Everyone enjoys receiving appreciation for the work they do, and effort they put in towards their work. It’s a good feeling to be noticed, and praised, and treated nicely for what one has accomplished. But, it’s an even better feeling when the kindness is given freely and randomly—and even better if one is on the other side of it, making others feel that happiness.

First created in Denver, Colorado, in 1995, by the then-small nonprofit organization the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, Feb. 17 is the national holiday of Random Acts of Kindness Day. “The work to create a kinder world never ends,” states the foundation’s website, following with: “There is no limit on the amount of goodness we can put into the world, but we need your help!”

“I believe this a great idea for our school to have a day like this!” Says senior Elena Martin after hearing about the holiday. “This could show the students that it’s not hard to be nice to everyone. Whether it’s letting someone borrow a pencil or helping someone out with homework, it’s not that hard to be nice to the people around us.”

The organization only wishes to help better the world by bringing a little light to everyone’s time on this day–whether it be something as small as helping someone pick up dropped books, giving out flowers, or complimenting an outfit, to as big as helping someone find a lost wedding ring, offering a stranger comfort and a shoulder to cry on, or even donating blood or signing up to donate bone marrow. There’s thousands of ways for anyone to spread kindness and happiness, all he or she has to do is just make the effort to try and be kind.

“I believe that this could help our society, because it could make people realize that not everyone is competing with each other for the ‘top’—” continues Martin, wishing to try and describe the value she sees in the day and the organization, “—that we are just trying to live our lives to the fullest before we have to leave it soon.” Martin pauses, before continuing her thought process on the significance and importance of this topic. “It also could bring our society together and make people realize that everyone is human, and that they are neither more or less a person or human than the other. It would make us accept people for who they are and for what they or ourselves choose to become, in regards to work as well as character, later down the line.”

Currently, the foundation’s website is utterly full of ideas and activities to do during, leading up to and after the holiday! One of these such activities is, for the first time ever, a coloring contest, where the foundation provides a specific coloring sheet that can be downloaded and printed, and anyone can color it in, submit it as an entry, and be one of five possible entries who may be randomly selected to win a bunch of RAK-themed items to continue to celebrate the wonderful organization and the fantastic holiday. Another activity is that the website keeps a sort of “calendar” leading up to the holiday, as well as two days after it, where every day says something new, and tells one to either do something that will make someone else happy, something to make themselves happy, or both!

“Yes, I believe we should have a day like this within our school [and most likely the district, as well], for it could brighten someone else’s day, for the better, and bring us closer together as a school, a community, a society, and a city and people,” shares Martin as her final, closing words on the topic. Her full support towards the holiday is fairly evident, and her verbal pushes to bring the holiday to the classrooms, despite having only just learned of the holiday, are both very strong and hard to rebuke or argue against.

The organization’s website is, of course, active all year round, not just during February and the national holiday, so keeping up with it always is a fantastic idea to give oneself inspiration on how to keep spreading happiness and kindness, no matter the day, occasion, or person! So, help celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day with the organization and help spread the good word and cheer. Make the world a better place, doing something kind to or for anyone on the day–but most importantly, do so every single day!