Random Acts of Kindness

When Finland's Olivia magazine started up the Random Acts of Kindness project, the idea was about more than helping give readers an organized way to give something back to society. It was also about finding a way for Olivia's own staff to give something back. "We wanted to do something together, something concrete that would make our work more meaningful," says Mari Paalosalo-Jussinmäki, managing editor for Olivia.

The magazine, which recently celebrated its fourth anniversary, is geared toward urban women in their 30s who are interested in everything from fashion to culture, travel to the environment. So the Random Acts of Kindness project fits right in with what they are looking for - and what the staff wanted.

"We started in March with a campaign to collect clothes for homeless people, and in April we had a campaign to stop using plastic bags," says Niina Leino, editor-in-chief. "We're planning on one random act per month for the rest of the year."

Getting the word out solely via the magazine, its popular website and Facebook, the events range from campaigns like the plastic bag initiative, with thousands taking part, to the most recent Random Act of Kindness, with Olivia staff along with other company representatives and readers - some 30 in total - getting together to fix up the yard of one of Helsinki's safe houses for battered women. The work also benefitted from the help of material donations from companies such as gardening retailer Plantagen, for example.

"It started out simply, but it quickly got out of hand, but in a good way," says Paalosalo-Jussinmäki. "We ended up thinking big, and realized we needed someone with a backhoe, for example, and we were worried but it turned out fine, a guy volunteered and showed up when we needed it!"

The result was better than anyone expected. "When we were finished at the end of the day, looking at the new garden with its pathways, it was such a huge difference from where we started, it felt like we were really making life better for the people living there," says Paalosalo-Jussinmäki.

And the event got good media coverage, despite the fact that Olivia markets it only through its own channels. "It's fair to say that Olivia's rapid and huge success - now at 165,000 readers in four years - has contributed to the fact that Olivia is a credible enough brand to create movements like this," says CEO Marjaana Toiminen. "And it's part of a bigger trend as well: a yearning to do something meaningful in a way that is in line with your own values."