“Kindness is contagious, and spreading kindness is a way that you can impact other people,” said Mitch Granger.
Video by Max Cederkäll
This past year, UIC students have helped spread kindness by handing out meals to people without homes. As part of the program Students Performing Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK), students gather once a week to prepare and distribute meals to individuals on the streets.
Granger, senior in communication, created SPARK with the mission of combating hunger and homelessness –one person, meal and smile at a time.
“We went out and fed the homeless for the first time in late November 2014, and right away we knew that this was going to be something that we could do on a daily basis to impact lives, so we started there,” Granger shared.
SPARK completed their last mission of 2015 on Dec. 5. Granger estimates that they have fed close to 1,500 people and clothed nearly 300 this past year.
SPARK goes out once a month to sit down with someone who is homeless. They are currently working on a documentary to humanize individuals without homes. Granger shared the importance of seeing these individuals as people with the ability to love and foster compassion. He hopes to give others the ability to understand someone else’s perspective, and SPARK strives to do just that.
“Since the start of this semester, we’ve seen really good growth,” Granger shared. “We’ve had over 100 volunteers come through our organization.”
SPARK has been able to expand their mission to DePaul University and Chicago State, working with the men’s tennis teams from both universities. Both have been inspired to create similar programs within their schools.
As the amount of volunteers for SPARK increases, Granger would like others to recognize that they can spread acts of kindness on their own –without the need to join an existing organization.
“SPARK isn’t super unique,” Granger explained. “We’re just making sandwiches and going out to feed the homeless. If you think about it, everybody on campus could do that when they go downtown.”
For those interested in participating, however, SPARK will increase their missions to three per week during the spring semester in the hopes that students will have more opportunities to get involved.
For more information on how to get involved, visit their Facebook page or website.