If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. - the Dalai Lama



At my school, sports are a big part of daily life. But what about kids who do not play sports and still want to be part of something? I had always enjoyed doing service projects and a group of my friends did too, so I decided to start a group that would do nice things for others, in return giving us a feeling of accomplishment.

Finding a name for this group was simple: Random Acts of Kindness. I had a name, community service projects planned, a place to hold our meetings, and an idea of who was interested. But there was one last hurdle - I needed to talk to the superintendent and make sure it was okay to start this group. So, I gathered all my information and research and went to pitch my plan. It went very well and he gave us the go-ahead.

We now have 18 members and do awesome community service projects including World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine; Franklin Graham’s Samaritan Purse and Operation Christmas Child; selling pink ribbons for National Breast Cancer Awareness month; cleaning up garbage in the community; teaching children the dangers of tobacco, and many others. My service time now totals 600 hours.

I feel great to be part of something so important and helpful to others. Once we were cleaning the yard of an apartment building and an older man who lived there came out to thank us. He even gave us all cans of pop. Experiences of gratitude encourage us to do even more.

It may seem like we are doing good for others, but our projects benefit us, too, helping us grow into caring individuals who can change the future.