#actsofkindness – Anitha Rao-Robinson

Episode 159: Kindness Is The Caregivers Journey—A podcast helping caregivers of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Published on March 11, 2026 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Nancy Treaster and Sue Ryan join Anitha to talk about their podcast, The Caregivers Journey.

Both Nancy and Sue share their personal stories of caring for someone with dementia and how that not only brought them together but inspired them to create a platform for others who are facing the difficult and often lonely ordeal of being a caregiver. Their goal is to help folks who feel overwhelmed caring for a loved one to feel supported on their caregiving journey.

An episode full of insight and incredibly helpful suggestions on caring for yourself so you can support loved ones in the best possible way.

To learn more about The Caregivers Journey, check out their website full of helpful information:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

As a thank you to Nancy and Sue for sharing their story, Anitha donated to The Caregivers Journey.

To hear the full episode, click here:

Episode 158: Kindness Is Blink Now—How a gap year turned into a life dedicated to empowering children & women in Nepal

Published on March 4, 2026 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Humanitarian and CNN Hero of the Year, Maggie Doyne joins Anitha to talk about the incredible initiative she co-founded called BlinkNow Foundation.

What started as a gap year for 19-year-old Maggie grew into a love story between her and the children of Nepal. In the past 20 years, she has helped build a children’s home, a school, and a women’s centre.

The Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Surkhet, Nepal, September 17, 2022. (photo by Allison Shelley)

Maggie shares the many joys from seeing children she helped raise go off to University, find careers and live amazing lives. She also talks about the tragedy of losing her beloved baby Ravi and how she got through the worst time in her life. But most of the conversation is about the power of love and community and the incredible things that grow from it.

You can catch a glimpse of the special place Maggie has co-founded through the documentary Between The Mountain And The Sky— Between The Mountain and the Sky website YouTube Link

To learn more about BlinkNow, check out the following links:

BlinkNow—Website

BlinkNow- Instagram

BlinkNow — Facebook

As a thank you to Maggie for sharing her story, Anitha donated to BlinkNow Foundation.

To hear the full episode click here:

Episode 155: Kindness Is Keeping Neighbours Safe—Helping black & brown folks in Minneapolis/St. Paul as ICE descends upon this community.

Published on February 11, 2026 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Mike Hotz joins Anitha to talk about what is happening in the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul as ICE rounds up people of colour. Mike shares stories of law-abiding folks who have been detained by ICE based solely on the colour of their skin. He also talks about how some of his neighbours are afraid to leave their homes and go to work, take their kids to school, shop, walk their dogs . . . and how he and others are doing all they can to help them.

In the midst of the cruelty, racism and often lawless actions committed by ICE and the current US Administration, this conversation provides hope that kindness and empathy do make a difference.

For those who want to help, Mike provided the following links of places that are doing good work by supporting members of the community:

Whittier Wildflowers Preschool Website

Ice Hurts Animals, Too: Website

Urban Village: Website

Indigenous Roots: Website

As a thank you to Mike for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Whittier Wildflowers Preschool, a licensed, non-profit preschool for 2- to 5-year-olds in the Whittier Neighbourhood of Minneapolis. Their mission is to provide children and families from all backgrounds an innovative, affordable early childhood education. Donations help families by subsidizing their tuition costs.

To hear the full episode, click here:

Episode 153: Kindness Is Making Poetry—Creating meaningful poems for strangers

Published on January 28, 2026 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Hannah Monsour joins Anitha to talk about creating moving and thoughtful poems almost instantly. Hannah calls herself a typewriter poet. She can be found in Central Park in New York City meeting strangers who share personal parts of their lives.

Hannah transforms their words into on-the-spot meaningful poems. She shares some of these encounters, including taking part in wedding proposals. Hannah even creates a poem for Anitha during the episode.

A testament to the healing power of words.

To find out more about Hannah, her poetry and her podcast!!, check out these links:

Hannah’s Instagram

Podcast—Poking Around

As a thank you to Hannah for sharing her story, Anitha donated to The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ young people. To learn more about what they do, check out their website:

The Trevor Project

To hear the full episode click here:

Episode 152: Kindness Is Remembering Esther—Continuing the legacy of Esther the Wonder Pig.

Published on January 21, 2026 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Steve Jenkins, often known as one of Esther the Wonder Pig’s dad’s, joins Anitha to talk about his life with Esther, grieving her passing and creating a legacy in her name.

Steve talks about being back at the farm where he lived with Esther and so many other beautiful individuals. He gives a fun update about the animals he currently shares his home with, both inside and outside the house, AND he talks about Operation Angels, his new initiative to help other farm sanctuaries.

An emotional and uplifting conversation with one of the kindest humans.

To follow Steve and learn more about his continuing efforts to help animals, check out the following links:

Steve Jenkins – Website

Steve on Facebook

Esther The Wonder Pig-Facebook

Operation Angels – Website

As a thank you to Steve for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Ralphy’s Retreat Animal Sanctuary. Their mission is to provide a safe haven for abandoned, neglected, and abused pot-bellied pigs, as well as those piggies that can no longer stay with their families. The sanctuary is also home to alpacas, horses, donkeys, cats, feathered friends, goats and sheep. To learn more about them, check out their website:

Ralphy’s Retreat

To hear the full episode, click here:

Episode 149: Kindness Is Loving Octopuses—A young girl dedicated to helping octopuses.

Published on December 31, 2025 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Eleven-year-old Lily Niederhofer joins Anitha to talk about her favourite animal—the octopus!

Lily raises awareness about the plight of octopuses, in particular the horrible conditions they would endure in an octopus farm. As an avid swimmer, she uses her skills to raise money to help protect oceans and the marine life who call it home, including octopuses.

An uplifting episode to say goodbye to 2025 and hello to 2026. This one is full of hope and inspires us all to be kind.

To learn more about Lily and her activism, check out these links:

Lily & Swim For Impact on Instagram

One Ocean Planet Website

As a thank you to Lily for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Animal Rights Initiative. This organization works to dismantle the systemic use and abuse of animals in the food, health, entertainment and fashion industries. To learn more about their work, check out their website:

Animal Rights Initiative Website

To hear the full episode, click here:

Episode 148: Kindness Is Queer Brown Vegan—Advocating for diversity & inclusion in environmental education.

Published on December 24, 2025 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Isaias Hernandez, an environmentalist, storyteller and content creator, joins Anitha to talk about advocating for animals, the environment and folks from underrepresented communities.

A timely episode as the holidays remind us to show compassion for all beings.

To learn more about Isaias, the work they do to create a kinder space for all, and follow their social media accounts, check out their website:

QueerBrownVegan

As a thank you to Isaias for being a guest on the podcast, Anitha donated to Food Empowerment Project. This non-profit advocates that food choices can change the world. By making informed, ethical food choices, we can all take a stand against human and non-human animal abuse. You can learn more about them on their website:

Food Empowerment Project

To hear the full episode, click here:

Episode 147: Kindness Is Bags Without Barriers—Providing essential supplies so all individuals can be successful.

Published on December 18, 2025 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Justin Osei-Dwumoh joins Anitha to talk about his amazing initiative called Bags Without Barriers.

When Justin realized that not everyone has access to essential school supplies—items that are not only necessary to succeed in school, but also can affect one’s self worth, he decided to help.

Partnering with organizations such as Herschel Supply Co., Justin fills backpacks with paper, pencils, markers, and more. Then, he hands them out in areas where the need is great.

In addition to helping students, Bags Without Barriers also supports underserved new moms by providing them with diaper bags filled with vital supplies to help them and their children.

The perfect episode to showcase the meaning of compassion, important all year round, but especially meaningful at this time of the year.

To find out more about Bags Without Barriers and the wonderful work they are doing, check out their website:

Bags Without Barriers

As a thank you to Justin for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Save Our Scruff. A dog rescue that grew organically from a community wanting to give their time and efforts to advocate for dogs in many different spaces. To learn more about Save Our Scruff, check out their website:

Save Our Scruff

To hear the full episode, click here:

Episode 145:Kindness Is Teachers for Future Turtle Island—Educating on colonialism, equality, climate crisis & more.

Published on December 3, 2025 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Kim Benson wears many hats—teacher, human rights advocates, animal activist, climate activist and all-around kind human. She joins Anitha to talk about Teachers for Future Turtle Island, a group working to dismantle systems of colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy and white supremacy. Kim talks about how these systems have caused and continue to cause ecological collapse, war, genocide & the suffering of all beings, human and non-human alike. Kim believes it is important to teach children about these issues in an age-appropriate manner.

Kim also shares the meaning behind the name of the group. Turtle Island is the Indigenous name for the continent of North America. This name represents the Indigenous community’s deep connection to the land and appreciation for nature. Something we can all learn from.

To find out more about Teachers For Future Turtle Island, check out their Instagram account:

Teachers For Future Turtle Island on IG

As a thank you to Kim for sharing his story, Anitha donated to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). As the largest animal liberation organization in the world, PETA focuses their efforts on helping animals who suffer in laboratories, the food industry, the clothing trade and the entertainment business. To learn more about PETA, check out their website:

PETA

To hear the full episode, click here:

Episode 144: Kindness Is Racing To Zero—Helping sports organizations tackle climate change.

Published on November 26, 2025 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Oliver Scholfield, an Olympic Athlete, joins Anitha to talk about creating a business that combinec his love of sport with his passion for the environment. Racing To Zero is dedicated to addressing the negative impact the sporting world has on the climate AND coming up with solutions to reduce this impact.

Oliver shares some of the simple solutions sporting organizations can implement to minimize their harm on the environment. An episode that makes you believe positive change is possible.

To learn more about Oliver and Racing To Zero, check out these links:

Racing To Zero Website

Racing To Zero Instagram

Oliver’s Instagram

Email – info@racingtozero.ca

As a thank you to Oliver for sharing his story, Anitha donated to High Impact Athletes. This organization connects athletes to the most impactful causes in the world. They focus on three areas, Global Health and Poverty, Animal Welfare and Climate Change. At Oliver’s request, Anitha donated to the Environmental Portfolio.

To learn more about High Impact Athletes and the causes they support, check out their website:

High Impact Athletes

To hear the full episode, click here: