Students Giving a Good Showing

Whether it’s a thank-you card to a favorite teacher, a smile for a stranger or a poem to cheer up a friend, some South County youngsters are doing good deeds to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week, which continues through Sunday.

At Santiago Elementary School in Lake Forest, students painted posters that parents helped them post across town. Classes have planned activities that include adopting charitable organizations, passing out kindness cards and sending notes to senior citizens.

“You do it to put a smile on someone’s face and to make somebody happy,” Santiago third-grader Sean Gadbois said.

Principal Nancy Blade said Santiago students will decorate the campus with a construction-paper chain made of links representing student kindness.

“I think it’s raising everyone’s awareness,” Blade said. “How can you go wrong with Random Acts of Kindness Week?”

Inspired by the book “Random Acts of Kindness,” published in 1993, the week was recognized by President Clinton in 1995 and now is observed by cities, schools, corporations and service clubs across the nation.

The goal is to counter random acts of violence with kindness, goodwill and loving deeds, said officials of the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Calif.

In Orange County, several schools are sponsoring kindness activities.

At Valley High School in Santa Ana, computer teacher Rebecca Downes is coordinating kindness week events for the third year and said she hopes the spirit of the occasion will be contagious.

“It’s something the kids can do,” Downes said.

“The students are all very positive about it . . . and people love it.”