What do a chocolate Kiss, Goldfish and a tasty dish all have in common?

They were all gifts from a thoughtful group of middle school students to Hope students and staff members during International Random Acts of Kindness Week on February 9-13.

The middle school students who packaged the gifts were from the Lakeshore Program, a partnership with District 186 that allows students struggling at their local schools to attend classes via Hope so they can receive specialized services.

“The project gave students the opportunity to show kindness towards others,” said Ashley Sibert, Lakeshore Classroom Therapist. “We hope the students learned that being kind does not have to be expensive and that sometimes kindness is the best gift of all.”

Each day of that week, the students took part in a special kindness project that included delivering Hershey’s Kisses to Hope classrooms and choosing five Hope staff members to receive free lunches.

The project is part of a yearlong initiative to teach students about the benefits of being kind to one another, Sibert said. Each month, students are given the choice to participate in a special task.

“If, even for a split second, a student shows kindness or entertains the idea of being kind, then our goal has been met,” Sibert said.