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Good deed discovery

First suggested by The British Red Cross
Point out real acts of kindness and look at how we say ‘thank you’ to acknowledge good deeds.

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You’ll need

  • Copies of a free newspaper

Before you begin

  1. Ask everyone to bring a copy of a newspaper. You could also search for images of Metro’s ‘Good Deed Feed’ or similar features to print out.

Run the activity

  1. Split into small groups. Everyone should look for an example of a good deed in their newspaper.
  2. Talk about how acts of kindness happen every day and how lots of the people who find help would like to say thank you.
  3. Each group should pick a good deed from one of their newspapers. They should try to act out the scenario as it happened, with one member of the group playing the kind person who helped. Then, the group should act out the scenario again, but this time without the helpful person.
  4. Ask the groups what they think the outcome of no one helping might be. Would anyone have got hurt, got stuck somewhere or struggled to cope on their own?
  5. Ask the groups how it felt to be on the outside looking in for their scenarios and seeing a person struggle.
  6. Everyone should think of a good deed someone has done for them. They should write it down in a similar way to the deed in the newspaper.
Logo containing the words Scouts for SDGs. The O in Scouts is made up of 17 coloured segments, representing the 17 goals.

This activity helps contribute towards some of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Find out more about the SDGs, and how Scouts across the world are getting involved.

Reflection

Everyone should think about the power of a good deed, even something simple. How would the group complete these statements?

If no one stepped in to help when it was needed, I would…

Helping others makes me feel…

I’m so grateful for…

I can do more to help others by…

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

If acting out a scenario is too tough, everyone could draw a cartoon or write a story about what happened.

Make it accessible

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Community Impact Stage 1
Community Impact Stage 2
Community Impact Stage 3
Community Impact Stage 4

When acting out their scenarios, the groups could use a forum theatre approach to show what did happen and what could happen. People watching should swap places with one of the actors when they want to and show how they would behave in this scenario.

If the groups have created cartoons or stories instead, they could include an empty space where readers can say what they would have done.

The group could also start their own ‘Good Deed Feed.’ Use a message board to show everyone’s good or kind acts from the week, or nice things that they have seen friends or family do.

Discover more at https://www.redcross.org.uk/