Genesee Community College “RAKtivists” started out as a group of three students working together on a final project for their marketing class in the fall of 2013. Christine Furmanek, Abby Wilcox, and Brittany Keyes created a plan for Random Acts of Kindness Week in February 2014. Although they weren’t required to continue the program beyond their original assignment, they did it anyway with events continuing through the spring, summer and fall of 2014. Their first year, they raised $500 for the Title III Challenge Grant Scholarship and $65 for the Student Food Pantry.
During the fall 2014 semester, Wilcox and Furmanek, along with the help of their advisor, GCC associate professor of Business, Lauren Paisley and other students, organized a World Kindness Day event providing holiday cards for students to sign and send out to U.S. troops deployed overseas. The RAKtivists also raised $288 for the Genesee and Orleans County animal shelters, with the College community also donating approximately 175 pounds of dog and cat food. Many people flocked to the event enjoying the two adoptable (and adorable) dogs and one cat brought to GCC campus by Genesee County Animal Shelter. The RAKtivists also created a “Wheel of Kindness” spinning wheel that inspired participants to complete a good deed.
GCC RAKtivists are currently planning for the second annual Random Acts of Kindness Week that will run from February 10-16, 2015.
