Nick Kay staff writer

In an effort to brighten people’s days, the newly created club Brighten Our Lives dedicated time to doing simple and free acts of kindness. 

The club is composed of six sophomores, including president and creator sophomore Rachel Kohley. After brainstorming with the other club members for several months about future plans and events for the club, Kohley shares what motivated her to bring her idea to life.

“Throughout quarantine, I realized that there’s no club that focuses on our community, on the world full of the people around us. Therefore, I started Brighten Our Lives. Our mission statement? To better the lives of our community and ourselves; to make someone smile,” Kohley said.

Letters of Love, the club’s latest project, consisted of sending handwritten letters in bouquets of flowers to senior homes. Members of the club showed up to one of their weekly Zoom meetings to write multiple “heartfelt letters of appreciation” with “the intention of bringing a smile to someone’s face.”

Alongside Kohley are co-presidents Abby Wolf and Sadie Ware, Social Media Manager Isabela Painter, Librarian Olivia Green and Secretary Shayda Dadvnad.

“Our entire goal is to spread positivity to people and make people feel loved and know that they are valued during such a lonely time,” Wolf said.

Their previous project, Sidewalk Smilies Initiative, encouraged members to go outside and write positive messages in sidewalk chalk. The group walked around Beverly Hills writing hopeful messages, sketches and making hopscotches on the sidewalk so people could read them throughout the day. Kohley noted seeing multiple people stop and smile at the drawings, making sure to declare that project a “success.”

Looking forward, the club will host  several future events and look forward to returning next school year in hopes of improving and expanding. Brighten Our Lives will be hosting a Trivia Night on March 5 at 5:00 pm. Join the club for a night of “meeting new people and testing the extent of your random knowledge”. 

“I love joy. There is nothing on this planet that brings me more satisfaction than knowing that something I could have done would bring just a little bit of happiness into someone’s day,” Kohley said.