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National Good Turn Week takes place this year from 10-16 May.
Irish Girl Guides (IGG) members from age five to 90+ will be sharing their good turns on social media using the hashtag #GoodTurns.
They would love members of the public to join them doing acts of kindness every day and sharing them on social media with the hashtag #GoodTurns.
In this way, it is hoped that a wave of goodwill and kindness will spread throughout the country, thereby boosting everyone’s spirits and making a positive impact on individuals, families, communities and on society as a whole.
Younger children can help their parents with chores around the home (without being asked), such as tidying their bedroom and helping prepare dinner, while older children and teenagers may offer to go shopping for neighbours or to walk their dogs. Some may choose to do a good turn for the environment, like turning off the tap while brushing their teeth and switching off devices when not in use.
With the easing of restrictions, IGG members are glad they will be able to do good turns in their local area, such as litter picks, beach clean-ups and bulb-planting. Some will bake goodies for frontline workers, write letters or make cards for residents in local nursing homes or ‘thank you’ cards or gifts for their teachers.
“When girls join IGG, they promise to do a good turn every day,” says IGG Chief Executive Officer Claire Barkey. “Even the youngest Ladybirds (the IGG branch for five to seven year olds) and Brownies (girls aged seven to 10) learn about different ways they can help others at home, at school and in their local community.
“Guides (aged 10-14) and Senior Branch members (aged 14-30) get involved in community action projects and learn to use their voices and their skills to improve the world around them and advocate for the changes they would like to see in the world.”
Ms Barkey says it doesn’t matter what the good turn is – the important thing is that it’s doing something kind for someone else without being asked to do it. “Learning to be kind to others is an important trait that unfortunately can be forgotten about, especially as we move more and more to an online world. Helping one person might not change the whole world, but it could change the whole world for one person.
“National Good Turn Week helps promote the idea of kindness, helping others and support at a time when we absolutely need to be aware of others.”