By Molly Alexander

Get ready to get kind, Chappaqua!  Monday, October 23rd is a county-wide Act of Kindness Day! This means get out and do something nice for someone–hold open a door, pay for someone’s coffee, compliment someone, etc. You’ve probably noticed signs up and around town with kind phrases on them; those were put up by the director behind this whole event, Evy Rosen.

After becoming certified in positive psychology, she had to do a project surrounding the idea of what made her happy, and being kind was just the thing! She decided to spread the act of being kind in spite of all of the negative news we both hear and expect in our daily lives. “Due to negative news, most people are anxious all of the time,” Evy explained. “Performing a kind act actually causes a psychological and emotional shift in your body. Feel good hormones also come out when you do a kind act, similar to those you feel after working out.”

These positive hormones don’t only affect the person doing the kind act, but receiving and seeing it as well. “It’s like when you’re watching a movie and somebody does something really nice or romantic – you feel happy just watching it,” Evy said.

 Keep the Kindness Coming

The day doesn’t need to end once midnight strikes. The goal of AOK Day is to cause a positive ripple effect, encouraging people to continue to be kind every day to change society’s negative perception.

A recent AOK Day in Pittsburgh led to positive results, such as the community feeling closer than ever and overall good responses. Evy’s goal is to not just spread kindness throughout Chappaqua, but to eventually have an AOK Day in Pleasantville, Mount Kisco, etc. “I am hoping to engage the entire community; schools, stores, places of worship, etc.” Evy added.

With the stress of the new school year and everyday life activities like work and sports, spreading kindness is really important to our mental health since it will only create positive change within us. Once the positivity begins, our negative feelings about change and anxiety will only follow. In Evy’s words, “Kindness can have a ripple effect and we can all benefit from kindness.”

Share your acts of kindness with the official Facebook page and coming soon Instagram account to be featured!

Molly Alexander, a senior in the LIFE School at Horace Greeley High School, is an intern for Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk Magazines.