Brits do good! Nation revealed to be kind and caring
Friday 31 March, 2017: New research today has revealed that we are a caring nation ahead of National Kindness Day which takes place on Friday 31st March to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the late Princess’s death.
Almost 3 out 5 (56%) Brits have experienced a random act of kindness in the last year, with generous acts ranging from strangers giving them a compliment (34%), to providing directions when they have been lost (20%); and even offering to pay for their drink or food (10%).
When it comes to gender, the research suggests women are more likely to receive a random act of kindness from a stranger than men with only half of men surveyed saying they have received an act of kindness in the last 12 months compared to over 3 in 5 women. Millennials are also more likely to receive a random act of kindness than any other generation with Generation X the least likely.
London sheds its unfriendly reputation as it’s revealed over 3 in 5 Londoners have received a random act of kindness, closely followed by people in Scotland (61%) and the North West (61%). However, those surveyed in the West Midlands were found to have experienced the least (44%) random acts of kindness in the last 12 months.
The Diana Award National Kindness Day family partner Clangers, has also commissioned research into kindness, asking 1,400 parents of 2-6 year olds how they teach their children to be kind. The study, carried out by One Poll, found that 30% of UK parents try to nurture kindness in their children from birth, and a quarter wait until age two.
Furthermore, across Britain, more than 50% of parents nurture kind behaviour in their children by being kind themselves, this rises to 63% of parents in the East Midlands, who top the table. 30% of parents across Britain, teach kindness by undertaking kind acts with their children, rising to a huge 47% in the South East.
National Kindness Day was created in memory of the late Princess Diana by The Diana Award, the charity legacy to Princess Diana’s belief that young people have the power to change the world. Now in its third year, The Diana Award is encouraging people, from across the UK, to do something kind for someone else in remembrance of Princess Diana to celebrate her values.
Tessy Ojo commented, Chief Executive, Diana Award commented: “It’s heartening to see that as a nation we’re kind and caring – but these new statistics also highlight there’s much more we can do to make us even kinder. That’s why we’re kick-starting a campaign of kindness on National Kindness Day in memory of Princess Diana. We’re encouraging everyone to do something kind for someone else and let us know about it.”
The Diana Award is looking to inspire and harness 20,000 tangible acts of kindness throughout 2017 which will be logged on a special microsite: www.diana-award.org.uk/kindnessday. The charity will also be partnering with various organisations to celebrate the day which will be announced at a later date.
In the lead-up to National Kindness Day, a special gala performance of the Olivier award winning Kinky Boots took place on Wednesday 29 March at the Adelphi Theatre in aid of The Diana Award. The money raised went towards their successful peer to peer anti-bullying programme which empowers young people to tackle bullying in their schools and communities.
The Diana Award has also announced their partnership with Coolabi Group’s much-loved brand the Clangers, the kind-hearted small pink mouse-like creatures who live on a little blue planet are supporting National Kindness Day 2017 as the charity’s family partner. The Clangers have been spreading kindness since their recent return to the BBC with a new TV series narrated by Michael Palin.
Clangers have made a video ‘Talking Kindness’ asking UK children for their thoughts on kindness, what kindness means, and why we all need to be kind, with some beautiful results. You can see and share the film here.
To get involved and for more information on National Kindness Day inspired by Princess Diana’s legacy, please visit: www.diana-award.org.uk/kindnessday
Top 5 – Regional breakdown of who has received a random act of kindness in the last 12 months:
- London – 63%
- Scotland – 61%
- North West – 61%
- South West – 57%
- South East – 57%
- Yorkshire & Humberside – 54%
Top 5 – Parents most likely to set an example to their kids by being kind
- East Midlands 63%
- North East 59%
- East of England 59%
- South West 58%
- South East 58%
Top 5 – Parents most likely to undertake kind acts with their kids
- South East 47%
- North East 41%
- South West 40%
- Scotland 40%
- London 38%
For interview opportunities or further information please contact Emma Pelling on:
07958 558172 | emma@pellingpr.co.uk www.diana-award.org.uk | Facebook: /thedianaaward | Twitter: /dianaaward | Instagram: @dianaaward
Notes to Editors:
The Diana Award was set up in memory of The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and her belief that young people have the power to change the world for the better. It is committed to fostering change through practical action with young people.
Research:
Research was commissioned by the Diana Awards and was carried out by independent third party research supplier YouGov in June 2016. The research profiled 2060 adults aged 18 – 55+.
About Clangers:
Clangers is an internationally renowned UK pre-school stop motion animation featuring a family of loveable, pink, mouse-like creatures who communicate in whistles and eat soup from their little blue planet’s soup wells.
The show, created by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate first made its debut on BBC Television in 1969, and returned to CBeebies to huge fanfare in June 2015 with a brand new, multi-award winning series of 52 x 11 episodes featuring Mother, Major, Tiny, Small and Granny Clanger, which quickly became one of CBeebies’ top rating shows. There is a new series in production for 2017.
The new Clangers series have all the magical, surreal, gentle, melodic elements of the original show and transforms it into an even more vivid, vibrant, technically improved production. The show uses the same stop motion animation techniques as the original creators but with modern-day equipment, technology and a larger team. It is narrated by Michael Palin in the UK and William Shatner in the US.
In 2017, Clangers won the Kidscreen Best Animation in Creative Talent Award. In addition, Clangers has won the BAFTA and Broadcast Awards for best pre-school animation 2015, plus the 2016 Voice of The Listener and Viewer (VLV) award for excellence in broadcasting, the 2016 Pulcinella Award for best pre-school animation, and the 2016 Bulldog Televisual Children’s Award.
In December 2016, Coolabi Group launched creative brand campaign, #ClangersForKindness, which generated exceptional consumer reach and engagement. The campaign’s brand communication integrated TV and radio advertising, YouTube, PR, sponsorship, social and blogger interaction. In addition, Coolabi Group have continued to work with Kindness UK, the benchmark organisation for unbiased information about kindness. To date, over 10,000 kindness wishes have been made and the #ClangersForKindness hashtag has had a reach of two million.
About Kinky Boots:
Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from a gentlemen’s shoe factory in Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price (David Hunter) is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the factory’s future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola (Matt Henry), a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos.
Kinky Boots is produced by Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig, James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Playful Productions, CJ E&M, Jayne Baron Sherman, Just for Laughs Theatricals/Judith Ann Abrams, Yasuhiro Kawana, Jane Bergère, Allan S. Gordon & Adam S. Gordon, Ken Davenport, Hunter Arnold, Lucy and Phil Suarez, Bryan Bantry, Ron Fierstein and Dorsey Regal, Independent Presenters Network, Jim Kierstead/Gregory Rae, BB Group/Christina Papagjika, Brian Smith/Tom and Connie Walsh, Warren Trepp, and Jujamcyn Theaters, in association with Cameron Mackintosh.
