Tom Robbins from Do-Gooder Army spreads kindness and goodwill for Channel's 4's Battlefront project
Last updated 10/30/2008 1:40:43 PM
Tom Robbins from DoGooder Army
Twenty-year-old Tom Robbins will bring kindness and goodwill to the citizens of London when his ‘Do-Gooder Army Good Deed Desk' opens in the capital's financial hub.
Amidst the current financial turmoil and economic uncertainty, Tom's Random Acts of Kindness campaign and his Do-Gooder Army aims to encourage members of the public to perform good deeds and promote consideration across the UK.
From today (Wednesday October 29) the Do-Gooder Army will be carrying shopping, helping with directions or even telling a joke in the hope of putting smile on the faces of some of the UK's stressed out population.
Community spirit and trust appears to be low. When asked in a recent survey conducted by National Statistics, 48% of the people said they would rather "go their own way" than help their neighbours who may be in need.
The Random Acts of Kindness campaign aims to encourage a more positive approach to the way we treat each other. Research has proved that it is good for an individual to help others.
Researcher in the field of altruism, David G. Meyers, states; "Doing good makes us feel good. Altruism enhances our self-esteem. It gets our eyes off ourselves, makes us less self-preoccupied."
Researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in collaboration with National Institute on Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging in the USA, have produced evidence that doing good deeds actually makes a part of our brain feel pleasure.
It concluded: ‘"We feel good, and are rewarded by a dopamine pulse, when doing good deeds."
Tom Robbins, the creator of The Do-Gooder Army, initially set-up groups on social networks such as Facebook and Bebo as well as using the official Battlefront website to grow his Random Acts of Kindness campaign.
Tom explained: "Its those little things that we do for one another like opening the door for someone, offering up your umbrella, offering up your seat to someone. It's these things that came make someone's day. I want to see more of these acts of kindness happen in our day-to-day lives."
The Random Acts of Kindness group has over a hundred members and is growing fast. It's part of Channel 4's Battlefront project which aims to get teenagers involved in current issues and challenges them to generate as much interest and buzz about their chosen campaign over a nine-month period.
To find out more about Tom's campaign go to www.battlefront.co.uk