City of Providence City of Kindness

Launched in January 2019, Providence’s City of Kindness Initiative is working to create a kinder, more compassionate city for all of its residents. Providence is a community that cares for the wellbeing of every community member and is committed to building compassionate, inclusive systems and spaces for all residents. We believe that by celebrating and fostering kindness between our neighbors and networks, we can better connect our communities.

Sharing Acts of Kindness

Help us make Providence a global leader in kindness by sharing acts of kindness that you see or participate in! Using the form below, you can share a moment that you’ve seen where someone in our city went out of their way to brighten someone’s day. You don’t need to know who they were and no act is too small- just let us know what you saw!

Submit an Act of Kindness you witnessed

Here in the City of Providence there are many chances to get involved in our City of Kindness! Look here to see some of our upcoming and previous events you can get involved in.

Upcoming Events

Super Bowl of Caring – In 2019 and 2020, the City of Providence ran a canned food drive as part of the national “Souper Bowl of Caring” movement. Working with the Rhode Island Community Foodbank, Mayor Elorza’s office worked through Super Bowl weekend to help donate 2,290 lbs of food to battle food insecurity in Providence. This year, the Souper Bowl of Caring is running between January 21-February 17, 2020. For more details, please contact Olinda Urizar at ourizar@providenceri.gov.

National Day of Prayer – June 7, 2020 – Annually, Mayor Jorge Elorza in partnership with Senator Harold Metts hosts a ceremony in the Mayor’s Office bringing people of all faiths together in observance of the annual National Day of Prayer. This has become an annual tradition for leaders in the faith community to join and create connections with individuals of different faith denominations, celebrating the diversity that exists in Providence. Please contact Shawndell Burney-Speaks for additional information!

Past Events

Mayor Elorza Declares December Month of Kindness – In December 2019, Mayor Elorza was joined by over 20 students with the Juanita Sanchez Kindness Crew to proclaim December the Month of Kindness here in City of Providence.

Parents’ Night Off – Mayor Jorge O. Elorza and the Providence Department of Recreation annually spread holiday cheer for the New Year by offering parents a night off to prepare for the holidays. All Providence recreation centers were open until 10:00pm on Friday, December 21, 2019 to give parents a safe and secure place for their children to have fun while they’re away either shopping or wrapping gifts. Recreation centers offer snacks and fun programming to children ages 5-15 including sports activities, arts and crafts, board games and movies at some of the larger recreation centers — all at no cost to families!

Second Annual Turkey Drive – On November 26, 2019, Mayor Elorza was joined by We Got Next Basketball, and our community partners to help us spread kindness through our second annual Providence Turkey Drive! Working with partners, we were able to hand out over 100 turkeys and 100 bags of canned food for Thanksgiving meals.

World Kindness Day – On November 13, 2019, city residents and employees took a moment from their day to celebrate and encourage kindness during World Kindness Day.

Back to School Haircut-a-thon – Mayor Elorza’s Office partnered with the Non-Violence institute and barbershops across the City to help kids get free back-to-school haircuts. Dozens of students had their hair styled and ready for the first day of school, thanks to the generosity of Providence’s small business owners!

Good Night Lights at PVDFest 2019 – For four years, residents of Providence have lit up the night for patients of Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Every night at 8:30, flashing lights from cars, flashnights and business shine up at Hasbro to warm the hearts of the children who are staying there. During PVDFest 2019, Providence’s biggest community celebration, this took place city-wide; all of Providence was flashing for our friends at Hasbro Children’s.

Kindness and Connectivity Happening in Providence

Citywide Good Night Lights w/ Thank You to Medical Workers

Residents recently joined in a socially-distanced special edition of Good Night Lights to thank our frontline healthcare workers and recognize patients fighting COVID-19. Providence’s Public Safety departments and our friends across the city prepared special salutes, beginning at Rhode Island Hospital, down by India Point Park and over to Miriam Hospital.

THANK YOU TO OUR HEALTHCARE WORKERS, PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS, AND ALL ESSENTIAL WORKERS!

Chobani, LLC & Edesia Partners with City of Providence on Youth Grab & Go Meals

During COVID-19, Chobani announced a donation of 24,000 units of Chobani yogurts and 24,000 units of Edesia MeWe peanut butter packets that will were incorporated into youth grab and go meals. We know that many of our families and youth depend on these meals to help them stay healthy and ready to take on social distance learning. These yogurts and MeWe nutritional packets will further enhance their nutritional value. Thank you to Chobani and Edesia for leading by example and supporting our city during a time of need.

Sodexo partners with the City of Providence

All meal kit boxes contain a raffle ticket that our partners at Sodexo will use to award 14 free bikes and helmets at the end of the grab & go youth meals program. Bikes can be exchanged for different sizes and colors. Please hold on to your tickets so you can claim your prize! The raffle is only available to Providence youth 18 and under. Thank you to our partner Sodexo for your constant leadership to support our families.

Brown University Supports Supplement Meals for Residents in Need

Brown University Dining Services is supporting our residents in need by donating 200 packages of food a week- an equivalent of 3,000 meals- to support our current food distribution efforts. These meals are being delivered to organizations like Dorcas International and Mathewson Street Church so that more of our residents can rest assured that they have access to food during these difficult times. Thank you to Brown University for once again partnering with the City.

Dozens of Providence Residents signup to volunteer with PEMA

The Providence Emergency Management Agency has been organizing volunteers to respond to COVID-19 in our community. Over 200 volunteers have signed up to volunteer. For more information around the volunteer opportunities being offered and to apply, please visit the Providence Emergency Management volunteer application portal.

JSEC Kindness Crew spreads Kindness to Frontline Workers

The Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex’s Kindness Crew are conducting Kindness Waves at local hospitals celebrating nurses, doctors and other frontline workers by posting kindness “post-it” notes on cars. 5 Hospitals have been visited and over 1,500 post-it has been distributed. Thank you to our Kindness Crew for always showing us how important kindness is during difficult times.

The Steel Yard Donates PPE to Local Medical Facilities

The Steel Yard has donated their supply of respirators to local medical facilities. Air quality is incredibly important to industrial artists and medical professionals and they are glad to share equipment during this time. In the past, they relied on n95 masks for clean air filtration. Over the years, The Steel Yard has installed fume extractors throughout the studio to create a safer and cleaner environment for their community to work in and they rely less on these specific types of respirators. Learn more about what, how and where to drop off your donations here.

Neighborhood Pub McBride’s donates their St. Patrick’s Day menu items to Operation Stand Down Rhode Island

After being left with an abundance of Irish staples, McBride’s Pub decided to donate prepared food to Operation Stand Down, a nonprofit organization that helps homeless veterans. The Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging compiled a list of stores that are offering allotted shopping hours for the at-risk population.

Ricci Family Dentistry donated gloves, masks, face shields and surgical gowns to the RI Department of Health.

Ricci Family Dentistry donated over $1,000 worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the RI Department of Health to help fight the coronavirus. The Ricci Family Dentistry are donating gloves, procedure masks, face shields, and surgical gowns to the RI Department of Health and local hospitals to address the shortage of these lifesaving supplies. More information can be found here: https://www.riccidmd.com/single-post/2020/04/07/Ricci-Family-Dentistry-Donates-PPE-to-RI-Dept-Of-Health-To-Stop-Spread-of-COVID-19.

Green Line Apothecary sold “Pay What You Can” hand sanitizer to support employee raises.

The company, based in Providence and Wakefield, announced the launch of “pay what you can” hand sanitizer being offered to customers. According to Green Line Apothecary, the hand sanitizer was compounded in accordance with the FDA’s “Policy for Temporary Compounding of Certain Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Products During the Public Health Emergency.” The 75% isopropyl alcohol-based non-sterile spray solution is available for delivery or pick-up at both Green Line Apothecary locations. The sanitizer is being offered as “pay what you can” while supplies last. Limit one per customer. More information can be found here: https://www.greenlineapothecary.com/

Frog & Toad is selling “Be Kind” patches where 100% of the proceeds go towards their employee relief program.

Frog & Toad recently announced that 20% of all Knock It Off shirt sales will be donated to the Rhode Island Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund. This applies to every sale made thus far and going forward. You can buy a shirt here bit.ly/2WX3hVM or visit www.frogandtoadstore.com.

Olneyville New York System sold hand-sanitizer and donated all profits to the Rhode Island Food Bank.

Olneyville New York System announced that it will donate all the proceeds made from selling 1,000 pocket-size refillable hand sanitizers that they will be selling for $1.00 each (plus tax, limit 2 per person) at both locations to the Rhode Island Food Bank!

City of Providence works with Tufts Health Plan to send hand sanitizer, towels, soap sheets, toothbrushes and baby wipes the RI Coalition of the Homeless for folks who need them.

Hearing about the need to support our most vulnerable residents, Tufts Health Plan reached out to donate essential toiletries for residents experiencing homelessness. Tufts Health Plan Foundation also announced that it is providing funding to 18 additional nonprofit organizations as part of the $1 million it has committed to support community efforts on behalf of older people affected by the coronavirus. We thank Tufts for their continued support and efforts.

Providence restaurateur Ellen Slattery embodies the spirit of giving

The owner of Gracie’s and Ellie’s Bistro raises money to help struggling families through sales of gingerbread decorating kits. And on Thanksgiving Day, Gracie’s closed its doors to the public to host a dinner for clients and staff of a nonprofit that serves adults with physical and developmental disabilities.

Hasbro patients receive ‘Good Night Lights’ greeting from space

On March 27, Patients at Hasbro Children’s Hospital got a special “Good Night Lights” greeting from the International Space Station as NASA astronaut Anne McClain sent the greeting from 250 miles above Earth.

Officials praise 7-year-old ‘hero’ who alerted hospital staff to fire

In January, a little boy was hailed as a hero after officials say he alerted staff at Hasbro Children’s Hospital to one of its buildings.