Whilst we think kindness is something that should be practiced 365 days a year, 'Random Acts of Kindness Day' (February 17th) provides an opportunity to focus efforts on doing something kind. As this is totally up our street, we thought we'd write a short blog post to provide some inspiration for acts of kindness you can get involved in. 

The Random Acts of Kindness website has many suggestions. Our top five favourites are: 

1. Praise a local business online - help out a local restaurant, dog groomers or garage with a new review

2. Send an encouraging email/WhatsApp/text/postcard - send good vibes to someone to make their day

3. Gift an inspirational book - if you've recently read a book that you thought was amazing, why not pass it on?

4. Be a good neighbour - perhaps you could take out/bring in a neighbour's bin or offer some home-cooking

5. Bake a cake for a family member/friend/colleague - needs no explanation...mmmm...cake!

Find lots more ideas of how to be kind to others, yourself and the planet here. 

And whilst writing, we thought we'd provide a further five of acts of kindness you can do for Alopecia UK and the alopecia community: 

1. Make a donation - whether it be a one-off donation or a commitment to a regular monthly gift, we would be extremely grateful to have your support. Donate here. 

2. Join the Alopecia UK private Facebook group and help support others with positive words of support. 

3. Donate any unwanted wigs to Diamond Wig Bank North East to help others find affordable pre-loved wigs whilst raising funds for Alopecia UK. More information here. 

4. Could you be our next support group leader? We are currently recruiting new leaders! More details here. 

5. Start a fundraiser for Alopecia UK. Did you know that the majority of our annual income comes from individual fundraising? That's fabulous folks running 10ks, or organising cake sales, or doing sponsored headshaves to raise funds. We are hoping that we can encourage lots of new fundraisers in 2022 - we can only continue our work with your support. Start a fundraising page here. 

Thank you for showing us the kindness to read this blog! Whether you bake a cake, share some kind words or make a donation, enjoy the warm fuzzy feelings that acts of kindness bring!