People will never know how far kindness can go -- Rachel Scott
True, Rachel, but we are learning.
On Wednesday, Bonham ISD students of all ages crowded into Bonham High School to celebrate a year when acts of kindness began to start chain reactions on every campus.
Administrators, teachers and students took turns telling about the positive changes Rachel's Challenge has helped bring about in their classrooms and in their schools. Still, it was a bittersweet moment because of the somber gentleman seated at the back of the podium and staring straight ahead. That was Darrell Scott, father of Rachel Scott, the first victim of the Columbine High School tragedy.
Mr. Scott stepped up to the podium and asked his wife to join him. Looking out at a sea of young faces gazing up at him from the gym floor, he said, "Rachel, to us, isn't a program; it's our daughter and stepdaughter. Ten years ago she left us, but she left us a legacy of love and kindness. Thank you so much for honoring our daughter."
Perhaps all the answers for why everything went so wrong on that spring morning in Colorado in 1999 will never be known. Perhaps it was a combination of chronic bullying, intimidation, and the mistaken idea more violence was the only way out.
What we do know is that long before a senseless act left families and friends grieving for 12 classmates and a teacher, something very special was working in the life of Rachel Scott. The 17-year-old left behind six diaries, several essays, poetry and an assortment of sketches. A lot of this material dealt with an idea that unconditional love and simple acts of kindness could start a chain reaction in those around her.
Rachel would draw and write in the most unlikely places. As a 13-year-old, Rachel had sat behind a dresser and traced her hands. Not so unusual, you say? Well, inside the outlines of a little girl's hands were these words: "These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will someday touch millions of people's hearts."
The Christian concepts that Rachel Scott steadfastly employed in day-to-day settings live on now in Rachel's Challenge, a non-profit organization established by the young girl's father and her chain reaction continues. Over five million people have listened to Rachel Scott's ideas in live settings over the past decade and approximately 13 million have watched Darrell Scott tell this story on CNN, Good Morning America and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
"We are here today to pay tribute to the Darrell Scott family," remarked Bonham ISD Superintendent Sonny Cruse.
So how far can this chain reaction go?
"I have personally seen things change because of Rachel's Challenge," Mr. Cruse observed. "It's OK to treat others with respect. I think our young people know they can make a positive impact in our schools, our cities, counties, our country and, yes, even their world."
Young people, in particular, are quick to answer a challenge. This program dares them to respond with a thoughtful word, a kind gesture and respect.
So, what would happen if suddenly, everywhere, it was cool to be kind?
We can only look at what one young lady managed to accomplish and wonder.
I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion then it will start a chain reaction of the same. - Rachel Scott
