The Kindness Offensive
Encyclopedia
The Kindness Offensive is a group based in North London
, England
, which is renowned for practicing large scale random acts of kindness for unsuspecting members of the public. The stated purpose of The Kindness Offensive is to ‘Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty’, a phrase first coined by Anne Herbert.
to ask members of the public what ‘random acts of kindness’ they would like done for them. They received many requests from the public, which they then proceeded to tackle using a technique they call 'Phone Whispering'.
In the following months, they gave away hundreds of free tickets to see West End musicals, concerts, or sporting events, as well as musical instruments, kitchen equipment, high-end electrical items and handmade chocolates to name but a few.
TKO hit the headlines in October 2008 for giving away twenty-five tonnes of non-perishable foods to fourteen soup kitchens and drop-in centers across London. Some of the recipients included four branches of the Salvation Army
, The Women’s Asylum Seekers Together, and the Muswell Hill
Churches Soup Kitchen.
As a consequence of all the media attention TKO has seen, they started their own Youtube
channel, which follows them on BBC One’s London News, BBC London 94.9
FM, LBC
and others. It has seen tremendous interest, with a total number of views well over 2 million in just a few months.
The 'Vinspired Kindness Offensive', (22/12/08), saw them team up with Vinspired and take a 70-strong team of volunteers to help TKO give away over thirty-five tonnes of presents to people across London. They handed out 3,500 hampers and over twelve thousand toys, as well as high-end electrical items and gizmos. They contributed to twelve different charities and community groups the day of the event, including Great Ormond Street Hospital
, as well as taking presents door-to-door across London.
TKO assert and it is widely accepted that their event on the 22nd of December 2008 was the UK's largest ever Random Act of Kindness
(at that time).
On Pancake Day 2009, TKO gave away 500,000 pancakes, the vast majority of which were given away to a wide variety of charities, including The Upper Room Project and the Salvation Army
.
TKO teamed up with activist Tom Robbins who is campaigning on behalf of 'The Do-Gooder Army' for a new Channel 4
show called 'Battle Front'. Tom Robbins and other members of the Do-Gooder Army helped TKO to cook up pancakes for thousands of people at Ed's Diner in Central London
on Pancake Day 2009.
In April 2009, they teamed up once more. This time TKO headlined at an event called Kindival, put on by Tom Robbins and his Do-Gooder Army, where TKO gave away hundreds of quality gift-wrapped presents to an excited audience.
On the 14th, 15 & 16 August TKO with support from ING Direct staged 'The Everyday Kindness Awards'. The Awards celebrated the everyday acts of random kindness performed by normal warm-hearted members of the public. There were three 'disciplines'; the first involved helping a stranger up some stairs with a heavy bag; the second involved helping a stranger collect a stack of dropped papers; and the third involved offering a lost tourist directions to a landmark.
In August 2009 TKO delivered several hundred toys to children’s Hospitals around London in celebration of Ramadan. A Youtube video entitled ‘Kindness Offensive toy run’ chronicles the giveaway, and has been viewed over 30,000 times.
On Pancake Day 2010, TKO joined forces with LeapAnywhere.com to hold the second annual TKO Pancake Day event at Ed’s Easy Diner in central London. The event was held in support of the NSPCC
; those attending included Michelle Dewberry, the winner of UK reality TV program ‘The Apprentice’; MTV
and Euro Millions presenter Carole Machin
, and England Rugby stars Joe Simpson and Paul Sackey
. A Youtube video entitled ‘NSPCC Kindness Offensive’ gained many international awards in its first 24 hours of going live.
On April 5, 2010 TKO began their Chocolate Week' during which they give away a vast amount of chocolate to charities and members of the public. They also held a series of Chocolate Tea Parties held at Age Concern
Centres around London. During the Chocolate Week TKO ran foul of Camden Council
who banned them from giving chocolate to local children. The actions of the Council were criticised by the Telegraph and the Ham and high. A Youtube clip entitled 'Candy from Strangers' chronicles this period of TKO history.
In Summer 2010 TKO orchestrated several mass giveaways most notable of which was at the Sunrise Festival. TKO also gave a series of talks (many of which can be viewed on Youtube), and performed a series of life-changing Personal Random Acts of Kindness. These included providing medical supplements and housing support for individual people and families in need.
In the fall of 2010, a giveaway took place called "Spare Change you would like to see in the world" where spare change collected by a TKO member was spent on Random Acts of Kindness. The Spare Change event was the first TKO event to replicated by TKO members outside of London. During that period TKO also mounted a campaign to win a Routemaster bus being given away by the White Stuff clothing company. Due to an outpouring of public support on Facebook and Twitter TKO won the Bus! It was christened the Kinder Bus.
On the 22nd December, The Kindness Offensive (working with White Stuff) broke their own 2008 record, giving away 39 tonnes of goods. This included enough food to feed 50,000 people, a toy for every child unfortunate enough to be in hospital over Christmas and a mountain of woolly hats, scarves and sleeping bags which were given directly to the homeless by teams of TKO volunteers (led by London's own Sock Mob group). An item ran on ITN & Sky News with the event gaining support of several local officials and many companies. Add to that the 140 volunteers in attendance.
On the 27th of May 2011, a giveaway of over 25 tonnes of food took place, with distributions to London charities and local Brixton folks.
At the beginning of June 2011, The Kindness Offensive again attended the Sunrise Celebration in Somerset. They took the Kinder Bus along with the Funbalance, (a converted ambulance), providing a massive giveaway. Food included pineapple pieces from General Mills, along with granola bars and free Illy coffee. Toys from Funky Leisure.com included wellies, Chinese lanterns and kites. Plus of course a festival mandatory- hand wipes! The total goodies weighed in at over 7 tonnes, making this the biggest Kindness Offensive festival giveaway to date.
On the 9th of June 2011, the TKO team pulled up with an even larger amount of stuff to give away at the Glade Festival in Norfolk.
Their notoriety rose considerably when a BBC news item exploring their adventures entitled ‘The Kindness Offensive Begins’ appeared seven times throughout the day on the BBC One’s London News on the 7th October 2008.
On the same day they were interviewed on The Late Show with Jumoke Fashola on BBC London 94.9
FM to talk about their work.
The BBC One
London News ran another News item entitled 'Hampers at the Ready' following the 'vinspired Kindness Offensive' event on the 22nd of December 2008, which saw them hand out over thirty five tones of presents to the public at random as well as other charities and community groups. It generated huge media interest delving into their large, unusual and always inspiring events. Several articles have been written about the group, most notable of which was The Independent
, who ran a double page article (pages 10 & 11) focusing on and exploring the kindness and inspiration of this group.
Liam Byrne MP of the Cabinet Office said in the Sunday Times 28 December 2008 of The Kindness Offensive,
TKO were featured on the front page of the February 26th 2009 edition of the Hampstead & Highgate Express with an article appearing on page 4 entitled 'Flipping great pancake day'.
'The Everyday Kindness Awards' was covered by the BBC News
with an item entitled, 'A pat on the back for kind Londoners', broadcast throughout the day on the 14th August.
On the 24th August 2009 The Sun newspaper ran a large article on page 14 with the headline, 'It's cool to be kind', which detailed TKO history and aims.
Mayor of London
Boris Johnson
, officially commended The Kindness Offensive stating,
On Sunday 29 November The Sunday Times
Style magazine ran an article with the headline 'The feel good factor' in which TKO exploits were reported along with social commentary from several influential people.
Kindness Offensive Youtube Channel - http://uk.youtube.com/user/KindnessOffensive
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which is renowned for practicing large scale random acts of kindness for unsuspecting members of the public. The stated purpose of The Kindness Offensive is to ‘Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty’, a phrase first coined by Anne Herbert.
History
The Kindness Offensive began on August 3, 2008, when founding members David Goodfellow, Benny Crane,and James Hunter set out for Parliament HillParliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
to ask members of the public what ‘random acts of kindness’ they would like done for them. They received many requests from the public, which they then proceeded to tackle using a technique they call 'Phone Whispering'.
In the following months, they gave away hundreds of free tickets to see West End musicals, concerts, or sporting events, as well as musical instruments, kitchen equipment, high-end electrical items and handmade chocolates to name but a few.
TKO hit the headlines in October 2008 for giving away twenty-five tonnes of non-perishable foods to fourteen soup kitchens and drop-in centers across London. Some of the recipients included four branches of the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, The Women’s Asylum Seekers Together, and the Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated about north of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. Muswell Hill is in the N10 postal district and mostly in the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency.- History :The...
Churches Soup Kitchen.
As a consequence of all the media attention TKO has seen, they started their own Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel, which follows them on BBC One’s London News, BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
FM, LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
and others. It has seen tremendous interest, with a total number of views well over 2 million in just a few months.
The 'Vinspired Kindness Offensive', (22/12/08), saw them team up with Vinspired and take a 70-strong team of volunteers to help TKO give away over thirty-five tonnes of presents to people across London. They handed out 3,500 hampers and over twelve thousand toys, as well as high-end electrical items and gizmos. They contributed to twelve different charities and community groups the day of the event, including Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
, as well as taking presents door-to-door across London.
TKO assert and it is widely accepted that their event on the 22nd of December 2008 was the UK's largest ever Random Act of Kindness
Random act of kindness
A random act of kindness is a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people. The phrase may have been coined by Anne Herbert, who claims to have written "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" on a place mat at a...
(at that time).
On Pancake Day 2009, TKO gave away 500,000 pancakes, the vast majority of which were given away to a wide variety of charities, including The Upper Room Project and the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
.
TKO teamed up with activist Tom Robbins who is campaigning on behalf of 'The Do-Gooder Army' for a new Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
show called 'Battle Front'. Tom Robbins and other members of the Do-Gooder Army helped TKO to cook up pancakes for thousands of people at Ed's Diner in Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
on Pancake Day 2009.
In April 2009, they teamed up once more. This time TKO headlined at an event called Kindival, put on by Tom Robbins and his Do-Gooder Army, where TKO gave away hundreds of quality gift-wrapped presents to an excited audience.
On the 14th, 15 & 16 August TKO with support from ING Direct staged 'The Everyday Kindness Awards'. The Awards celebrated the everyday acts of random kindness performed by normal warm-hearted members of the public. There were three 'disciplines'; the first involved helping a stranger up some stairs with a heavy bag; the second involved helping a stranger collect a stack of dropped papers; and the third involved offering a lost tourist directions to a landmark.
In August 2009 TKO delivered several hundred toys to children’s Hospitals around London in celebration of Ramadan. A Youtube video entitled ‘Kindness Offensive toy run’ chronicles the giveaway, and has been viewed over 30,000 times.
On Pancake Day 2010, TKO joined forces with LeapAnywhere.com to hold the second annual TKO Pancake Day event at Ed’s Easy Diner in central London. The event was held in support of the NSPCC
NSPCC
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a United Kingdom charity campaigning and working in child protection.-History:...
; those attending included Michelle Dewberry, the winner of UK reality TV program ‘The Apprentice’; MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and Euro Millions presenter Carole Machin
Carole Machin
Carole Machin is an English television presenter who is currently seen on TMF as the channel's news anchor and also introduces programmes under the 'TMF Kicks' banner. She appears in the factual consumer rights programme 'Don't Get Screwed' broadcast first on BBC three in October 2009...
, and England Rugby stars Joe Simpson and Paul Sackey
Paul Sackey
Paul Henry Sackey is an English rugby union footballer who currently plays at wing for Stade Français in the Top 14.As of 28 February 2009 he has 22 full England caps...
. A Youtube video entitled ‘NSPCC Kindness Offensive’ gained many international awards in its first 24 hours of going live.
On April 5, 2010 TKO began their Chocolate Week' during which they give away a vast amount of chocolate to charities and members of the public. They also held a series of Chocolate Tea Parties held at Age Concern
Age Concern
Age Concern was the banner title used by a number of charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom....
Centres around London. During the Chocolate Week TKO ran foul of Camden Council
Camden London Borough Council
Camden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London...
who banned them from giving chocolate to local children. The actions of the Council were criticised by the Telegraph and the Ham and high. A Youtube clip entitled 'Candy from Strangers' chronicles this period of TKO history.
In Summer 2010 TKO orchestrated several mass giveaways most notable of which was at the Sunrise Festival. TKO also gave a series of talks (many of which can be viewed on Youtube), and performed a series of life-changing Personal Random Acts of Kindness. These included providing medical supplements and housing support for individual people and families in need.
In the fall of 2010, a giveaway took place called "Spare Change you would like to see in the world" where spare change collected by a TKO member was spent on Random Acts of Kindness. The Spare Change event was the first TKO event to replicated by TKO members outside of London. During that period TKO also mounted a campaign to win a Routemaster bus being given away by the White Stuff clothing company. Due to an outpouring of public support on Facebook and Twitter TKO won the Bus! It was christened the Kinder Bus.
On the 22nd December, The Kindness Offensive (working with White Stuff) broke their own 2008 record, giving away 39 tonnes of goods. This included enough food to feed 50,000 people, a toy for every child unfortunate enough to be in hospital over Christmas and a mountain of woolly hats, scarves and sleeping bags which were given directly to the homeless by teams of TKO volunteers (led by London's own Sock Mob group). An item ran on ITN & Sky News with the event gaining support of several local officials and many companies. Add to that the 140 volunteers in attendance.
On the 27th of May 2011, a giveaway of over 25 tonnes of food took place, with distributions to London charities and local Brixton folks.
At the beginning of June 2011, The Kindness Offensive again attended the Sunrise Celebration in Somerset. They took the Kinder Bus along with the Funbalance, (a converted ambulance), providing a massive giveaway. Food included pineapple pieces from General Mills, along with granola bars and free Illy coffee. Toys from Funky Leisure.com included wellies, Chinese lanterns and kites. Plus of course a festival mandatory- hand wipes! The total goodies weighed in at over 7 tonnes, making this the biggest Kindness Offensive festival giveaway to date.
On the 9th of June 2011, the TKO team pulled up with an even larger amount of stuff to give away at the Glade Festival in Norfolk.
Presence in Popular culture
TKO first hit the news when the Richmond Informer ran an article on September the 5th entitled “A free guitar for teenager Lucas, no strings attached” which told the story of the trio giving away a red electric guitar to a speechless teenage boy.Their notoriety rose considerably when a BBC news item exploring their adventures entitled ‘The Kindness Offensive Begins’ appeared seven times throughout the day on the BBC One’s London News on the 7th October 2008.
On the same day they were interviewed on The Late Show with Jumoke Fashola on BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
FM to talk about their work.
The BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
London News ran another News item entitled 'Hampers at the Ready' following the 'vinspired Kindness Offensive' event on the 22nd of December 2008, which saw them hand out over thirty five tones of presents to the public at random as well as other charities and community groups. It generated huge media interest delving into their large, unusual and always inspiring events. Several articles have been written about the group, most notable of which was The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, who ran a double page article (pages 10 & 11) focusing on and exploring the kindness and inspiration of this group.
Liam Byrne MP of the Cabinet Office said in the Sunday Times 28 December 2008 of The Kindness Offensive,
"Few have better captured the new urge to give than The Kindness Offensive"
TKO were featured on the front page of the February 26th 2009 edition of the Hampstead & Highgate Express with an article appearing on page 4 entitled 'Flipping great pancake day'.
'The Everyday Kindness Awards' was covered by the BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
with an item entitled, 'A pat on the back for kind Londoners', broadcast throughout the day on the 14th August.
On the 24th August 2009 The Sun newspaper ran a large article on page 14 with the headline, 'It's cool to be kind', which detailed TKO history and aims.
Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
, officially commended The Kindness Offensive stating,
"The Kindness Offensive project has brought immeasurable joy to many thousands of Londoners"
On Sunday 29 November The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
Style magazine ran an article with the headline 'The feel good factor' in which TKO exploits were reported along with social commentary from several influential people.
See also
- Random Act of KindnessRandom act of kindnessA random act of kindness is a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people. The phrase may have been coined by Anne Herbert, who claims to have written "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" on a place mat at a...
- AltruismAltruismAltruism is a concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of 'others' toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism is the opposite of...
- KindnessKindnessKindness is the act or the state of being kind, being marked by good and charitable behaviour, pleasant disposition, and concern for others. It is known as a virtue, and recognized as a value in many cultures and religions ....
- Random Acts of Kindness DayRandom Acts of Kindness DayRandom Acts of Kindness Day is the name of an unofficial holiday increasingly celebrated around the world by localities or organizations, or nationwide, in order to encourage acts of kindness. The original founder of Random Acts of Kindness Day is unknown.....
- Join MeJoin MeJoin Me is the name given to a movement started in London by British writer Danny Wallace in 2002, and to a book by him which documents the movement's formation.Members of the movement are called Joinees...
External links
- http://thekindnessoffensive.com/
Kindness Offensive Youtube Channel - http://uk.youtube.com/user/KindnessOffensive