‘Rachel’s Challenge’ promotes little acts of kindness among Calgary kids

CALGARY- Hundreds of Calgary students are helping the memory of a victim from the Columbine school shooting to live on.

Four local schools are taking part in Rachel’s Challenge, in honour of Rachel Scott. Before her death, she wrote:

“I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go."

A principal of the Foundations for the Future Charter Academy heard about Rachel’s Challenge while visiting Washington, D.C. and decided to bring it home.

“They’re a non-profit organization,” explains Midge Levson. “They sent a team up, they trained all of our 120 teachers, then they gave us a curriculum that we’ve been working on all year.”

Since last fall, students have been writing down acts of kindness they’ve witnessed or were involved in, and joined all the notes together.

“Those little acts of kindness could change the world,” says Grade 4 student Sam Leguerre. “It doesn’t have to be a huge act of kindness.”

More than 21 million people have so far taken part in the challenge, and some credit the program for helping curb bullying and teenage suicides in the United States.