Campus organization looks to spread kindness
One of the newest clubs at USD, Random Acts of Kindness, or RAK for short, is dedicated solely to performing good deeds across campus.
RAK was formed last spring by USD business administration sophomore Logan Johnson, after months of organizing, planning and rallying support from her fellow students. The USD branch of RAK is part of a national organization of the same name.
The organization’s primary purpose is to spread positivity and kindness in schools, communities and homes. RAK clubs have popped up on many other campuses, and Johnson said she’s excited to have the club on campus spreading goodwill.
“We do small and big gestures both on campus and in the community,” Johnson said. “For instance, we go to the home of someone who is elderly or disabled and rake their leaves or shovel their driveway when the snow comes. The whole idea is to pay it forward.”
According to The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, kindness has positive effects on everyone who witnesses an act of it, improving moods, reducing stress and making individuals more likely to “pay it forward,” or reciprocate acts of kindness.
The foundation’s mission is to create a happier, more joyful world. Their first objective is to make 2016 “the year of kindness.”
Johnson said she was motivated to create the club by her own personal experiences.
“In middle school and high school, there were mean girls and girls who stood up to the mean girls,” she said. “People stood up for me and that meant a lot to me, so I would do that for others. I wanted to start something that would benefit the community in the same way.”
Tess Albright, a sophomore majoring in biology and a RAK executive, likes having a group like RAK on campus to do good for others.
“If this club can put a smile on someone’s face and make their day, that is what we’re looking for,” Albright said. “Any gesture, big and small, can make the biggest impact on any one person.”
The club’s first organized “act of kindness” this year will be creating care packages for first-year students on campus. The idea came from students who expressed interest in the club at USD’s organization fair last week.
The whole world, Albright suggested, could use more acts of kindness.
“I believe there needs to be more good in the world,” she said. “If our group can remind people to take a step back and be thankful for everything surrounding them, we have accomplished another task.”
