Kindness Is Our Superpower

Since the beginning of humankind, our survival as a species has depended on countless acts of kindness. For example: (Margaret) Mead said that the first evidence of civilization was a 15,000 years old fractured femur found in an archaeological site. This particular bone had been broken and had healed…A healed femur indicates that someone has helped a fellow human, rather than abandoning them to save their own life. (Forbes)

In present day Virginia, a school and church helped an unhoused Richmond high school student obtain housing, a new car, and $100,000 in scholarships. In Fairfax County, kindness took the form of a high school student who repaired the car of a stranded motorist.

• Write letters of support to your local Henrico County Library Manager (K-12 school librarians count, too!)
• When you’re in the community, keep an eye out for seniors or disabled folks who need assistance (with their permission, of course).
• Fill out a customer satisfaction survey whenever you have an opportunity to recognize exceptional customer service.
• Housing Families First has volunteer opportunities that can be done in-person or virtually.
• Write your postal carrier a thank you note.
• Compliment someone.
• Donate blood.
• Operation Gratitude makes it easy to write thank-you letters to military members.
• Volunteer at a local organization.
• If you have children in a K-12 school, write letters of support to your favorite teachers.
• Donate books to a Little Library.
• When your political representatives take action that you support, send a thank-you note to them and their staff (or call).
• Take advantage of Henrico County’s annual Valentine’s Day card drive to send love to local older adults in assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
• Be kind to yourself, too. As needed, unplug and engage in self-care. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by current events, use these mental health tips to stay balanced.

The more kindness we spread, the stronger we become. Kindness is our superpower. “If fear can be energy, it only stands to reason that love can be energy, too.” – Ray Palmer, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow