A group of anonymous students are promoting "random acts of kindness" to make Penn a friendlier school.
The Random Acts of Kindness Club, which formed this semester, creates and implements plans for improving students' day-to-day lives.
"We'd like to find the most unique and innovative ideas for helping the community at large," said the club's president, who asked to remain unnamed.
The group "started out as a genuine feeling of good will," added another member of the club, who is a Wharton sophomore. The club "fosters friendliness, kindness and good-will on campus."
The club's first act was placing bins of umbrellas in David Rittenhouse Laboratory, Houston Hall and Van Pelt Library.
If students were caught unprepared for rain, they were encouraged to borrow an umbrella free of charge and then return it when they could.
The umbrellas were left with a sign saying, "Feel free to borrow an umbrella. Just remember to return it in sunnier weather."
Unfortunately for the club, "people stole [the umbrellas] the next day," the president said. "We're learning."
In the future, the club will take into account the fact that students do not necessarily act responsibly when taking advantage of trust-based programs.
Nursing sophomore Crystal Kim, who works in Van Pelt Library, thought that "people [got] too lazy to bring the umbrellas back."
One possible idea for the club is to distribute free "cold survival kits" to college houses.
The kits would contain medicine and and tissues to help sick students get better.
One difference between the Random Acts of Kindness Club and other community service-based groups is that it is completely anonymous.
Keeping the club members' identities secret preserves "the idea that you're not expecting anything in return," the Wharton sophomore said.
She added that the club is currently funded by a secret donor.
"One of [of the group's members] had an internship last year, and the woman that he worked for was very interested in the idea for this club, and she was willing to give us a pretty adequate budget," the Wharton sophomore said.
She declined to reveal the precise donation.
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