KINDNESS CLUB: Being nice is easy - or is it? (From News Shopper)

KINDNESS CLUB: Being nice is easy - or is it?

12:50pm Saturday 18th April 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(1)

NEWS Shopper's offer of rewards for good deeds has not been met with the expected rush of kind acts by readers. So Jenny Whyte has been out and about to show just how easy it is to make someone's day.

Now, I don’t know if everyone else out there feels the same but life can be a real pain. There’s the constant misery of the credit crunch, sky-high London prices, a daily scramble for train seats and big-city misery syndrome. Misery loves company and it’s every man for himself.

To top it off, things seem to be out to get me – parking attendants, the weather, telemarketers calling as I’m getting in the bath, roadworks, train delays – you name it, it’ll undoubtedly cause me to boil with rage.

Fearing a steadily increasing descent into quarter-life crabbiness, it’s time to act before I hit grumpy old woman.

Taking inspiration from the likes of Pay It Forward with Haley Joel Osmond and the wonderful Random Acts of Kindness by Danny Wallace, as well as News Shopper's own Kindness Club, I’ve decided to try and do good deeds for my fellow man, rather than wish them ill at every turn.

Allegedly these acts of goodwill give a nice warm glow back to the doer and while I don’t plan on doing anything major (won’t be handing out wads of cash to passers-by!) they say it’s the small things which can make a difference.

It might only be little things but if someone topped up a parking meter for me while an attendant was lurking, it’d put a spring in my step for the rest of the day.

Time to see if I can impart any such joys to the people of Bromley!

When putting my plan into action, it seemed like it might be easier said than done, as most people appear highly suspicious of anyone trying to do them a favour these days.

After taking a deep breath and steeling myself, my first effort was thwarted within seconds.

Attempting to treat the person queuing behind me to a coffee in Café Nero, I received a filthy look and angry muttering for my trouble, as though I was offering to buy her illegal substances. Strike one.

Attempt number two: Buying some snacks for the next table over at the pub. This one yielded partial success as the group of lads gladly accepted my offering of McCoys and dry roasted, but I fear booze involvement may have greased the wheels. I’ll take that mind, a good deed’s a good deed!

Attempt the third: Giving away my umbrella on a rainy day. I feel this was the most selfless (particularly given my hair’s penchant for a frizz) and happily it gave the best result! I genuinely seemed to make someone’s day and despite my resulting bird’s nest, made mine as well!

My spring resolution is to try and do a good deed for a stranger every week and I extend the same to you all. A few ideas could be to buy some biscuits for your colleagues, buy a sandwich for a homeless man, tell a busker that their music rocks, sponsor a child, or see if you can do any better on the coffee challenge than I did!

Get in touch with your good deed suggestions and get out there and give them a whirl.

- News Shopper's Kindness Club offers rewards to people who do good deeds.

Ten businesses have so far joined the scheme, offering a variety of deals and discounts.

You can claim these rewards by showing you have done something nice for somebody else, such as copying one of Jenny's acts of kindness or coming up with your own.

Get all your Kindness Club questions answered and see the list of Kindness Club rewards.