Lake Region—Several years ago Reginald Gilliam of the Gary (Ind.) Fire Department agreed to teach art for grades one to four at Mizpah Seventh-day Adventist Junior Academy. The students later baked cookies to show their appreciation not only to Gilliam, but to all the firemen who risk their lives to fight fires in Gary. The children and their teacher agreed to provide two dozen of their favorite home-baked cookies. There were enough cookies to deliver to every fire station, and the students were proud of this act of kindness.

The inspiration for this project came last year when their teacher, Marcia Sackie, attended the National Seventh-day Adventist Teacher's Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Ron Clark, a motivational speaker at the convention, shared 55 essential acts in his book, The Essential 55. Sackie said, "Currently we are following the rules we have read and discussed in class. Rule 11, 'Surprise others by performing random acts of kindness,' motivated us to strive to do deeds of kindness at home, school, and church weekly. We have decided to perform a 'Random Act of Kindness' for the service workers in the city of Gary once a month. The children are to seek a job that will pay them at least a quarter each month in order to subsidize the baking of cookies. The 12 students in grades one to four have been divided into teams of three, and the first team baked six dozen cookies on September 19 for the Gary Police Department. Baking cookies provides many teachable moments for giving instructions in math, especially when recipes must be doubled or tripled."

At the beginning of every school year pre-school through grade four students go on a field trip to County Line Orchard in Hobart, Ind. This year the tour was scheduled for September 20. The students not only saw hundreds of different kinds of apple trees, but they were also able to pick two different types of apples, Golden Delicious and Gala. Prior to starting the tour Sackie told one of the ladies about the class' planned random act of kindness for the Gary Police Department and requested to see a manager or supervisor. Sackie thought it would be wonderful to take apples with the cookies when they delivered them to the police station. She met with Ryan Richardson, County Line Orchard owner. Sackie shared the class' plans and requested the apples. Excited about their project, Richardson asked, "How many apples do you need?"

Afraid to ask for too many apples, Sackie responded, "If you could match the number of cookies we baked with apples, that would be appreciated."

Richardson had six bags of beautiful red apples in a wheelbarrow waiting for the students when their orchard tour ended. The apples were loaded into the teacher's car, and the caravan with parents and students proceeded to the Gary police station.

Once the students passed through security, a receptionist contacted the police chief's department. The group was escorted into a large room where they were introduced to Sam Roberts, a public information officer.

Kaleb Jamison, a fourth-grade student, was elected by the class to make the presentation, and Sackie says the students and teacher were very proud of him. The students were later introduced to the deputy chief, Thomas Branson. Everyone they met was so appreciative. Each student received a junior policeman sticker, a special pencil, and 100-year celebration pins.

Special arrangements were made for the students to also meet the police chief, Thomas Houston, who demonstrated that he truly loves children. All the children made a semi-circle around the police chief, and pictures were taken.

Mizpah Seventh-day Adventist Junior Academy was invited to schedule a tour of the police station, and Sackie plans to do that soon. The students, parents, and teacher had an unforgettable experience, and plan to continue to do random acts of kindness at school, at home, and at church.

Ruth Horton, Ed.D., superintendent of education, Lake Region Conference, as shared by Marcia Sackie, teacher, Mizpah Seventh-day Adventist Junior Academy