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Starting A Random Acts Of Kindness Club

Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Clubs (HTML)
Source: Barbara Gates
Date: 4/19/2004

FORMING A RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS (RAK) CLUB

TEACHERS:
The best place to begin is often within your own classroom. Start talking to your students about Random Acts of Kindness, and perhaps give them an assignment to do an act of kindness and write about it.

Gather interest from your students who may want to be involved in a club, and help them get on their way! The initial group of students forming the club should have a brainstorming session to see what the students are interested in, what motivates their fellow students, and how the RAK Club can best reach out to your school and
community.

The members of your club can choose an activity and brainstorm their own ideas, tailored to the needs of their school or community.

STUDENTS:
First, gather a few students who are interested in starting a RAK Club.

Talk to the school�s activity director or the principal or vice principal about what steps need to be taken to officially start your RAK Club. There may be special school requirements or specific people whom you need to talk to before you can start a club.

Find a teacher, school administrator, or parent who is willing to act as the club�s advisor. An advisor is essential to help keep you on the right track and to offer suggestions when you get stuck.

Goals:
Develop a set of goals and ideas that will help you in the first weeks of the club�s existence. Allow these goals and ideas to change and evolve over time as your club becomes more organized and your membership grows. For guidance in writing a purpose and set of goals for your RAK Club, read the following sample mission

Statements:
To constantly remind every person in our high school to perform at least one Random Act of Kindness every day.
To build self-esteem and raise school morale by showing every person at our school that he or she really can make a difference.
To bring everyone at our school together in a cooperative, caring way.
To remind everyone to look for the good in people and praise it � all the time!
Officers: If you have a large group, form a team of leading officers to perform different tasks.

Promoting your RAK Club:
Advertise the RAK Club to the entire school and give a time and date for the first meeting. The �not so random� planned events are to promote awareness in the school so students can use it as a launching pad for doing kind acts every day on their own. Refer to the slogans further on in this section to help you promote your RAK Club. You might have a poster or bookmark contest incorporating a kindness slogan.

Ideas:
Use the activity ideas on this websiteas a starting point for planning your club�s activities, and contact us if you need more suggestions. Be sure to brainstorm any new ideas, try them out, and pass them on. We are always looking to pass along new, successful RAK activity ideas!

RAK Week:
Be sure to include RAK Week as one of your RAK Club�s primary projects. RAK Week is an ideal opportunity to plan some wonderful activities for your club within your school and in the community. It�s also a great way to promote your RAK Club throughout the school and involve the entire student body in your
activities.

Create a kindness website:
Make a websitr to announce to other RAK clubs and educators your club kindness activities and to share kindness photos, stories, etc.

Fundraising:
Discuss fundraising ideas; ask your teacher advisor for guidance on this. Your RAK activities should not be too costly; there are many fun ideas to make a little money for your club. Some traditional school fundraising events are candy sales,car washes, and raffles. You can also look to your community, merchants, and corporations for support. Make sure all activity ideas and events are approved by the appropriate school authorities beforehand.

Motivational kindness slogans:
(Can be used on posters, flyers, bulletin boards, newsletters, etc. � a great way to
promote your RAK Club!):

Kindness is a gift you give to others.
Spread kindness to everyone you meet.
Kindness � Pass it on!
Kindness begins like a ripple of water.
Make friends with kindness.
Kindness makes your heart glow!
Kindness is...being a friend to someone who doesn�t have one.
Kindness connects us all.
Kindness is...helping when someone is in trouble.
Paws for Kindness (if you have an animal mascot).
Imagine�a world filled with kindness!

REPORTS FROM RAK CLUBS:
Following are a few of the reports we have received from many RAK Clubs. Some clubs concentrate on one activity, while other clubs are larger and become involved in many activities. Please do not be overwhelmed by the activities of some of these clubs. Rather, start small, and allow your club to grow organically as the members discover their collective power to make a difference through kindness.

Among the various projects listed below, you may find just the right activity for your RAK Club.

Planting Flowers � Random Acts of Kindness Club members planted flowers on the school grounds. Most of the students had never planted anything before. They were thrilled to tend their flowering plants, watch them grow, and make their school a beautiful place.

Canine RAK � Random Acts of Kindness Club members baked dog biscuits and arranged with an animal shelter for a class visit. The students fed the dogs their treats, brushed them, walked them, and played with them.

SSAK � SSAK (Students Spreading Acts of Kindness) promotes �kindness, not violence� and is offered by the guidance counselor. Its mission is to perform acts of kindness, not only within the school but throughout the community. Last year nearly 50 students attended this elective class that met twice a week for 40-minute sessions. SSAK projects quickly expanded to include the entire school population (740 students, parents, staff, and faculty). Projects completed were student driven and therefore were quite successful.

They recently received two awards as a result of this class. One was $3,000 and will give the class a chance to research charities as well as perform additional acts of kindness. The group will decide how this money will be used.

This year�s class consists of second and third grade students. The initial project was making red, white, and blue ribbons and cards for the faculty members. Some of the projects from last year were:

� Penny-Nickel Challenge: SSAK challenged all local schools to collect pennies and nickels for The Make-A-Wish Foundation. Nearly $3,000 was collected in all as a result of this challenge. Children genuinely wanted to help other children with life-threatening illnesses.
� Pen Pals: SSAK formed a pen pal relationship with a local senior center. Students and seniors exchanged letters twice a month, learning about careers, historical events, and the evolution of technology. The semi-annual project culminated with a field trip/holiday celebration to the senior center, bringing handmade gifts from SSAK members. Students not only increased their writing skills, they developed compassion and understanding for elderly individuals.
� Teddy Bear Collection: Over 300 new and �bearly� new stuffed teddy bears were collected and delivered to Florida Hospital�s Child Life program and Arnold Palmer�s Children�s Unit. Another 275 stuffed animals were collected and given to local missions and shelters. Students raised money to pay for the field trip by hosting Valentine lollipop sales, donut sales, and a drama night production. The money raised through these activities allowed them to also pay for and make personalized teddy bears (for ill children) at the Build-A-Bear Workshop in Orlando. Students then took a field trip to deliver the items to the hospital.
� R.O.C.K-a-thon (Reaching Out to Cancer Kids): Students organized and participated in a school-wide relay race involving jumping over hurdles and maneuvering through tires. Pledges were raised in order to send a child with cancer to camp with his/her family. $5,152.58 was raised to send five children and their families to camp.
� Painting project: Students and their families gathered on a weekend to help paint a Habitat for Humanity house. In addition, they provided a large variety of snacks and treats for a group of over 50 volunteers. The students were so excited about this. Later, they brought house warming gifts to the homeowner.
� Other projects included: Creating Thanksgiving and Easter baskets for families in need, collecting pop tabs for The Ronald McDonald House, and organizing a clothing drive for Goodwill. The students also collected pumpkins for their peers needing an act of kindness. Money was raised to buy Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas gifts for over three dozen children and families. Finally, they sent over 350 cards/letters to veterans to let them know how much they are appreciated.

Goodwill Kids Club � A middle school in Sanborn, NY, has had a Goodwill Kids Club for four years. They do forty service activities during the year. They have 100 members in the club, and it is growing consistently. Membership is voluntary.

After five activities, the members get a T-shirt (that cannot be bought), and they are announced and congratulated over the public address system in the morning. Each member volunteered 110 hours last year (2000-2001).

The club was formed after the death of a seventh grade child. Club members sold stars for $1 each in honor of the student. They sold 1,000, then reordered and sold 1,000 more, then 1,000 more. People put the stars in their windows. The students raised $3500 and funded an entire Disney World wish for a terminally ill child.

Every first Saturday, they do a food shuttle run from Wagner�s and get cakes, etc., that would be put into the dumpster. They bring the food to a shelter in Buffalo. The students prepare food and serve 300 people a meal, drink, and dessert. It�s always an eye-opener for the students.

Once a year, the students make 1,000 sandwiches for the poor at a community mission center in Niagara Falls.

During autumn 2001, they:
� raised $2000 for Red Cross, which was matched by a bank to equal $4,000.
� sold patriotic T-shirts for United Way.
� collected clothes, socks, cards for rescue workers through Salvation Army.
� cleaned the beach in Ft. Niagara.
� gathered coats for the poor.
� provided 470 gifts from tags on a tree, for the needy from six local agencies and a reservation. They learned later that the young recipients exclaimed with delight, �Santa found us!� as they discovered the tree and gifts.
� created craft items for patients at Children�s Hospital.
� These activities bond both the students and parents who are involved.

Months with a Theme � A high school RAK Society does a different project each month:

� Sep: Domestic Violence Awareness (coordinated with the local safe house) � RAK members collected toys, books, and travel toiletries for victims of violence; participated in a candlelight vigil held in honor of victims of domestic violence; heard a guest speaker discuss facts and myths about domestic violence.
� Oct: Disaster Relief Drive for the victims September 11th � Money was collected for the American Red Cross in New York and Washington, D.C. The RAK Society also sponsored a Pennies for Patients campaign to collect pennies for cancer research and treatment of cancer patients.
� Nov: Annual Can-a-thon � They collected 289 cans of food for the Salvation Army for Thanksgiving. RAK members also campaigned for Kindness for All. RAK members did ten RAKs on World Kindness Day, including making copies for teachers, cleaning the school grounds, helping host Parent/Teacher Day, tutoring ESL students, painting the school mailbox, helping teachers with a survey, cleaning the library, running errors for teachers and staff, and writing letters of appreciation to businesses for supporting the school team during football season.
� Dec: They took an angel from the Angel Tree and bought holiday gifts for children. They also collected money each Friday during English classes to purchase a bicycle for a member of the community who needed one for exercising after an extended illness.
� Jan: Child Abuse Prevention � They participated in an essay contest sponsored by the safe house and distributed ribbons in honor of victims of child abuse.
� Feb: Books � RAK members read their favorite stories to children at the elementary school. They also helped decorate for Dr. Seuss�s birthday at the elementary school. They sponsored a school wide reading time at the high school.
� Mar: Random Acts of Kindness Month � The members rewarded students and teachers for their continual acts of kindness by having a special event each day of RAK Week.
� Apr: Annual Children�s Hospital Drive � During the past five years, RAK members have collected over $1,200 for this cause.
� May: May Day � A Random Acts of Kindness award is given to the student whom the student body has chosen as one who exemplifies kindness. The RAK award is one of the most cherished awards at our high school.
In addition to sponsoring and promoting these projects, the RAK Society helps people throughout the school year.

Cards, candy, balloons, or flowers are sent to students, teachers, and staff when one is sick, hurt, or has a death in the family. The RAK Society also assists monetarily at times. The RAK jug is always visible, and students contribute to it every day.

PIO Society � This Pass It On Society of about 80 students engages in a variety of kindness activities. They call themselves the PIO Society as sort of a Fraternity/Sorority reference. They operate on the �premise that high school students face so much stress and anxiety that there is a great need to create bright spots in their days through simple Random Acts of Kindness. Here are some of their activities, which are all student run. Recipients of kind acts are encouraged to pass the kindness on to others.
� Quarterly, the members paint posters with inspirational sayings and kindness quotes for the school hallways.
� Once a month they give out quotation cards with similar sayings. The cards are printed on photo paper (so they last longer) on the computer and are business card size. Students tape these into their notebooks and post them in their lockers.
� In September and May, they give out free Otter Pops, donated by parents. These get lots of smiles on a hot day. In December and January, they have hot chocolate and hot apple cider mornings.
� In March, they give away 500 carnations donated by a local florist.

� They have a teddy bear drive for a children�s home. They provided over 500 stuffed animals for abused children for the holidays. This year they gave out 400 Pass It On pens during Welcome Week. Each pen has an inspirational quote on the side.

Kindness Community Outreach

In early December, I contact the director of our local food pantry. She was down to five cans of food on the shelves.

Our Kids Care Club began a can drive for the next two weeks. We made it a contest between classes, with the prize being an ice cream party. At the end of the campaign, we had collected over 4,000 cans of food. On December 14th, the kids stayed after school to help load the food. I heard remarks like, �Some child won�t go hungry now.�

We have another project for March for the food pantry. We are sponsoring a soup supper and canned food drive. We have opened our project to the public, and many local business have donated items for the supper. We hope to sell at least 500 tickets to the event. A local bank has offered to be a drop-off site for canned goods for us.

The children also had a read-a-thon and collected $221 to give to our local Angel Tree Project here in Tipton, Indiana.

Attention New Zealanders!!

We want to hear from you!! Be one of the first NZ schools or groups to set up a RAOK club, then tell us all about it!! Remember if you need any help or information, feel free to contact us. If you want to join a group, and don�t have one, contact us-we will find one or start making one for you.