KINDNESS HELPING HEAL COLUMBINE

DENVER -- With the nation marking a year anniversary since the deadly shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., kindness takes on a new meaning.

Just ask Barbara Gates, national coordinator with the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation in Denver, Colo.

Both her children attend Columbine High School. When she accepted the job with the kindness foundation, which recently relocated to Denver from California, the Columbine shooting weighed in her decision.

"We were recipients of violence," she said, "and to be able to devote my time to kindness is a privilege."

But while Gates has seen the dark side of life through the shooting, she has also been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers.

After the Columbine tragedy, the outpouring of kindness from people all over the world was overwhelming.

"The kindness people showed and the prayers and cares offered helped the kids feel that they're not alone," she said.

Her daughter still corresponds with a couple from the East Coast, who first wrote to students after the shooting.

"It has connected us to people all over the world," said Gates, "Kindness has really helped the kids get through the roughest part after the shooting and get on the road to healing, which will be a very long process."

Gates' job is to work with thousands of local coordinators in schools and communities across the nation to coordinate kindness activities. Since 1995, the national Random Acts of Kindness Week has been held in February, beginning on Valentine's Day.

But many communities, such as Cape Girardeau, celebrate at other times of the year, she said. The local celebration will begin Mother's Day, May 14, and run through May 21. Participants can sign up by filling out the form that runs daily in the Southeast Missourian. Free stickers, bookmarks and signs are also available. Names of all participants will run on the front page of the newspaper, beginning today, and continuing each Sunday through the start of the week.

The Kindness movement has also gone global, said Gates.

This year, the sixth national celebration has been moved to November to coincide with the first World Kindness Day on Nov. 13. The World Kindness Movement grew out of a series of conferences convened by the Japanese Small Kindness Movement, which dates back to November 1996. Countries represented in the global movement include the United States, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Thailand and England.

World Kindness Day represents a pledge of each of these countries to join together to build a kinder and more compassionate world. More information on the world movement is available at the foundation's Web site: www.actsofkindness.org

But even though kindness is gaining a world focus, it often begins on a personal level with a single kind act.

"Kindness is something we can do in our daily lives that affects people profoundly -- both when we receive it or when we give kindness," said Gates. "It affects people on a personal level and there's not enough of that in the world today."

The RAK foundation is especially gearing up its focus on schools as a way to encourage young people to spread good feelings. Gates said the foundation has a database of more than 10,000 schools that have been involved with the movement in some way. "Sometimes, it's only one classroom, but many times it's the whole school," she said.

Gates pointed out that many children today have fewer connections than they did 50 years ago because they're often separated from extended families. The RAK foundation is hoping to build connections with kids through kindness.

Like anything else, kindness is a habit, said Gates, who works to practice kind acts as part of her daily life.

During a series of recent rainstorms, she made a point of sharing her umbrella with others while waiting for the light rail. That act of kindness initiated conversations and smiles that would have never otherwise happened between busy travelers.

"People just light up when you make a connection with them through a kindness," she said.

For more information on the local kindness observance, persons can contact the Southeast Missourian, (573) 335-6611 or (800) 879-1210.

Joni Adams is managing editor of the Southeast Missourian. You can reach her at (573) 335-6611, Ext. 121, or jadams@semissourian.com.