Good Deeds that can help you

This article is in conjunction with my podcast episode: HelpYourself by Helping Others:

Here is a list of good deeds that can be easy to do and can really enrich the lives of those around us. Apologies if there are repeats.

Good deeds 

•  Make a double-batch of something delicious and freezable and give it to a neighbour
• Buy a bag of good groceries, things you’d normally buy for yourself – and donate it to your local food bank or shelter.
• Cut an armload of fresh flowers from your garden and bring them to your local nursing home
• Bring your well-behaved dog for a visit at a local nursing home.
• Hold the door for people behind you
• Volunteer at a local breakfast program.
• Bring someone a plant or some fresh flowers.
• Make soup for a friend recovering from surgery or an illness.
• Take your sibling's/friend’s kids out for the day
• Put together a basket of treats for a friend who had a death in the family. Deliver it after the funeral has taken place, when most friends have gone back to their day-to-day lives.
• Drive your grandparents, elderly parents and their friends to church, doctor's appointments or the movies.
• Volunteer for a charity.
• Offer to take care of a neighbour's pet when they go away on a small vacation.
• Make dinner for friends with a newborn baby
• Pay for the person behind you at the drive-thru.
• Help someone who looks lost with directions.
• Donate your used clothes and housewares to charity.
• Help an elderly person off the bus or cross the road by offering to take their arm or carry their packages.
• Bring your old magazines to a hospital waiting room
• Write a letter or e-mail to a good friend or family member to let them know how much you value them.
• Volunteer yourself to walk an elderly neighbour's dog once a week.
• Pass on your books after you've read them for someone else to enjoy. Take them to a local shelter or give them to friends.
• If you've discovered a great little restaurant or store, spread the word and write reviews.
• Surprise your unsuspecting spouse with breakfast in bed.
• When you come across a two for one deal, donate your free product to a local shelter.
• Allot yourself a set amount of compliments to dole out a day.
• Volunteer to do your parents/grandparents' grocery shopping for them every few weeks
• Feed parking metres that you notice are about to expire.
• Next time you do your grocery shopping, pick up a large bag of cat or dog food to donate to a local animal shelter.
• Help a friend in need. Volunteer for an hour at an organization of your choice.
• Save electricity by unplugging your devices when not in use.
• Buy a gift for your mother or grandmother – just because.
• Allow a fellow driver to merge into your lane.
• Write a thank-you note to someone who won’t expect it.
• Find unneeded items in your house and donate them to a charitable organization.
• Plant a tree.
• Think of something you do well, and use your talent to benefit others – for example performing magic tricks at a children’s hospital or playing music at a nursing home.
• Teach an elderly person to use a computer to surf the Internet or write e-mails.
• Organize a family meal and appreciate being together.
• Collect stuffed animals or toys from family members, friends, and neighbors and donate them to an organization that helps children.
• When you are outside, stop and look around you. Take time to appreciate nature.
• Find a piece of winter clothing that you haven’t worn all season, and donate it to a charity.
• Donate an old cell phone.
• Use both sides of the paper before throwing it away.
• Offer to cook or clean for the family of someone who has recently given birth.
• Think of at least three things you should be thankful for in your life.
• Plant a vegetable garden and donate the vegetables to a food pantry.
• Collect duffle bags, overnight bags, and suitcases from friends and donate them to organizations who help children in foster care.
• Donate blood.
• Save articles about people performing acts of kindness as a source of inspiration and motivation for you and your family.
• Decide to make one change in yourself that will make you a better person.
• Swallow your pride and apologize for something you’ve done – whether big or small.
• Take part in a literacy program, to help children or adults learn to read.
• Return a phone call you have been putting off.
• Answer the phone in a cheerful voice.
• Hold a charity day at work. Encourage your colleagues and supervisors to bring in non-perishable items to be donated to a worthy cause.
• Turn the tap off when you’re shaving, brushing your teeth, or scrubbing the dishes.
• Adopt a shelter animal.
• Switch your light bulbs to the energy-efficient variety.
• Ask a loved one about their day.
• Praise a colleague’s good work.
• Leave some extra money in a vending machine.
• Write a thank you letter to your parents.
• Compliment a stranger.
• Ask someone “How are you?” and listen.
• Hug a loved one for no particular reason.
• Make breakfast for your partner or housemate.
• Offer someone your seat on public transport.
• Stop and have a conversation with a homeless person.
• Buy an inspiring book for a friend.
• Leave your favorite book in a public place with a note.
• Donate books to your local library.
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
• Pay for the person behind you at the drive thru.
• Pay for a complete stranger’s meal at a restaurant.
• Leave a $5 note on a random petrol pump.
• Buy flowers for the cashier at the grocery store.
• Send anonymous flowers to a colleague.
• Leave a funny or kind note in an unexpected place.
• Invite a friend over for a home cooked meal.
• Let someone jump ahead of you in line.
• Give a lottery ticket to a stranger.
• Run an errand for someone.
• Send a random person in your phone contacts a small gift.
• Send your sibling a small gift.
• Introduce yourself to someone new.
• Tell a loved one how much you appreciate them.
• Hold the door for someone.
• Treat a friend to a movie or concert.
• Walk a friend’s dog.
• Call a friend you haven’t called in a while.
• Donate to a local charity or event.
• Spend quality time with family and friends.
• Thank the cooks and staff personally.
• Put a tip in a street musician’s jar.
• Distract a random screaming baby by pulling random funny faces (smiles count).
• Clean your neighbour’s yard
• Thank the salesperson who helped you
• Buy an extra can of food to donate to a food drive or food bank
• Help someone find a lost pet
• Bring flowers to patients in the hospital or to the nurses' station
• Weed a community garden
• Prepare food for firemen or policemen who have to work on a holiday.
• Put out a bird feeder for the winter birds
• Put an encouraging note in your child’s or partners' lunch bag.
• Be the designated driver and make sure your friends celebrate safely
• Smile at a random stranger – smiles are contagious
• Ask someone to give a donation in your name instead of a gift
• Pick up trash in a park or at the beach
• Donate your hair to Locks of Love
• Donate to your local school to help a child pay for their school trip
• Put your change in a donation box when you shop
• Donate blood or join the bone marrow registry
• Buy a meal for a homeless person
• Bring a cake or treats to work
• Take public transportation or carpool instead of driving to work
• Tell the manager about an employee who gave great customer service
• Donate school supplies for children in homeless shelters
• Volunteer at a senior center or nursing home
• Hold the door open for the person behind you especially if they are carrying bags.
• Sign up for a CPR course, you never know when you might need it
• Bring a meal over to someone who just left the hospital
• Donate clothing to goodwill or a clothing drive.
• Give up your seat on the subway or bus to someone who needs it
• Sign up to be an organ donor
• Go to an animal shelter and play with the animals
• Donate period products to a shelter for abused women
• Offer to babysit for a new parent
• Donate old eyeglasses to an organization that will reuse them
• Recycle plastic bottles, paper and whatever else is collectible
• Help a friend move - even if there are stairs
• Shovel out your neighbour's walkway or mow their lawn
• Save the mini shampoo bottles and soaps from a hotel stay and donate them to a shelter
• Walk or run for a cause
• Bring a welcoming gift to a new neighbour
• Turn the lights off anytime you leave the room to save energy
• Help someone change a flat tire
• Return shopping carts at the grocery store and leave the quarter in it for the next person
• Give books to a street library
• Leave a server a generous tip before a holiday