5 Apps To Help You Spread A Dose Of Kindness
BEST FOR: Encouraging Self-Kindness
Shine
One of 2018’s biggest wellness success stories, Shine currently boasts over 2m members worldwide – 93% of which say it’s improved their emotional wellbeing. Encouraging positive mental health through mindfulness and self-kindness practices, the app delivers motivational messages to a text-style inbox each morning at a time of your choosing, helping set you up for the day. It also features a chatbot, which acts as a modern take on meditation, encouraging users to detail how they’re feeling and engage in conversation about Shine’s ‘topic of the day’, which ranges from avoiding toxic friends to being more productive in the office.
Visit Shinetext.com
BEST FOR: Spreading A Little Positivity
Acts Of Random Kindness
Dubbed ‘Tinder for saints’, ARK is hoping to make the world a better place, one random act of kindness at a time. Sign up to the app and you'll receive little reminders during the day to do something nice – whether it's making someone a cup of coffee, calling your mum or giving a waiter a surprising tip. Essentially, whatever you think will bring someone else a smile. It also allows you to set yourself daily kindness goals, log when you’ve completed your ‘mission’ achievements and chart your kindness to see how it grows over time
Visit Arkapp.Co.Za
BEST FOR: Finding Good Causes
Elbi
An app co-founded by supermodel Natalia Vodianova, aiming to revolutionise charitable giving by bringing together people, brands and charities. Inspired by social media platforms, Elbi presents various charitable causes in the form of short videos that you can swipe left and right on. You get to hear directly from people who work in the charity or those affected by the problems those charities are trying to solve – simply touch the heart-shaped icon at the bottom of the page to donate, or advance the cause by recording a video response, or putting some stickers and personal messages on existing videos and sharing them with friends.
Visit Elbi.Com
BEST FOR: Making A Tangible Difference
Be My Eyes
A groundbreaking micro-volunteering platform allowing volunteers around the globe to help visually impaired people live more independent lives, Be My Eyes connects blind and low-vision people with sighted volunteers through live video calls. Those in need of assistance can use the free app to request it at any time of day, from anywhere – and as a volunteer, expect to receive requests such as reading expiry dates on food and labels on household products, describing pictures and artwork, colour-coordinating outfits, finding lost or dropped items and finding out when buses and trains are departing or arriving.
Visit BeMyEyes.Com
BEST FOR: Donating With A Difference
Charity Miles
If you’re a fitness fiend, this is the kindness-boosting app for you. A running, cycling and walking tracker with a difference, Charity Miles counts up how many miles you've covered during your workout routine and turns them into charitable donations (you can also link the app up to your Fitbit). Choose from over 40 of the world’s top charities – from Stand Up To Cancer and Save The Children to the World Wildlife Fund and Girl Up – and start logging miles: each time you’re on the move, you’ll earn money for your chosen organisation courtesy of the app’s corporate sponsors.
Visit CharityMiles.Org
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