ten feel uncomfortable about it and
yet fail to intervene. This is true
because we often don’t know what
to do or feel powerless in being
able to do it. Parents, teachers and
other adult role models can model
and teach these skills to our young
people, and let them know that they
will be supported in stepping up or
stepping in. The more involved we
become, the more we chose to be
take-a-standers rather than bystanders, the sooner the world will
shift into the kind of peaceful place
we all envision.
“Remember there’s no such
thing as a small act of kindness.
Every act creates a ripple with no
logical end.” – actsofrandomkindnessclub.org
Desmond
Tutu once
said: If you Acts of random Kindness
are neutral
in situations
of injustice,
you have
chosen the
side of the
oppressor.
A
rchbishop Mitty High
School in San Jose, California, has had great success
on campus with the creation of a
peace club called ARK, which stands
for Acts of Random Kindness. With
its inception at Independence High
School, also in San Jose, ARK is now
a sprawling movement at more
than 40 high schools and counting across and beyond California. I
interviewed Mrs. Melissa Boulton,
a faculty member in Mitty’s Social
Studies department, who is involved in the club. Here is what she
had to say.
14 IMAGINE l Autumn 2015
Why did you create the club?
We discovered ARK through its
president and founder at Independence High School. After hearing so
much positive feedback about the
club at other schools, we thought it
would be great to start one at Mitty.
The positivity and mission statement of ARK really caught our attention, and the smiles it generates
through such simple acts is very
rewarding to see.
Did the students want it? Our
school theme for this school year is
actually Acts of Kindness, so ARK