RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS PARTICIPANTS GROW

Kindness is spreading. Forty-seven schools, churches and businesses have signed up for Random Acts of Kindness Week, which is scheduled May 11 through 17.

Many groups are already making plans.

For example, the Scott City Elementary Student Council plans to clean up the school grounds next week.

Students in the seventh and eighth grades at Concordia Trinity Lutheran School in Frohna have already begun their activities. Thirteen students each wrote two residents of the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Students shared information about themselves and assured each resident of God's precious love and care for them.

Signing up simply means a participant agrees to do a Random Act of Kindness during the week. Participants can fill out registration forms published in the paper or stop by the office at 301 Broadway to pick up a form. Interested people can also register by phone by calling 335-6611.

Names of all participants will be run on the front page of the newspaper.

More than 1,500 bright pink stickers proclaiming "Warning: I practice Random Acts of Kindness" have already been distributed. The stickers, along with bookmarks, idea sheets, posters, brochures, community guides and teacher curriculum guides, are available free of charge at the newspaper, 301 Broadway.

"We have plenty more to hand out. We had 25,000 stickers printed this year," said Joni Adams, managing editor and coordinator of the event.

Information packets can also be mailed to interested persons. The requests can be made by telephone or mail.

The local observance of Random Acts of Kindness Week is part of a national movement.

The first national Random Acts of Kindness Week in 1995 attracted some 140 communities. By 1997, the celebration grew to 450 communities, 11,000 schools and several foreign countries, according to Nancy Briggin, director of the National Random Acts of Kindness Week Foundation, which is headquartered in Fairfax, Calif.

"The seeds of this movement blow," said Briggin. "Someone visits a friend, and the next thing you know, I'm getting calls from Australia and New Zealand."

Briggin said teachers provide the most consistent feedback about the success of the program. Random Acts of Kindness gives kids a hope that there's something better out there, she said. It also shows children firsthand that they can make a difference.

"When they roll up their sleeves and do a project, that's a powerful lesson," says Briggin.

One of Briggin's favorite kindnesses is done in her car. She loves to leave 15 minutes early and turn into a "road angel."

"I look for every opportunity to help someone in traffic. I let people in, or let them make a turn across traffic. It's something I can predict, and it makes me feel wonderful," said Briggin.

That's the beauty of random acts of kindnesses: It enriches both the giver and the recipient, she said.

For more information, contact Adams or Peggy Scott at the Southeast Missourian, at 573-335-6611 or 1-800-879-1210.

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS WEEK PARTICIPANTS

Christian School for Young YearsGarbers Men's WearSt. Mary Cathedral SchoolBirthrightSt. Francis Medical CenterSoutheast Missouri HospitalCollege of Education at Southeast Missouri State UniversityCircle of Hope at Grace United Methodist ChurchOptioncare/Option Home HealthAAA Auto ClubAAA InsuranceAAA TravelBrownie Troop 13 in JacksonCottonwood Residential Treatment CenterIona Baptist ChurchA Touch of Grace Herb ShopSewing Ladies at Bethany Baptist ChurchBender's AngelsCulligan Water ConditioningHi-Tech AutomotiveDaytimer's LoungeVisiting Nurses Association of Southeast MissouriOtahki Girl Scout CouncilCentenary United Methodist ChurchBoys Scouts of Southeast MissouriMBA Program at Southeast Missouri State UniversityDepartment of Political Science at Southeast Missouri State UniversityRegional Employee Assistance ProgramNAACPScott City Elementary School Student CouncilWal-Mart in JacksonHeavenly HamPreMiere ClothingL.J. Schultz Middle SchoolJackson Project CharlieMary Kay CosmeticsCape Girardeau Project CharlieLorberg Memorial Funeral ChapelSoutheast HospiceEagle Ridge Christian SchoolJudith Anne'sArea Wide United WayAll three offices of Mercantile Bank in Cape GirardeauEdy Freeman Crane ServiceSeventh and Eight Graders at Concordia Trinity Lutheran School in FrohnaDiscount Smoke Shop in JacksonPerryville Elementary SchoolTo add your name, call 335-6611