It's Random Act of Kindness Day and the Windsor-Essex Community Foundation is looking excited to help others pay it forward.
The day encourages individuals, groups and businesses to help bring our community together by performing a simple act of kindness for someone else.
Windsor-Essex Community Foundation has been paying it forward for the past eight years, according to Executive Director Lisa Kolody. She says something as simple as buying a coffee for someone behind you in line or a smile is all that's needed to brighten someone's day.
"It's a real opportunity to say, you know what, we should be kind all the time, but let's make it special today to be extra kind and to pass it on," she says.
"Take a moment to support each other and to tell other kids in the school that they like them, they'll put up Post-It Notes of kindness," says Kolody. "Some of the schools will go out and rake leaves for seniors in the community, they'll show appreciation to the people who work in the school."
The true goal of the day is to remind everyone how easy it is to improve someone's day and make it a habit year round, Kolody added.
"Remember there's a lot of good people and to take a minute to smile at someone, to be kind to them, to maybe do something a little bit out of your way and that will make someone else feel better and have a ripple effect," she says.
Random Act of Kindness Day was developed by the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation in 2008 and is now celebrated across Canada - it runs all day Friday.
— with files from AM800's Teresinha Medeiros