, are part of the idea behind the Town of Baie Verte’s latest community initiative.
“Small gestures can go a long way." — Amanda Humby
The town has declared this week Random Acts of Kindness Week in hopes of inspiring its residents to be kind and help each other.
The town wants residents to think about kindness this week. The idea follows in the footsteps of a similar initiative that took place at Copper Ridge Academy earlier this year.
“Given the situation with COVID-19 and stuff like that, we just thought we’d do something a little bit different, maybe get some kids involved and encourage kindness,” said Humby.
In Baie Verte, Random Acts of Kindness Week started on Monday and will run until Saturday, while Random Acts of Kindness Day is Wednesday, Feb. 17. The themes for this year are "explore the good" and "make kindness the norm."
Throughout the week, the town will share kindness quotes on its Facebook page that encourage people to perform a kind act, no matter how small.
It could something as simple as buying someone a coffee or helping to shovel a driveway, while keeping social distancing in mind of course, or finding another way to spread some cheer.
The town is also asking people to share their stories of the acts of kindness they were shown.
There is also a children's colouring contest being held. The deadline for submissions is Friday.
“I think now that we’ve started it, it is something we will continue,” said Humby.
Baie Verte resident Connie Downey said spending a week promoting kindness is a good idea.
She said she often sees small, effective gestures from day-to-day, and the benefits of those acts are immense.
“You don’t know who is having a bad day, so when you get an act of kindness it brightens your day a little,” said Downey.
Baie Verte isn’t the only town in central Newfoundland that tries to promote kindness during the year.
Grand Falls-Windsor and Springdale have both dedicated a week or a day to acts of kindness.
“Kindness now is more important than ever." — Humby
Humby said the way things have unfolded over the last year has made this week even more important.
While the decision to dedicate a week to the cause came before the province moved back to Alert Level 5 of its COVID-19 protocols, it is becoming apparent kindness is still needed.
Since the move to Alert Level 5, there have been numerous calls on social media and otherwise imploring people to pull together and treat each other with decency.
“Kindness now is more important than ever,” said Humby.
Nicholas Mercer is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering central Newfoundland for SaltWire Network.
