Algonquin’s new Brighten a Day Club, created by sophomores Emmy Beauchesne and Emma Thompson, is spreading positivity through acts of kindness. 

Brighten A Day is a nonprofit volunteer organization, dedicated to spreading love and cheer through cards, gifts and small acts of community service. Beauchesne and Thompson decided to create an ARHS chapter to extend their mission of spreading smiles and bringing cheer to students, senior citizens and other community members. 

Beauchesne and Thompson, both three-season athletes, created this chapter as a low commitment option for people wanting to help others. They wanted the club to be fun and less stressful while still helping the community and making a positive impact. 

“Many clubs at Algonquin meet a lot and it’s hard to put in that amount of time commitment,” Thompson said. “Since many people have other responsibilities, we thought it would be a good option[for students].” 

The club welcomes anyone looking for an extra source of positivity in their day.

“I think everyone could use something like this,“ Beauchesne said. “It’s not a necessity, but why not? A lot of people can be struggling with things such as anxiety at school or home lives [who can benefit from the club].” 

Club meetings center around activities that spread positivity and give back to the community, but they are also a time for students to socialize and have fun together. Later this year, they plan to create gift baskets for the holidays including cookie cutter kits and collect presents to give kids in the community who can not afford them. The club plans to create positive care packages for new moms to give them support. 

“We are going to write letters to moms and attach a small rattle or gift to give them some inspiration so they know that everything will work out,” Beauchesne said.

At the club’s recent meetings, they have focused on creating cards for friends and teachers. 

“Students could write to past teachers about their experiences with them and thank them for making their class enjoyable and interesting,” Beauchesne said. “It’s something to just cheer teachers up even if the student didn’t seem to pay attention or be interested that much [during their class].” 

The club, which is advised by English teacher Alex Sliva, meets in H202 and communicates meetings and events through their Instagram account @brightenaday_algonquin.

“On Instagram we will post before each meeting time and date,” Thompson said. “You don’t have to sign up before you come, you can just decide if you want to that day.” 

With the amount of hardships present in today’s society, Beauchesne and Thompson believe that even small gestures and acts of kindness can have the power to brighten someone’s day.

“It’s nice to be able to reach out and do small things to help people if you know them or not,” Thompson said.