Random kindness celebration planned for May

Area residents' daily acts of kindness don't make headline news. They're often little things like a Scout troop raking leaves for an elderly neighbor or a church group sewing comforters for the Red Cross.

But on Random Acts of Kindness Day on May 12, the Southeast Missourian will focus on some of those acts of kindness that make our region such a caring place.

As we have since we first celebrated Random Acts of Kindness in 1996, we are asking readers to tell us about acts of caring that have touched their lives. We will feature these kindness stories in our Sunday edition on Mother's Day.

Call us with your stories. Mark Bliss of the news staff is coordinating the coverage. He can be reached at 335-6611, extension 123, or by e-mail at mbliss@semissourian.com. Kindness information also can be mailed to RAK, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702.

Many people already are engaged in kindness. Bill and Barbara Port of Cape Girardeau have spent their retirement years volunteering. They often can be found tending to the May Greene Garden, just down the street from their Themis Street home.

They also volunteer at Southeast Missouri Hospital's emergency room on Sunday nights, making beds, transporting people in wheelchairs, running errands and doing whatever else is needed.

"We like to do things where we can get the satisfaction of seeing something accomplished," Barbara Port said.

She admits volunteering makes for a busy life. "We don't have time to work," Barbara Port said.

Random Acts of Kindness celebrations have taken root all across the country. There have been thousands of celebrations since 1995.

There's even a Random Acts of Kindness Foundation based in Denver, Colo., which promotes kindness activities in more than 6,300 cities and more than 12,000 schools.

Molly Stuart, president of the foundation, believes she knows why kindness is contagious.

"Everybody has had an experience of being either the giver of some kindness or recipient of some kindness. It is so fundamental to our human experience," she said.