For the past five years, First United Bank has held the annual United Acts of Kindness Day (UAK) as a way of supporting communities and expanding public spirit. According to the bank, he essential purpose of UAK day is to encourage a thread of kindness throughout the communities

A representative from a First United branch in Durant said, “Southeastern students can become involved in easy ways; all it takes is performing kind acts!”

The representative offered several ways students can get involved such as paying compliments or helping their colleagues with homework. Students can contribute in even larger ways by donating canned goods or visiting local nursing homes to play music, visit, or bring flowers.

For Southeastern students who wish to contribute to United Acts of Kindness Day, students can go to unitedactsofkindness.org, sign up as an individual, group, or club, and start logging good deeds into the website. First United has implemented the hashtag #UnitedActsofKindness as a way for people to share their acts of kindness online and join the conversation of positivity.

In 2024, Reba McEntire helped spread the message of United Acts of Kindness in a video by urging people to, “Get out there and do something kind for somebody, and let’s make it a habit.”

Participating in United Acts of Kindness Day can be achieved at little to no cost and there are no restrictions on joining. First United not only encourages any individual to get involved but also encourages individuals to get their friends and family members involved as a way to further spread the joy.

First United’s website has a downloadable list of several ways to get involved in the day outside of college with actions that are easy and affordable for students. Some examples the list offers are picking up trash, donating to a charity, planting a tree, or buying a stranger a cup of coffee. Even a simple call to a family member or a smile at a stranger would contribute to First United’s cause.

United Acts of Kindness Day began with only one First United bank location in Dallas that had a goal of simply 10,000 acts of kindness and has since expanded to 60 communities throughout Texas and Oklahoma. In 2025, they hope to reach the goal of one million acts of kindness by February 14. Having already reached 876,352 acts of kindness, they are already over halfway to their goal, but they still need all the help they can get.

As Reba said, “If everybody is kind to someone every day, this world will be a lot better off.”