Take Challenge, Vie With Others

Dear Readers: The following letter was forwarded to me by Father Theodore Hesburgh, who, for 35 years, served as president of Notre Dame University. We have been friends since he began his career at that great school, and I happily put my stamp of approval on anything Father Ted supports. What follows falls in that category:

Dear Ann Landers: I am a student at Ridge Street School in Newark, N.J. On behalf of my school, I would like to invite students across the country to do as many acts of kindness (helping others) and justice (standing up for what’s right) as they can in the two weeks before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 18.

Do Something, founded in 1993, is a national non-profit organization that trains, funds, mobilizes and inspires young people to be leaders who strengthen their communities. Do Something, along with dozens of national education and service organizations, is organizing a nationwide two-week effort leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, titled “Kindness and Justice Challenge.”

Students should write down the acts of kindness and justice they perform and enter them on the Internet. Students don’t need to have their own computers. They can access the Internet through their schools. One of the acts of kindness that I did was helping my mom around the house when she sprained her ankle. As an act of justice, I told one of my classmates that it was wrong to cheat on his test and that he was smart enough to pass it without cheating. The next day, I found out that he passed the test without cheating.

The Kindness and Justice Challenge will give students the opportunity to show their respect for Martin Luther King Jr. by making the world a more kind and just place. Please help us get the word out. - Michael Rodriguez

Dear Michael Rodriguez: Thank you for your excellent letter. I also received some additional information from Andrew Shue, board chair of Do Something.

All schools in the nation, kindergarten through high school, are invited to participate in the Kindness and Justice Challenge. Each teacher who registers will receive a kit with an appropriate curriculum that includes two weeks of daily lessons, instructions for posting acts of kindness and justice on the Internet, and incentives to encourage participation.

Each school that registers for the challenge can post the acts on a special website. After the challenge, students and schools that have done the most acts in each state and in the nation will receive recognition and media attention.

I think this is a tremendously worthwhile program, and I hope teachers and students everywhere will ask about it. For more information, write to: The Kindness and Justice Challenge, Do Something, 423 W. 55th St., 8th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10019, or access www.kjchallenge.org.

Dear Ann Landers: I’m a faithful reader in Seoul, Korea. Every now and then, you print an “unusual happening.” Here’s my contribution from the London Telegraph: A blind man in Edinburgh, Scotland, bit his guide dog because the man became frustrated at his inability to make the dog follow instructions. “I was drunk,” the man said. The judge showed little mercy. The man may not own another dog for two years. - Faithful Reader

Dear Faithful: When a dog bites a man, that’s not news, but when a man bites a dog, it’s worth some ink. Thank you.