Acts of Kindness for Valentine’s Day

Sigrid McCarthy, Sustainability Specialist, Australia

In a changing climate, I'm moved by those who look outside their own comfort and do small but meaningful things to care for wildlife. Leaving bowls of water out on hot days... Growing native plants... Letting vegetables go to seed... These acts of kindness give me hope and help ease my anxiety amidst a broader view of ecosystem collapse.

Lauren Spencer King, Painter, Los Angeles

After my mum died, one of my closest friends from college would call me every day. We had lost touch for a bit, but each time he called he’d leave a message saying something supportive, and that I didn’t need to call him back. I never picked up. But he kept calling every day for weeks to let me know he was there if I needed him. It became a touchstone for me in those early days. It felt so kind to love me in a way that allowed me the space I needed, and to not expect anything in return. At the time, I don’t think he knew how much it helped. For him, it was like putting a message in a bottle. Seventeen years later... I'll never forget it.

Kristin Dickson-Okuda, designer of Iko Iko, Los Angeles

My son Issei and I were biking to a flea market in Kyoto and I had gotten us lost with a quickly fading phone battery from the map application. While we were stopped to regroup and to break from the intense summer heat, an elderly woman approached us and asked if we needed help. She gently redirected us and then insisted that we take the bag of her favourite ginger candies she had just purchased. She said they will remind us of Kyoto. It was a small gesture that served me the many more times I got us lost on our bike adventures, a comfort to know

Juliet Allen, Sexologist, Australia

My act of kindness was when my daughter Magnolia was born. She was born at 30 weeks and in NICU for six weeks. It was an extremely stressful time for us as a family. The kindness from our community was next level. For around two months we had fresh homemade and nutritious meals dropped to our home to feed us. Even people I didn't know very well dropped stuff to the hospital for me. It was so moving and so kind and generous.

Amelia Fullerton, Photographer, Australia

About a month ago, an older man in a shopping centre stopped me while I was walking with my four daughters and said, “I just wanted to be someone that told you, you’re doing a wonderful job. Whatever’s going on, just keeping going, don’t give up. You’re doing the most important work”. It really stuck with me.

Ally Walsh, Co-Founder of Canyon Coffee, Los Angeles

During a time when life felt especially full and overwhelming, a friend started leaving a loaf of bread on my doorstep every Sunday morning. No note, no check-ins, no pressure to respond ...just bread, still warm, wrapped in paper. It was such a quiet, thoughtful way of saying “I’m thinking of you.” I still think about it often, and how much those small, steady gestures can mean.

Harry Were, Photographer, Tāmaki Makaurau

Lately, mine has to be doorstep drop offs — neighbours dropping vegetables and fruit from their gardens and friends and families dropping meals after our baby's arrival. The biggest luxury.

Jess Hannah, Founder of J.Hannah, Los Angeles

After the tragic fires in LA last January, I was really struck by the way people showed up for each other in the days, weeks and months that followed. Friends of mine were suddenly displaced, some just temporarily and some lost a lifetime's worth of belongings including their home. Within hours there were spreadsheets going around with offers—spare rooms, spare hands, a homemade meal. People you wouldn’t expect to be “organised” became community organisers overnight. It was the kind of coordination that didn’t feel performative—just genuine care, multiplied across a whole city. It reminded me how resilient and soft people can be at the same time.

Claire Lindsay, Creative Director, Los Angeles

Generally, I experience and witness the giving of time as one of the greatest acts of kindness. Time to talk. Time to listen. Time to share a meal. In spite of needs and level of comfort - giving that time unconditionally. Or as Richard Gere said, We all lean towards love.

Ophelia Mikkelson Jones, Artist, Mangawhai

Today, as I was walking into the sea, my little son looked up at me and said: Mum if you want to go under the water I can hold your scrunchie if you like. And it's tiny moments these that break me, warm me, hold me, and make my day in the ocean that is motherhood.

Jen Steele, Photographer, New York City

Today, while picking up my son at Pre School, another parent, a mother, who I enjoy casual conversation with day to day, asked me if I would have family help when my second baby would be born in July. I replied with a sweet and subtle no. She then offered her help, saying I could call her anytime. Her eyebrows raised with delight. It was very touching and I loved this moment. New York is such a tender place and it’s why I’ve made it my home.