'Kindness is infectious': Volunteers pay it forward on day of conscious kindness

Volunteers with the United Way handed out goodies to morning commuters Wednesday in Winnipeg as partof Conscious Kindness Day.

The third annual event asks people to pay it forward through random acts of kindness to show how compassion for each other makes healthy communities.

Conscious Kindness Day

7 years ago

Duration 0:46

Volunteers with the United Way handed out goodies to morning commuters Wednesday in Winnipeg as part of Conscious Kindness Day. The third annual event asks people to pay it forward through random acts of kindness to show how compassion for each other makes healthy communities.

Winnipeg driverswere treated to free coffee and snacks outside the United Way office on Main Street before 9:30 a.m.

KingsleyBowles, chair of theConsciousKindnesscommittee in Winnipeg, said theenergy in the air was incredible.

"You do this because kindness is infectious," he said. "If you can put a smile on somebody's face, that smile is going to end up on your face as well.

"It's about purposefully building our community. We know the kind of city, the kind of province that we want to live in and if we're purposeful about it, we can do that. It's like our licence plates they say 'FriendlyManitoba.' This is about living up to our licence plate."

The Manitoba government has branded May 7 to May 13Kindness Week in support of the initiative.

"Knowing kindness and compassion are essential parts of a strong and healthy community, we thought it fitting to dedicate this week for Manitobans to recognize and celebrate the transformative effect of everyday kindness," Manitoba Health MinisterKelvin Goertzen said in a statement.