Ben Franklin Academy eighth grader Allie Barwind’s mission is to bring smiles to the faces of her classmates.
“I’m just happy that I can make other people’s days and really make other people happy,” she told Denver7. “Instead of doing stuff for myself, I do stuff for others.”
Allie is involved in the Friends of Rachel (FOR) program at Ben Franklin. It was inspired by the writings of Rachel Scott, one of the students killed in the shootings at Columbine High School back in 1999.
The FOR Club organizes book buddies for the kindergarten class and meets to make uplifting Post-It notes to put on the lockers of other kids.
“Students will be happy they got something nice on their locker,” Barwind said. “You don’t know everyone’s back story. They may be having a hard time, but when they see a note on their locker they will be happy they got that.”
The club recognizes random acts of kindness on paper chain links that hang in a hallway of the school.
For her hard work and dedication, Denver7 and U.S. Bank presented Barwind with a $100 gift card.
Barwind says she just wants people to know kids can make a difference.
“Kids should be involved because you need to spread kindness, show people how big of a heart you have.”
You can learn more about Friends of Rachel clubs and the other programs of Rachel’s Challenge on their website.