Random Acts of Kindness Day: Date, History & Status

When Is the Random Acts of Kindness Day Anniversary? (2027–2032)

Random Acts of Kindness Day — Date, History & Current Status Explained

Random Acts of Kindness Day falls every February 17 in the USA and is not an official public holiday. Government offices, schools, and businesses stay open. The observance was founded in 1995 by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation to encourage everyday generosity.

Random Acts of Kindness Day is a fixed-date observance: it always falls on February 17, regardless of the day of the week. It is not a federal or state public holiday, so government offices, courts, schools, and most businesses remain open and operate on their normal schedule.

Origins of Random Acts of Kindness Day

The phrase “random acts of kindness” traces back to 1991, when a Bay Area woman noticed the words scrawled on a warehouse wall in her neighborhood. The phrase inspired a bestselling book funded by Conari Press shortly afterward. In February 1995, the first national Random Acts of Kindness Day took place with participants across the United States, and the nonprofit Random Acts of Kindness Foundation was created that same year in the Bay Area to sustain the movement. The Foundation was later acquired by a private foundation and relocated to Denver, Colorado, where it remains headquartered today. It develops free resources for schools, workplaces, and families, including an evidence-based curriculum called Kindness in the Classroom, designed to build empathy and social-emotional skills among students.

The observance expanded internationally in 2004, when New Zealander Josh de Jong began organizing a separate kindness-day celebration in his home country. Related observances now exist on different calendar dates in other regions — New Zealand marks its version on September 1, and some Canadian communities, such as Stratford, Ontario, celebrate on November 4 — but February 17 remains the date most widely recognized in the United States, according to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

Current Legal Status in the United States

Random Acts of Kindness Day has no federal or state legal recognition. It has not been designated a public holiday by Congress or any state legislature, and it does not appear on the federal holiday list maintained by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Schools, government offices, courts, and private businesses all operate on their regular schedules on this date. The observance functions as a civic and cultural tradition, sustained by nonprofit campaigns, school programs, and grassroots participation rather than by any binding statute. This distinguishes it from federal holidays such as Thanksgiving or Memorial Day, which do trigger mandated closures for federal offices.

How Random Acts of Kindness Day Is Observed

Participation is informal and varies by community, school, and workplace. Common activities reported each year include:

1. Paying for a stranger’s coffee, meal, or drive-thru order.
2. Leaving encouraging handwritten notes in public spaces.
3. Donating time, food, or goods to local charities, shelters, and food banks.
4. Organizing classroom “kindness challenges” that ask students to track good deeds throughout the day.
5. Running workplace volunteer days or offering free products and services to customers.
6. Sending supportive messages to friends, coworkers, or first responders.
   Many retailers and coffee chains run informal pay-it-forward promotions around this date, and schools frequently use the day to reinforce social-emotional learning goals already built into their curriculum. Because there is no official ceremony or government mandate, the day’s format is shaped almost entirely by local and individual initiative rather than by a fixed national program.

Related Kindness Observances Throughout the Year

Random Acts of Kindness Day is part of a broader group of awareness dates focused on empathy and civic goodwill, none of which carry federal holiday status in the United States. World Kindness Day, observed annually on November 13, was launched in 1998 by a coalition of kindness-focused nonprofits and is recognized in dozens of countries, though it likewise triggers no government closures in the US. Some U.S. schools and workplaces also mark Random Acts of Kindness Week, a seven-day stretch built around February 17 that the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation promotes each year with themed daily activities. Readers planning a full calendar of community or classroom initiatives often pair Random Acts of Kindness Day with these related dates rather than treating February 17 as a standalone event.

Why the Distinction Between “Observance” and “Public Holiday” Matters

The difference between an observance and a legal public holiday affects planning in concrete ways. A federal public holiday, such as Independence Day or Labor Day, triggers mandatory closures of federal offices, postal delivery, and most banks under rules maintained by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. An observance like Random Acts of Kindness Day carries no such requirement: employers are free to treat February 17 as a normal working day, and no federal or state statute obligates any institution to alter its schedule. This distinction matters most for HR teams, school administrators, and event planners who need to know in advance whether a date affects staffing, mail delivery, or school attendance — for Random Acts of Kindness Day, the answer is no on all three counts.

Frequently Asked Questions about Random Acts of Kindness Day

Q: Is Random Acts of Kindness Day a federal holiday?
A: No, it is not a federal holiday. Government offices, schools, and most businesses remain open and operate on a normal schedule on February 17.

Q: What date is Random Acts of Kindness Day in 2027?
A: Random Acts of Kindness Day 2027 falls on Wednesday, February 17, 2027. The date is fixed and does not shift with the day of the week.

Q: Who started Random Acts of Kindness Day?
A: The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 1995 and now based in Denver, Colorado, established the observance and continues to promote it.

Q: Does Random Acts of Kindness Day fall on the same date every year?
A: Yes. Unlike holidays tied to a specific weekday (such as Thanksgiving), Random Acts of Kindness Day always falls on February 17.

Q: Is Random Acts of Kindness Day celebrated outside the United States?
A: Yes, though the date can differ. New Zealand observes a related kindness day on September 1, and some Canadian communities mark it on November 4.

Q: Do schools close for Random Acts of Kindness Day?
A: No. Schools remain open and often use the day for classroom activities focused on empathy and kindness rather than as a day off.

Q: What is the goal of Random Acts of Kindness Day?
A: The day encourages individuals, schools, and workplaces to perform small, spontaneous acts of generosity toward others, without expectation of recognition or reward.

Q: Is there a Random Acts of Kindness Week as well as a day?
A: Yes. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation promotes a themed seven-day Random Acts of Kindness Week each year, built around the February 17 anniversary.

Q: How is Random Acts of Kindness Day different from World Kindness Day?
A: Random Acts of Kindness Day falls on February 17 and is most widely observed in the US, while World Kindness Day falls on November 13 and is recognized more broadly across dozens of countries.

Related Holidays & Calendars

For the full list of February 2027 dates, observances, and printable calendar formats, see the February 2027 USA calendar.