By David Karas | Correspondent

A different kind of epidemic has struck St. Catharine School, Spring Lake, this flu season.

And the contagion, according to school officials, is kindness.

The Jersey Shore students challenged themselves to perform at least one act of kindness each day for 30 days, with the hopes of achieving a combined total of 10,000 acts of kindness. The project, part of the school’s iCare initiative, was launched as a way of raising money for the school’s technology programs by encouraging students to ask family, friends and neighbors to sponsor them as they participate in the “kindness-a-thon.”

“We were looking for a way to raise money for our technology and STEM program while focusing on giving back to our community,” said PTA president Janet Schneider.

Students used journals to record their daily acts of kindness. Some of the initial acts were relatively simple – holding a door open for someone, sharing a smile or showing appreciation to teachers, to name a few. But as they saw the impact of their actions, they were inspired to do more.

Students worked with classmates to organize group projects to help those in need, collecting donations for local food banks, animal shelters and other non-profit organizations. Some students also extended their helping hands beyond the local community, assembling care packages for the military serving overseas and collecting donations for children in the Dominican Republic, to be delivered by a school Spanish teacher on an upcoming trip.

The program spread to encompass school-wide programs, with parent involvement as well. Efforts included a coat drive for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Asbury Park and Red Bank, as well as Joseph House in Camden, and a Thanksgiving turkey collection to benefit patrons of the St. Anthony of Claret Food Pantry, Lakewood.

“The benefits of this fundraiser have far exceeded any monetary goal,” said Erin Quinn, parent and iCare co-chair. “The joy our students experienced by spreading kindness to others is priceless.”

The students were successful in exceeding their goal of 10,000 acts of kindness, and a school-wide celebration was held to recognize their accomplishments.

Joanne Lagnese, a sixth grade teacher in St. Catharine School, led her students in their support of a local animal shelter. After deciding to support homeless animals, they embarked on an intensive project that included a bake sale, complete with a publicity campaign and the students giving up their lunch and recess to run the sale, which netted $600 in donations that they gave to the shelter in the form of a pet store gift card.

One of her students, Griffin Mulcahy, 12, and a member of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, touched on the lessons the class learned from the project.

 “I feel that through iCare, I have learned many things, including that I can now appreciate how much we can accomplish if we try to complete merely one act of kindness a day,” said Mulcahy.

Mary Cate Pilla, 11, and also a member of the parish community, spoke about how the school was transformed during the project period.

“Everyone worked together during iCare. School was a nicer place to be because everyone was thinking about being kind to each other,” she said. “I learned that it (is) more important to think of others, even animals, than myself. We had a chance to do what we are taught about in religion class and in church.”