R.A.K. stands for Random Act of Kindness.

RAKing is like the Jewish idea: mitzvah, which means a good deed or an act of kindness.*

Most of the time when someone is doing a RAK, they just leave money,  but some people study their target to see what they need, so for example if you see someone that has a baby and they are too poor to pay for diapers and food you might get them that and just leave it by their door step with a nice note, ring the bell and run away.

I’m guessing you already know, but the idea of RAKing is not just to help someone that can’t afford to get something that they absolutely need.

RAKing can also be other things not to do with money, like donating some food or clothes to homeless people or looking after someone’s dog while they are away or do something that needs to be done that they can’t, like taking care of someone’s garden.

Or simply just being giving, like sticking an envelope of coins to a vending machine.

And after helping that person you feel really satisfied and warm in your heart to know that you’ve made someone happy.

Also a lot of the time when someone is RAKing they don’t show themselves

because it can cause quite a bit of havoc and a lot of people might start asking a lot of questions.

¨But the reason that it doesn’t always have to be anonymous is because RAKing can be as simple as helping an elderly person walk across the road. RAKing is all about the spirit of giving and caring about ALL people, ESPECIALLY strangers. This is the beauty of RAKing. It can be small things or bigger, it’s completely up to you!¨ ***

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*The word Mitzvah is related to the Aramaic word tzavta, meaning to attach or join. So we are literally joining our community when we RAK.

*** I´d like to thank Peter Jay Black the author of Urban Outlaws, because not long ago I sent an email asking him a few questions, some of them were to do with this article, AND HE REPLIED!!! So thank you very much peter!

And this is the e-nterview:

Funky Gunther:      Do you have any experience in RAKing yourself?
Peter Jay Black:     Yes. I do my own RAKing, but I don’t really talk about it much. I have done things like helping a homeless man and his dog by giving them food and water, to donating several Bluetooth speakers to an autistic boy. It varies. I look for opportunities as they arise and help if I can.

FG:     Where does your RAK idea comes from in the book series of urban outlaws?

PJB:     Random Acts of Kindness have been around for many years. I simply thought of things that I have either done before or would love to do myself in the future. There’s a skate park near where I live (under a large bridge) and I thought about that for the last two books – how I could help out. The RAKing mission in LOCKDOWN came from the times I have tried out Geocaching. It’s a similar thing.

FG:     Should RAKs always be anonymous and why?
PJB:    Not necessarily. I do them mostly anonymous, but not always. The Urban Outlaws perform RAKing missions secretly because they want to remain hidden. Random Acts of Kindness are about the spirit of giving and caring about ALL people, including strangers.

FG:    What are different kinds of RAKs that people in real life can do?
PJB:    There are thousands of RAK missions people can do. Whether that’s helping an elderly person to cross the road or donating some food or clothes to homeless people or looking after someone’s dog when they are away. That’s the beauty of RAKing – it can be small things or bigger, it’s completely up to you.

Urban Outlaws book series here —> http://www.urbanoutlawsbunker.com/books

Thanks for reading! 🙂

IDEAS FOR RAKing:

At Home:

Do someone elses chore
Do the dishes
Give a massage

At School:

Leave a present for a teacher
Offer help to grown-ups
Stand up for smaller kids against bullies
Sharing snack

 

At Work:

Sharing lunch
Refilling office supplies
Leave a surprise for someone who works hard

 

In the Street:

Give out flowers
Talk to a homeless person
Invite someone for a juice and have a chat
Share your skills in the street for a weekly hour (playing music, teaching plumbing, computer skills)

 

In the Neighborhood:

Water a neighbor´s yard when they are gone
Cook for someone sick/aged/grieving
Feed Stray cats
Leave a box outside your home with surplus clothes, food, books and a sign for people to take
Make an exchange shed in your community + maintain it

 

When Traveling:

Send a postcard to a family/friend/stranger/teacher
Bring garbage bags to clean a beach/forest when on an outing
Leave a poem under a rock