Super
kids, super-abundance of kindness
Make Feb. 12-18 a week of spontaneous giving around B.C.
Glenda Luymes, The Province
Published: Tuesday, January 16, 2007
A group of elementary school students is hoping a little
bit of kindness will go a long way.
The Grade 4 and 5 students at Port Coquitlam's Central
Community School have taken a classroom project and turned
it into a campaign for kindness, asking the premier to
declare a provincewide Random Acts of Kindness week Feb.
12-18.
"It's really about spreading kindness," student
Nicole Dziarmaga, 10, said yesterday. "I just want
to make the community a better place."
Fiona Suhyun, 10, describes a random act of kindness
as an unexpected, caring gesture that's done with no expectation
of receiving something in return.
"When someone helps you, it makes you feel happy,
and it makes you want to pass it on," she said.
The two are members of Central's 16-member Random Acts
of Kindness Club.
Led by school counsellor Harriette Chang, the students
are planning events for their school's special week.
They have written to the mayors of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam
and Port Moody, as well as their local MLA, asking for
a province-wide Random Acts of Kindness week.
"The big goal is to have an official week for the
Tri-Cities," said Chang. "But we're very excited
and cautiously optimistic about getting a provincial proclamation
declaring a RAK week for all of B.C. That would be amazing."
Chang said the project has been completely driven by
the students at the inner-city elementary school.
"I'm so proud of them. In my 14 years of teaching,
I've never seen something like this before. I'm learning
so much from these students," she said.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Scott Young hopes to hear more about
the project when the students make a presentation to council
soon.
"This is an opportunity for the city to acknowledge
the work of these students and also to inspire people
to provide some form of kindness to another person,"
he said.
Port Moody-Westwood MLA Iain Black said he's waiting
to hear whether the government will declare a RAK week.
"I think these kids need to be commended," he
said. "This isn't just a hollow gesture. I believe
a big difference can be made through small steps."
Student Cassandra Stepien, 10, said RAK has taught her
just that.
"I thought this would be a school project, but it
keeps growing," she said.
gluymes@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2007
|
