Valentine’s Day Chesed

Posted on February 14, 2011

Those that know me well will be surprised that I am writing about Valentine’s Day but know that I will take every opportunity available to highlight ways to infuse one’s life with chesed and meaning. So here are a few ideas:

• Buy flowers and bring or send them to your local hospital.
• Make a donation to a food bank, soup kitchen or agency that deals with alleviating hunger and poverty.
  
• Spend time helping others and volunteer for a local organization, build a home, read a book or serve a meal or visit a senior center.
  
• In addition to writing a card fill out a donation card and mail a check or make a contribution online.
  
• Take a few minutes and go through your closets and other areas of your home or office and donate anything that you no longer use or need.
  
• Write to local agencies and tell them why they matter, how their work impacts you and the community. Give them permission to use quotes or portions of your letter on their website or in their newsletter.
  
• Don’t forget those people that help you every day and try to do something special for them today. You don’t have to give them a gift card although that is nice and they would certainly appreciate it but go out of your way to acknowledge them and thank them for making your life easier and more meaningful.
  
• Take care of the environment and minimize your environmental impact today and be sure to recycle or reuse whatever you can.

You can use these ideas and think of others to do this week as part of Random Acts of Kindness Week (although I think kindness should not be random but rather deliberate, organic and natural, that in essence is the whole idea of Areyvut).