A lesson about kindness learned as a Tri-City school kid continues to inspire Cassandra Stepien.
The business world could use a bit of kindness, says a former School District 43 student, who is now in university and continues to promote Real Acts of Caring.
Stepien said she is supporting RAC, started 11 years ago by teacher Harriette Chang, because of the deep meaning it held for her when she was a kid.
"I want other children to benefit from the same experience," said Stepien in an interview to promote Real Acts of Caring Week, Feb. 12 to 18.
Now a business student at Simon Fraser University, Stepien said encouraging business leaders to promote caring and kindness among employees could go along way to boosting morale, helping with mental health issues and reducing infighting between colleagues.
"RAC has always been more than a club to me. It's a way to integrate kindness in a community and it brings out the best in people," said Stepien, who was a student at Central elementary school when Real Acts of Caring (then called Random Acts of Kindness) was introduced in the school district.
Stepien has been involved every year since and is a member of a steering committee that is organizing activities for RAC Week.
She said her most memorable RAC experience was bringing treats and spending time with seniors at a care home. "You could see in their eyes they really appreciated it."
Now, she wants others to experience the joy in being kind to others without expecting anything back and is part of a social media campaign
@realactsbc) to get people to participate in RAC Week. There's a website (realactsofcaring.org) and a contest this year with a $250 prize for the best RAC story and photo, and all schools in B.C. can participate.
RAC IS GROWING
Chang, who now teaches at Banting middle school, said the contest is a way of promoting RAC but the prize money can be a big help for programs just starting out because buying flowers, coffee and other treats can get expensive, although students are encouraged to do chores for money to support the program.
She said she has been impressed with the way RAC has caught on in B.C.; last year, Premier Christy Clark issued a proclamation in support of RAC week, and many cities and schools have joined in. "It's become a common language in several schools in the district."
She said Banting students have been preparing for weeks, meeting at lunch to plan their campaign and presentations to local councils, and preparing to hand out flowers and baked goods to transit riders at Burquitlam Station next week.
And the kids say they get as much benefit from doing RAC as the people who are surprised with treats and kind gestures.
"It's not physical, or something you can show, but it's a good feeling and a way to meet friends," said Lisa Ungureanu.
Connor Bygrove, who is in Grade 8, said RAC builds "community connectedness" and encourages people to be more accepting while Debanhi Herrera Lira said doing RAC for someone can also brighten up a gloomy day.
Chang noted RAC also dovetails nicely with the new curriculum, in which thinking, communication and social awareness are core competencies that students have to master. She also said RAC programs at school can deepen the learning from bullying prevention programs because students get attention for doing something good instead of something inappropriate or hurtful.
BULLYING PREVENTION
"We need to teach kids what is appropriate and how to be kind," she said, noting that they also need to learn the difference between "ratting" and "reporting" and what steps to take if they see someone being bullied at school.
This year she introduced a program she developed with her husband, Warren Chang, a Dr. Charles Best secondary school counsellor, called SOLVES, which encourages students to:
• Stop if they see someone in a conflict situation;
• Own-it or consider next steps;
• Look, Listen and Learn;
• Verbalize, to help problem solve;
• Evaluate, to see if their are satisfied with how they handled the situation;
• and Seek advice or report if necessary.
"It empowers kids to step up and not be a negative bystander," she said.
When engaged with RAC, students are ready to go out into the world and be a positive influence on the community, said Chang, whose next project is to start a What Would You Do Club to get students to role play appropriate behaviours to challenging moral situations.
As for Stepien, she's looking forward to finishing her education and bringing RAC to the business world, saying, "Small things like this can make a big difference."
