A cupcake.

A flower.

A kind word.

These simple items have all – at one point or another – been part of the Acts of Random Kindness club at Wilkes University.

Simply put, the club was formed to make others happy. Members perform random acts of kindness on campus and in the community.

“Kindness is powerful,” said Dr. Anne Batory, the faculty adviser of the Acts of Random Kindness (ARK) club. “Several years ago a small group of Sidhu students were inspired to start a club that would nurture and encourage acts of random kindness by working together to identify opportunities for kindness.”

ARK usually meets in UCOM every two weeks at various locations and times. At meetings the members generate new ideas for acts and discuss how previous acts went. ARK only meets when the club is prepping for or preparing an act.

During the last few years ARK has been active on and off campus. The group has cleaned up a street in a neighborhood connecting the Wilkes campus, passed out hand warmers during cold winter days and offered free socks.

ARK members also have given away movie tickets and flowers to Wilkes food service personnel, helped with a cupcake sale and shoveled snow for older area residents. 

This semester, ARK members handed out flowers around campus and distributed Gatorade and water to the construction workers working on the Wilkes Gateway Project.

Members even wrote anonymous letters to professors on campus to make them feel appreciated.

Other acts of kindness are planned for the future.

The president of ARK, Jeffrey Horwith, said that the club is about Inspiring selflessness in individuals and promoting kindness to others on campus and in the community.

“My favorite part about ARK is making people cry tears of joy,” said Horwith.

“I like doing nice things for people who seem like they need it,” said Kya Lewis, a freshman and new member of ARK.

To find out more about ARK, visit getarked.org or follow them on Instagram Wilkes_ark.