Local sixth grader gives back in unique way

Every day for the past 26 days, the family of a 10-year-old Dowagiac girl has been performing “random acts of kindness” in Niles and the surrounding areas.

It began on Dec. 1, when Layla True and her mother, Kim, left seven instant lottery tickets at three locations around Niles, including at Wonderland Cinema, Dollar General and Save-A-Lot.

Attached to each lottery ticket was a note saying, “It’s your lucky day! Enjoy this random act of kindness! Merry Christmas! God is Love.”

It was a way for Kim and her husband, Doug, to remind their daughter of the true reason for the season and to keep her grounded. They also added a bible verse or lesson to each act.

“We are big on community service and volunteering. That is how I was raised and how Layla is being raised,” Kim said.

As a family, the Trues decided to perform random acts of kindness during the holiday season. Kim’s plan was to do five or 10, but Layla wanted to do an act a day for the entire month of December.

“You don’t turn down your kid when she wants to do good,” Kim said.

Thus, the 31 days of kindness was born.

The random acts of kindness have ranged from handing out free drinks to shoppers at the University Park Mall in Mishawaka, Indiana, to dispensing candy canes in downtown Niles to paying for someone’s purchase at Pet Smart.

“My favorite part is all the times I could see people’s reactions,” said Layla, a sixth-grader at Eastside Connections School in Niles. “I liked knowing I was doing something good for the community.”

They’ve been sharing their experience with daily posts on Facebook.

Kim said they’ve gotten far more out of it than they put in.

“It’s become quite a phenomenon,” Kim said. “I’ve been approached by a lot of people that are inspired by what we are doing and they are doing acts themselves. It’s been really nice and fun to know this has turned into something way bigger than us.”

Based on the response, the Trues plan to continue the tradition each year.

Those wanting to follow the True family’s progress can do so on the Facebook page Kimberly Joanis True.

Layla is also raising money for the Memorial Hospital Hearts for Gold walk on Feb. 14. This year her goal is to raise $1,000. People can donate to her team by visiting the website heartsofgoldwalk.org and search for the team “True Love.”