WEEK BEGINS NEXT SUNDAY

The local celebration of Random Acts of Kindness continues to spread -- stretching south to Charleston, north to Perryville and east to Cairo, Ill.

Nearly 120 businesses, churches, organizations and schools have already signed up to participate. The observance begins next Sunday, May 11 and runs through May 17.

Signing up is easy. A registration form appears on this page. It can be mailed or faxed to the Southeast Missourian, Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63701. The fax number is 573-334-7288.

Registration can also be completed over the phone by calling the newspaper at 573-335-6611 or 1-800-879-1210.

Participants need only agree to perform some act during the week. The choice of the kindness is up to them, although the newspaper does have a long list of ideas available. A limited version of that list appears on this page.

Beginning next Sunday, a full-page will be devoted each day to people who do kind deeds all year long. A kindness hotline will begin Monday, May 12.

The local celebration is part of a national observance.

The first national Random Acts of Kindness Week dates back to February of 1995. Participants included more than 140 communities coast-to-coast -- from Boston to Los Angeles to Lubbock, Texas, as well as thousands of schools, city governments and nonprofit organizations.

By February of 1997, the celebration grew to about 450 communities, 11,000 schools and several foreign countries.

Nancy Briggin is director of the National Random Acts of Kindness Week Foundation, which is headquartered in Fairfax, Calif. She coordinates the annual observance, and works with people throughout the year.

The growth of the movement has been phenomenal. Each year, the number of participants literally doubles.

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

Participation has also spread to England, Germany, Italy and Canada. Schools in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore sponsored RAK activities.

The kindnesses -- both large and small -- are moving.

She points to children from a homeless shelter in Oregon, who delivered hot chili and crackers to homeless on the streets. "These kids attend `A School With No Name,' which was created and run through the homeless shelter. The story was just so touching."

Some people ask why the national foundation limits the observance to a week. Briggin likes to say the foundation promotes a consciousness-raising effort. The annual week helps renew the enthusiasm.

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. 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.

Random Acts of Kindness Week takes aim at breaking down the detachment many people feel for each other.

Briggin sees kindness not as a panacea, but as a start. "I'm not saying that being kind to one another will immediately change the world," she says. But a gesture of kindness can certainly change one person's day, and if they pass it on, the movement multiplies.

Oftentimes, it's the little things that push people over the edge. Kindness can be that little thing that pulls them up.

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.

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE AVALABLE FREE OF CHARGE AT THE SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN

*Random Acts of Kindness Week brochures, which provide overview of the observance

*List of Kindness ideas

*8 1/2 by 11-inch window posters for Kindness participants

*Random Acts of Kindness bookmarks

*Stickers that say: Warning, I practice Random Acts of Kindness.

*Teachers Guide or Communigy Guide on Random Acts of Kindness