As you can see, randomactsofkindness.org has a new look. After six months of preparation it’s exciting to launch our new site and introduce you to our expanded kindness resources.

While we may oversee this website, the site is not about The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation—it’s about our community and the ways we engage in expressing the positive human quality of kindness through kind acts. Your stories and your sharing are just as meaningful and insightful as the ideas and experiences we may offer on these pages.

This site is about kindness and random acts of kindness that make sense and make a difference in the lives of all sorts of people around the world. From simple ideas to expansive activities that can take place at home, in the classroom, on the street or anywhere you choose, randomactsofkindness.org exists as a resource to help us learn new ways to relate when kindness is applied.

In this column I’ll help you learn about some of the new features and developments on randomactsofkindness.org.

New Logo
Dustin Patterson, a talented artistic designer, created a balloon theme for us to represent the joy and pass-it-on quality of acts of kindness. It works so nicely for our social media applications, too.

Kindness Ideas
We’ve expanded our kindness ideas with loads of details, including ways to “Step it up” and “Keep it simple,” depending on how much time you might have or what level of involvement you might choose. There are also links to additional resources and websites to get further information if you’re interested in exploring an idea more fully.

Guest Blogs
Our blog contributors are amazing voices for kindness. Each one of them has an inspirational personal story and a unique perspective on doing kind acts. Our bloggers will be contributing a post a month, so be sure to check back regularly for updates. We’ll be featuring different guest bloggers over time. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comment section.

Community
You don’t have to be a regular blogger to share your kindness ideas, stories and wisdom. If you’d like to submit a post on a one-time basis we welcome your contribution to the community. There are areas throughout the site to “like” “rate” “comment” and “suggest.” We want to feature tips, ideas and thoughts from kind people across the globe. Sign up to be a randomactsofkindness.org member and then participate in any way you choose. You’ll find our post guidelines here.

You can even set up your own member profile where you can build a group community or keep track of your own kindness activities. You can link to your blog or website from your member profile as well. Join us! It’s easy to do.

For Educators
We look forward to working with educators to share lesson plans and activities to supplement, complement and support positive behavior goals. We have some wonderful new lesson plans that feature 21st-century learning skills, easily adaptable for technology-enhanced education. Our “Quick Start” feature puts lesson plans and student activities in your hands instantly.

News
It’s always fun to read about kindness in the world. We’ll consolidate the kindness news for you to peruse every day. And we'll make it easy to connect with activities on campuses, in schools, in business and in communities across the country.

Social Media
We would love to communicate with you about kindness! Join our Facebook and Twitter communities to join the conversation, or get quotes, thoughts, ideas and the latest news about kindness. Our social media connections will be expanding in the near future with some fun and exciting mobile activities.

Quotes
If you’re in the mood for some kindness inspiration, go to our Inspirational Quotes section and select a thought to brighten your day! We’ve expanded our selection and added some nice images, too.

Now that we’ve got our new home built, we’re going to continue to improve our offerings throughout the fall and winter. We thank you for participating with us on this collective kindness journey.

Many thanks to Bob Nendza, Dave Schafer, David Crowell and Susanna Donato for their efforts in creating our new website. Their dedication and commitment to promoting kindness has been most helpful in guiding us in our endeavor to build a meaningful and functional website.

With kind regards,

Marilyn Decalo
Manager, The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation