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Random Acts of Kindness – not so random in Alliston

January 20, 2022   ·   0 Comments

A new local group is attracting attention for all the right reasons.

Random Acts of Alliston Kindness (RAAK) is exactly what you might think it is: an anonymous place to give back – and receive – to and from the community.

Founded in 2021 by Alliston resident Niki Melara, RAAK has two sister groups: Random Acts of Kindness Beeton Edition, and Random Acts of Stayner Kindness. 

“I started the group in October one night. It’s kind of a ridiculous story. I’ll just be brutally honest with you, as that’s kind of my thing,” Niki told The Times. “I’d had a few beers that night and I was mad at the world. Lately, people have been wandering around with blinders on. With COVID, we really don’t see any smiles anymore when we go out. People have an objective: go out, get what they need, and get the hell back home. 

“We don’t stop to talk to strangers, we don’t go out and meet the new neighbours; we order what we need online instead of supporting local businesses. We turn on the TV and it’s flooded with COVID news and the collapse of mental health around the world. We need to get out of this rut. We need to pick ourselves up. And there’s no better way to do that than by picking others up too. It starts the awesome chain reaction. One person does something that changes someone’s day or week or life, and then it just keeps going. Look how far we’ve come!”

A public group open to anyone, RAAK currently has 2,552 members and counting. 

“That’s an incredible accomplishment!” said Niki. “Honestly, the numbers in the beginning blew my mind! It just keeps growing and growing. On the ninth day, after I started the group, we hit 1,000 members. It blew up in a huge way and I’m not going yo lie, there were happy tears.”

As for who’s joining, Niki says it’s a perfect mix of people wanting to help and those reaching out for a hand. 

“I’ve gotten so many comments on posts where people talk about this being their safe space to reach out and feel zero judgment. For me, that’s one of the greatest rewards from all of the work I’ve put into this group. It’s unmatched, it’s humbling and it’s wholesome beyond words,” said Niki. 

The idea for the group originated “in a case of James Ready beer”, Niki admits, also stating she was addicted to heroin for many years.

“I was living in the streets and hopping freight trains all across Canada. By telling that story, it brought people in and made them feel comfortable about sharing their stories too. Being honest goes a long way,” Niki said.

“Telling people the things I did didn’t turn them away. It garnered some kind of respect, I guess, for not just giving them some sob story. That’s an ideal I’ve held onto my whole life, and people appreciate that. In the group, I see it all the time, and when people privately message me it’s the same thing. They lay it on the table regardless of how hard that is for a lot of people. That’s huge right there.”

Niki says she’s also shocked by how RAAK is constantly evolving.

“When I started it all [I was like,] buy the guy behind you in the drive-thru a coffee. I had no idea it would become what it is today and what it will become tomorrow,” she said. “Every day I get new members messaging me about something else. They come up with brilliant ideas all the time and then, somehow, I seem to make it happen. But it’s not me. I’m just over here pointing people in directions and, for some odd reason, they’re listening to me. I saw so many people having a rough time and worried about providing Christmas for their families, so we started a sponsor family campaign so get families adopted by others in a good financial place. We had thirty families and they all got their wish lists and hooked everyone up with full on Christmas dinner supplies too. It was epic!”

The latest addition to the RAAK offerings is a pop-up food bank tent, located in her driveway at 220 Beattie Avenue, Alliston – filled with non-perishable and fresh foods, as well as clothing and other donated necessities.

“The idea came from a post I threw out there one night that said, ‘What do you need but can’t afford?’” said Niki. “The call for food was resounding and heartbreaking. I couldn’t sit around and not do something about it, so I made another post calling on everyone to bring food to the tent in my driveway. My neighbour, Elisa Applebaum, came over and we reorganized the tent, which, at the time, was full of all kinds of clothing for anyone who needed it. We made room on one side for a mini fridge that I had laying around and some makeshift shelves, brought out a coffee urn that had been donated and that night another group member, Heather Goodson, and her family reached into their pockets and hearts and filled it up with everything imaginable. I was stunned. That night, somehow, we opened a food bank entirely by and for the community.”

Today, Niki says she has all kinds of new projects she wants to start working on, “with more brilliant ideas of how we can help the community coming in constantly. It’s this sentient creature that lives to make lives better and spread smiles and kindness. It’s just feeding off all of this amazing stuff we keep throwing at it and growing exponentially every day.”

As for how many people RAAK has helped to date, Niki says she can’t put a number to it, but estimates it in the high hundreds, “if not an easy thousand.”And those that are contributing are becoming numberless too.

“People are contributing all kinds of things. I’ve got a list of drivers that do deliveries for me when someone needs something but doesn’t drive. I’ve got people coming with food all day every day. Including fresh food they made themselves. I’ve got people donating money all the time too, sending it straight to the group account to help people with bills they are falling behind on, rent, birthday presents for their kids, medications, you name it. I’ve got a guy who makes shirts and mugs for the group. I’ve got an accountant who keeps blowing my mind with her generosity. Cassy Golden, I’m talking about you! I’ve got all kinds of people offering services and time, they just keep it doing themselves with their contributions. There doesn’t seem to be an end with these people, they just keep going.”

Niki says anyone is eligible to receive donations. If you message her, and you’re in a tight spot, you’re in. With no forms to sign, or questions to answer, it truly is random.

“I don’t judge. I’ve been through it all so no matter what the situation is I’ll do the best I can to fix it. No one is obligated to do this or that in order to receive any kind of help. I make a post about what’s going on and what is needed, then the group jumps on it as a team. Sometimes it’s something little, like a table and some chairs, or something big like $900 bucks to fill an oil furnace for a single mom,” said Niki. 

As for what the community needs most right now, Niki told The Times the asks are varied.

“We need housing,” she says. “We need affordable housing. Subsidized, rent geared to income, a cap on rental properties instead of everything going to the highest bidder. A real food bank that runs the way mine does. Open to anyone without a list of questions and proof of why they need food. They need food to survive and take a big chunk of the mental health crisis off the table and replace it with meals. We need a Council that is more concerned about helping people than building a $20 million dollar administrative building during a time of massive crisis. We need a safe injection clinic. We need to help S.H.I.F.T. be able to keep their doors open and keep people out of the cold. We need more property for My Sister’s Place so they can keep doing what they do. I wouldn’t be sitting here [with] this novel of an interview without the shelter. They were there for me when I was ready to finally change my life and grow into the person I am today. We need a few shelters really. We need all hands on deck to change this now because, in ten years, with the housing situation, the opiate situation, and the pandemic situation combined is making a massive impact that no one seems to be looking.”

Niki says she never expected RAAK to be as big as it is, but plans to stay the course and continue to listen to group members about where to focus her efforts.

“People are in love with this. Overall, people see what we’re doing and it strikes a chord in them. It’s pretty obvious that this is catching on and spreading like wildfire. Sure, there have been a few skeptics. When I started taking cash donations there were a few people who called the cops. That actually ended really well for me. I made a friend with the OPP officer who is an amazing woman who genuinely doesn’t suck.”

Since that incident, Niki has created a separate account and email for all bank transfers. She and her team also monitor for anyone abusing the process. As for accountability, Niki says RAAK is a fully transparent endeavour.

“I can back up where every penny has come from and gone to,” she said. 

For those interested in making a contribution, Niki says the group is open to anything you can or want to offer.

“People can donate food, time, advice, a ride, clothing as long as it’s winter stuff for now, other clothing can be posted in the group for anyone who might need it. The same goes for anything household that I don’t have room for in the tent. And money to help people out that have fallen behind in bills, or towards one of the various causes that I update constantly,” said Niki.

As RAAK is not a registered charity, no tax receipts will be provided. E-transfers can be sent to Randomactsofallistonkindness@gmail.com using the password “kindness”.

“Anyone wanting to donate cash can feel free to drop it off in person at my house,” adds Niki.

RAAK has become a full-time job for Niki, and she says through the experience she’s become “one with her phone.”

“It’s not an easy job, I’ll tell you that much, but when I see the relief on people’s faces when they get what they so desperately need it’s an incredible feeling,” said Niki.

For more information, visit RAAK on Facebook.

By Wendy Gabrek

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