No matter how big or small, any act of kindness has the potential to make someone’s day. The mission of MGCI Undercover Kindness has always been to make people happy and show that genuine acts of kindness still exist.

An initiative by Undercover Kindness called the Sticky Note project. Photo: Zainab Alavi

Undercover Kindness was founded in 2012 by MGCI alumni Deifilia To and Vicky Xu. Since then, it is run by a team of twelve students along with teacher supervisor Ms. Woodley. Meetings operate in a casual atmosphere, where students work on many projects throughout the school year. Notable projects from last year include the Kindness Café and the Sticky Note project.

The club also operates through social media with Facebook and Instagram pages. One of their initiatives, “Undercover Compliments Garneau,” is featured on the club’s Facebook page. There, they post anonymous compliments and messages to MGCI students almost daily to spread kindness throughout the Garneau community.

The positive efforts by Undercover Kindness within Garneau have recently been recognized. Earlier this year, Undercover Kindness participated in an annual contest held by Random Acts, an American-based non-profit organization. For the contest, Undercover Kindness created a video highlighting their mission and the activities they do at Garneau. They were rewarded for their accomplishments at school, becoming the first Canadian winners, and receiving a grant of $6000 USD. More information on their award can be found here. 

Undercover Kindness plans to use its funds to help continue their mission to spread kindness and create new projects for the current school year. This year, the club plans to add a permanent mural to the school where students will be able to write positive messages on. They also hope to increase their social media presence, with more regular posts and starting their own #ShareKindess campaign in the school. Additionally, the club will allocate $2000 to start their own scholarships, which will be named after its founders, to recognize students who spread kindness in Garneau.

Undercover Kindness members commit secret acts of kindness around the school. Photo: Jenny Bai

When asked what Undercover Kindness means to her, club president Zainab Alavi said: “The feeling you get when you do something kind for someone is indescribable. It’s so important because you never know what someone else is going through. We all put so much time and effort into the projects we do because when the person sees the positive sticky note we’ve made, or someone reads a compliment we post about them, we know for a fraction of a second we’ve made their day, and that’s what keeps us going.”

To anyone interested in spreading kindness, Undercover Kindness meets on Thursdays at lunch in Room 235.

 

Correction: The November 2017 print edition of The Reckoner incorrectly states that Undercover Kindness meets Wednesdays; the club meets Thursdays.