When students from the University Honors Program went to see a performance of the musical “Spamalot” in downtown Chicago Jan. 20, they decided to kick off the Huskie Acts of Kindness program the most appropriate way possible.

“The first act of kindness was to give money to a homeless man,” said Honors Program Coordinator Kate Braser.

In tribute to the victims of the Feb. 14 shootings, the Honors Program wants people to perform Huskie Acts of Kindness before writing those acts on postcards and returning them to the Honors office. The cards will be displayed in the Student Center on Feb. 14. So far, there’s been an outpouring of support for the project.

“We initially printed 2,000 and ran out of them in three days. Of the second 2,000, this is all that’s left,” Braser said as she pointed to a stack of about 100 resting on her desk.

Four-thousand more will be printed, she said, after they thought the original 2,000 would be more than enough.

The postcards are blank on one side, which is where participants are asked to write down their random acts of kindness while decorating them any way they choose. The other side features an explanation of the project and a brief description of each of the five victims killed on Feb. 14.

The idea for Huskie Acts of Kindness was hatched in November, after members of the Honors Program began brainstorming the best way to commemorate those who lost their lives on Feb. 14.

“We wanted it to be something that everyone could participate in,” the cheerful Braser said. After three weeks of brainstorming, the postcard idea was introduced, and everyone thought it was the way to go.

“We’re just trying to get the campus united in a service spirit,” said sophomore accountancy major David Hansell, a member of the Honors Program. “This is just something that’s a little bit different; getting a wide range of people involved.”

Postcards that have come in so far – there are many still out in circulation across NIU and the greater DeKalb area – are posted on the front door of the Honors Program office in the Campus Life Building. There you can read about a wide range of acts: from filling a family member’s gas tank to shoveling a neighbor’s driveway.

“One of my favorites is someone who took the time to write thank you notes to everyone that helped them that week,” Braser said.

Members of the Honors Program hope to see many more postcards pour in as it gets closer to Feb. 14, and Braser said she’s “sure they’ll keep trickling in after” that date. But most importantly, they know that every time a postcard is filled out, whether it comes into the office or not, a random act will have occurred in honor of those lost last February.

“It’s a small thing that people can do,” said senior nursing major Arielle Payne, who’s also involved with the project. “We’re encouraging people to make the world around them a better place, in little ways.”