Once RAK Week Valparaiso ended, we asked for reports from both givers and receivers throughout our city for us to note here. Those who wanted to, gave us some inspiring stories to share. Read some of them below.
"We had a great time with the kids at Cooks Corners! The students and the teachers were very welcoming and attentive the whole time. I personally was glad to share my love of reading and books with the students of one of my former teachers!" You can read their article about their involvement here.
--Karin Mick, ValpoLife.com
---------------------------------------
"We at Rittenhouse of Valparaiso decided to do something for some seniors in our community. We received 20 names of people who receive meals on wheels during the week. We took 20 meals to these Valparaiso residents to have on the weekend. Meals on wheels only delivers Monday thru Friday so we were able to give a weekend meal to 20 residents who have a hard time leaving or are unable to leave their homes.
Our Dietary manager JoAnn Quade and her staff prepared a pot roast, potatoes, carrots and cobbler for dessert. I along with our executive director Debby Atsas delivered each of these meals. We received big many thank yous and had many surprised faces wanting to know why we were doing this for them? It really touched us to be able to add a bright spot in their day.
We do not have pictures to share but it was really touching for us to be able to do something nice for others. We are talking about making this a quarterly project!"
--Betsy Cuellar, Director of Marketing & Admissions, Rittenhouse Senior Living of Valparaiso
----------------------------------------
"My RAK is, I go to Curves and have been doing Curves Complete (diet program). My Coach, Lindsay Lambert, is 23 years old and has been doing Curves Complete for a year now and has lost 65 lbs. Needless to say, she doesn’t have any clothes that fit anymore, which is a great thing!! So, my daughter Ashley and I went shopping and bought her a new Capri outfit with flip flops and wrapped them and gave them to her. She was so excited when she opened the gift! We even got her favorite color top (pink)and everything fit great. It really felt good to see her so happy."
--Shirley Luchene, Foreclosure Prevention Counselor, Housing Opportunities, Inc.
---------------------------------------
"We have been
taking food to animal shelters and food pantries all winter....we will
continue to do this. Thank you."
--Rev. Sara Duncan, Unity In The
Dunes Spiritual Center
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Thank you for introducing RAK to Valparaiso this year. It was a fabulous week.
We started the week by buying a dozen roses at Wal-Mart and I gave the very first one to the lady in front of me at checkout. Absolutely random and was the first of many "you made my day" responses. We had everyone here at Flanagin's participating and reached we think 38+ different people.
A couple of us spent the evening with the residents at Whispering Pines, giving them some Valentine treats and asking them about their dreams. One resident wanted companionship, one wanted her children to further their education and one man just wanted to hear a symphony again. What began as a RAK ended with the sharing of joy.
Holly Decker (Monica's 4 year old) robbed her piggy bank to buy 2 cans of food to give to Housing Opportunities. That RAK was also a "teach your children well" experience.
We had two ladies unexpectedly stop by our office just to see our new Main Street design. It was such a delight and when they left, they left with a wish from our "Wish Bowl" and two long stem roses. Man, that was fun and she promised to bring her husband by someday soon.
We baked fresh cookies, cinnamon rolls and chocolate covered pretzels and distributed to some of our nearest neighbors at the office.
The most amazing thing about each RAK is that the happiness flowed both ways, you get what you give."
--Donna Flanagin, owner of Flanagin's Bulk Mail Service
---------------------------------------
"Our class mainly focused on people in the school who were not thanked enough! For this we wrote letters to the janitors and the cafeteria staff. We got them to come up to our classroom having no idea what was going on and surprised them with the letters that we wrote them! The kids loved it :) Thanks so much for putting all of this together!"
--Laura Punter, teacher of a Central Elementary first grade class
-------------------------------------------------------
"We had SO MUCH FUN! Great idea and I hope you do it again next year.
We chose to partner with a charity event by CarolsVoice.org. The story of heart disease is quite compelling and it is told from a daughter's perspective. I went to school with both of Carol's daughters and when the father came to put up a poster in our studio to drive attendance to the event, we amped it! Not only did we help get the word out, but we also donated serving ware from Whetstone Woodenware to the group for salad, bread and sauce-making! We also donated art for the auction and prizes earned on the heart game board for all attendees. But the big RAK was an offer to all who attended to match their donations for purchases at our studio during the month of February that will go to Carol's Voice in honor of the charity."
--Brenda Magnetti Erickson, owner of rTrail Collective Edge
---------------------------------------
"Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County-Valparaiso Club members help community during “Random Acts of Kindness Week”
February 23, 2012—Valparaiso, IN
Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County-Valparaiso Club joined in “Random Acts of Kindness Week”, sponsored by the City of Valparaiso, with two service projects led by youth participating of the Torch Club and Kidstop programs.
Valparaiso Club’s Torch Club members held a week-long pet supply drive in the Valparaiso Club. They collected bags of cat litter, dog toy, blankets and other supplies which were donated to the Porter County Animal Shelter. Torch Club is a leadership development program for youth ages 11-13. Torch Club members, plan and implement their own activities and community service projects.
Youth members in the Kidstop program held a food drive at their sites during the week. Kidstop collected over 500 food items which helped five families in need in the community. Kidstop members also created 25 Valentine’s Day cards for residents of Whispering Pines. Kidstop is a before- and after-school child care program offered by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County. Kidstop programs intertwine education, guidance, and fun.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County has been serving youth for 40 years. The Clubs provide programs for nearly 5,000 boys and girls ages 5-18 in the areas of academic success, good character & citizenship, and healthy lifestyles.
For more information on membership, volunteer opportunities or to make a tax deductible donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County, please contact your local Club, call (219) 464-7282 or visit
www.bgcpoco.org. Great Futures Start HERE."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"For their Random Act of Kindness, the Board of Directors and staff of United Way of Porter County collected non-perishable food items and paper products and distributed them to the food pantries at Hilltop Neighborhood House, Housing Opportunities, Nativity, and The Salvation Army.
Jennifer Wright, Executive Director of Hilltop Neighborhood House, said, “The food donated by the United Way of Porter County’s Board of Directors and staff goes directly to the children and families in the Hilltop neighborhood. We are currently feeding 400 individuals, and the demand exceeds the supply. This was really needed.”
--United Way of Porter County
-------------------------------------------
"From the Principal
All Things Great and Small—Jane Scupham, St. Paul School
February 23, 2012
It’s those unspoken kindnesses that can make one’s day brighter and this past week our students
and staff tried to be more conscious of performing more acts of kindness for others. We
took part in a city-wide initiative, Random Acts of Kindness Week, to help heighten our
awareness of the small acts that can make a large difference in the lives of others. Listed below
are some of the ways our students found to be a source of kindness to others.
Mrs. Shane’s Class
As our random acts, we sent Have a Nice Day notes to various people around our school building.
Mrs. MacLean’s Class
For this week's Kindness focus, we have forgone our usual Angel Points which are rewards for those
random acts and we are listing out each day's acts of kindness on our wall. We are also reading a
book of acts of kindness to get other ideas of ways to brighten someone's day. We've also enacted 3
small skits of ways to be kind or not so kind and discussed the ramifications of our words and actions.
Mrs. Bogan’s Class
Our fourth grade on Monday brainstormed a variety of Acts of Kindness. After having discussed,
brainstormed, and written them all down, the students had to pick at least two from the list or one of
their own and put it to work for the day. At the end of the day we spent a few minutes writing about
what they did at school that was kind as well as what they can do at home. We will continue to use
our list each day and the write about it at the end of the day.
Mrs. Olson’s Class
Our 4th grade class did an excellent job observing Random Acts of Kindness week. There was really
nothing exceptional since the students in this class are very kind to each on a regular basis. We observed
the week by pointing out things that people did in the course of the week - helping pick up
things that people dropped, students who were good at long division helping others work through the
problems, etc... The noteworthy thing is that these students don't need a special week to be kind to
each other. They do it every day.
Mrs. Sullivan’s Class
One of the things we are doing this week for Random Acts of Kindness is that each person in our
class had to pick a name out of a hat and this week they have to be very kind to that person, go out of
their way to make sure that person is doing well, strike up a conversation if they usually don't really
talk to this person etc. At the end of the week we will discuss what different students did with this.
Mrs. Randazzo’s Class
On Monday of last week the students were given construction paper hearts. They chose from a list of
random acts of kindness and wrote the act they had chosen on their heart. They thought they were
going to be performing the act they had chosen, but they then had to fold the hearts in half and put
them into a container. Then, each student picked a heart from the container, and were challenged to
complete the random act that was written on the heart.
By the end of the week, they each wrote a paragraph on another heart about how performing the
random act of kindness affected them and how it affected the recipient of the act. Paragraph hearts
are now hanging in the classroom for all to see."
----------------------------------------------
"Following are things our members wrote on our "Kind Things We've Done" heart that we have posted here at Hilltop Too/Walt's Place. We talked about it each day as the kids were having a snack and they wrote their things on the heart.
(I'm leaving it in their spellling (with correction if i think you might not know what they mean)
*Sharing crans (crayons) with my freinds(friends)
*Shar stuff with freinds.
*I share
*helped pick up something that was dropped
*Fixed my sister's hair for Valentines Day!
*helped my teacher
*asked if they needed help
*was kind to friends
*be nice
*helped Ryan get on computer site
*gave someone a Valentine
*said "sorry" after saying a mean word
*helped someone pick up there papers/books
*shared my crayons
*I asked if they needed help
*Be kind to people
*invited friends over
*I sead (said) you are my Valintines (valentines)
*shared my crayons
*I like shareing stuff with friends
*I used kind works - thank you
*I said I will get him stuff
*Let someone go in front of me on the bus
*I did good things
*Be a good person
*played with a new person
*passed someone papers
Great program Christine! Thank you!
--Sue Clemens, Youth Development Director, Hilltop Too/Walt's Place
----------------------------------------------------------
During Random Acts of Kindness Week, our TJMS activities included:
School-Wide:
1. Kindness Quote or Short Story of the Day every morning on the intercom.
2. Student-led discussions based on the quote/story during advisory each day.
3. Compliment Notes anonymously placed on random lockers throughout the week.
4. A different Acts of Kindness surprise treat for all kids each day.
5. Free Compliments.
SMALL GROUP:
Acts of Kindness-themed Student Council and Team Peace meetings.
---------------------------------
Valparaiso High School:
The STAND group, run by Mr. Labis, is going to take over our Random Acts of Kindness plan (having a 1st hour class competition to see who brings in the most donations of food items for local food pantries).
They will advertise the food drive with posters and AM Announcements. Also, they will contact Hilltop House and First United Methodist Church to let them know about our upcoming donation. On Thursday, they will collect and count the donations to determine which class or classes win the food drive competition. In addition, each day of the RAOK week, they will discuss on the P.A. what “kindness” is and provide suggestions on how students can illustrate kindness to each other and staff.
On Friday, Feb 17th, the class that collects the most food items will win breakfast from Dunkin’ Donuts (i.e. bagels, donuts, coffee, juice).
----------------------------------------------
Memorial Elementary School:
Feb. 9th we have set up for our monthly CASS meeting. I will promote the Random Acts of Kindness for the next week. During morning announcements during the week, we will high light different ideas before our words of wisdom.
--------------------------------
Porter County Career & Technical Center:
We are planning to participate. We are going to put up flyers this week. One thing we plan to do is fill a fish bowl with star notes for any act of kindness observed during the week. I think our students will embrace the idea.
-----------------------------
Flint Lake Elementary School:
The CASS
committee has a plan for the week of February 13-17, "Random Acts of
Kindness Week."
Mrs. Gasparovic
has volunteered to deliver a banner (a large piece of paper from the paper
rolls :-) to each CASS grade level teacher to display in your
grade-level pod. (Jackie hopes to accomplish this task on
Friday.) I spoke with each CASS person this morning (except Sarah R.)
about the details. Basically, we are asking that each teacher takes a bit
of time with students to brainstorm ways in which they can show random
acts of kindness. Then, we (or students, if they're old enough) can write
one idea per blue raindrop (Your CASS rep in your grade level has
lots of these to disperse.).
Please tape
or glue the raindrops around the border of the banner (or any other
creative way you come up with), and as children (and adults) do their own
Random Acts of Kindness throughout that week, they (and we) can write what they
did on the banner paper.
We hope
this will be an effective but low-key way of creating awareness!
Following, is the
website that Dr. Melin forwarded to Dr. McCall about Random Acts of
Kindness. It has some neat ideas to add to your discussion with your
students.
(http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/)
-------------------------------
At TJE:
Thanks for the suggestion. At our staff meeting this morning, the teachers became very excited about this possibility. We will all have our students write to a prompt about when someone did something kind for them. Then, we will post them all in the hallways in time for our Valentine’s Day dance. I will also listen for reports of random acts of kindness, and make announcements at the end of the day which include stories about our very own kind students. This is a great Valentine’s Day theme for us. Thanks again.
-------------------------------------------------
A report from a VU student:
Core
Professor Hein
1/7/12 An Act of Kindness
My boom boom card was to write a knock-knock or silly joke on a sticky note and put it on someone’s desk, or as a bookmark in a book, on someone’s front door, etc. I decided to revolutionize it and write a little joke everyday (for a week) and put it on our mirror in our room so my roommate would see it that morning.
The first day I decided to do it was after my roommate was upset. I thought that she needed a little cheering up and so that morning when she saw the joke she smiled for the first time in a while. I was happy that I was able to help cheer her up. Even though they were small, short jokes I think it is more the idea that I was thinking of her and that I care. I would write jokes like “what do you get if you cross an insect with the Easter rabbit?” “Bugs Bunny.” What has 6 eyes but can’t see?” “Three blind mice.” Also, “What happens when frogs park illegally?” They get toad.”
I think this was a good mini project to do in our leadership unit. Doing little acts of kindness for others can make a difference in someone’s day, like what I did for my roommate. I remember my mom telling me that one day on Oprah, there was a man that paid the next car behind him his toll, the next car thought that that was very thoughtful and decided to do it for the car behind him as well and then the other did the same thing and etc. It became a snowball effect. This just goes to show you that little acts of kindness can help influence others and it helps make the world a better place. Leaders are those that are caring, thoughtful of others, they try to make a difference, and they are the role models that everyone else looks up to. Leaders are those that decide to do thoughtful things that you would see on a boom boom card.
---------------------------------------------------
A second report from another VU student:
Professor Hein
Core 115-L
Informal #5
8 February 2012
My Boom! Boom! Activity
One of the qualities about myself that I cherish the most is through the way I treat others. I have always tried to put other people before myself, my parents illustrated the importance of this to me at an early age, and ever since I have tried to do just that. Making others feel good in return makes me happy, no feeling is better than knowing that you helped make another person’s day. No matter how many times I help or brighten someone’s day, the feeling is always indiscernible. So when I assigned to participate in a Boom Boom! Card Activity that required me to do an act of kindness that could be used in everyday life, I was instantly excited. Even though this was a required act, I still got that same heart-felt I get when the act is voluntarily. Kindness is a quality that we should all desire that makes us a good citizen, but importantly a good person.
For this assignment, everyone in our class was a given a Boom Boom! activity card that required us to do whatever kind action the card had on it that each of us received. We each had a week to perform the task. I originally received a card in which I had to leave a joke on a sticky note and put it in an unexpected place. I liked this card, but when I say Joey have one that said, “Leave a note of praise, encouragement or love for someone to find in an unexpected place,” I instantly wanted it, and luckily he was willing to trade for it. I love inspirational and
Alessio 2
motivational quotes so much that sadly I post them on Facebook. However, I do that because they make me feel good, and I always thought they would make others feel happy too. Being in a college setting where life can get extremely stressful very quickly, I felt that hiding post-it notes. that included a motivational quote, around my dorm floor could change someone’s mood immediately. I was quite excited to see how this would turn out, and I was grateful to have the opportunity to help someone else.
My next step was by far the toughest; choosing which quotes I would use. Being the nerd I am, I took the time to find meaningful quotes that could possibly make a difference in someone’s lives. Fortunately, I was able to find four. I decided to use all of them, thus “revolutionizing” my Boom Boom! by doing it for several people. I feel that I am religious, and I am so thankful for the relationship I have with God. I love reading biblical quotes, because I feel that these strengthen my relationship even more with Him. Therefore, I found two quotes that I liked that I would use for this project. The first one can be found in Ephesians 5:2: “Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” I put this quote on a shower head in the community bathroom. The next quote I was used can be found in 1 Chronicles 16:11: “Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face continually.” I put this one in an empty space on a bulletin board that promoted becoming an RA in the future. The other two quotes were ones that I found on motivational-quote websites. I chose to put Orison Swett Marden’s “Believe with all of your heart that you will do what you were made to do,” above the drinking fountain, while I placed Paul Varlery’s “The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up,” in the middle of a toilet seat. With officially starting this activity, it was time to see how people reacted to it.
Alessio 3
From what I observed, for the most part people reacted well to it. It brought a smile to their face, and I was very pleased with that. However, someone did rip one in half and then threw it on the floor. Honestly, that did hurt me a little, but not everyone accepts something with open arms. After performing this action however, I was extremely happy. I love helping others, and seeing them smile was one of the best parts of my day. Doing this made me realize that being kind can both make a person an outstanding citizen as well as a good leader. It helps a person become not only a good citizen, but a great one. Not only is this citizen following the laws of the country, but he or she is taking that a step further by doing good for others on their own time. This could in return help others do more good in life, which could then help them become good citizens as well. Kindness is essential to being a leader. A leader is someone who is looked up to and is considered a role model. By displaying kindness and compassion, a leader becomes more credible and is able to act in a more effective manner. How can anyone respect a so-called leader if he or she is acting inappropriately and not-Christ like? They simply cannot. Therefore, kindness is absolutely necessary to be both a good citizen and leader.
How can world get better? This question will be asked for the rest of the time. However, the answer is quite simple; kindness. Kindness can certainly change the world, even just through the smallest acts like participating in the Boom Boom! activity. These acts could change the world by displaying a good example. If someone does something generous for someone else, and then that person does something kind for someone else, a “Pay It Forward” project occurs. If people see others impact a life through kind acts, they will want to participate as well. Because of this, kindness can in fact change the world, no matter how large the act.
Alessio 4
I love helping others. It impacts their lives, while at the same time brightening mine. I am so thankful that my parents instituted this important quality to my life at an early age. Although I prefer helping others in a voluntarily state, rather than being required, I still enjoyed the project. The Boom Boom card activity not only made me realize the importance of being kind, it reminded me that doing little acts like this can not only affect one life, but the entire world.
-----------------------------------------------------------
