Whether it is organizing a collection drive for troops or just saying thanks to a favorite professor, West Virginia University students are showing that kindness counts.

WVU student leaders have teamed up with the United Way Volunteer Action Center, Morgantown City Council, Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce, The Dominion Post, Wellness Councils of America, Monongalia County Schools/Youth United, WVU Hospitals, Mon Health System and Health South to prove the University City is theKindest Community in America.

WVUsSpotlight on Kindnesscampaign, endorsed by the Student Government Association, recognizes unsung heroes on campus through its person of the month program.

The SGA is currently seeking nominations for exceptional students, faculty and staff. Forms are available in the Student Organization Services office in the Mountainlair and are due no later than the last day of each month.

SGA wanted to recognize hard-working, underappreciated people who make a difference on campus,said SGA Public Relations Director Stacey Kun.

Nominations are reviewed and voted on by the student Board of Governors. Winners are honored at a BOG meeting, and their photos and biographies are posted on the MIX (Mountaineer Information Xpress) student e-mail system, SGA Web site and in the Mountainlair.

During Kindness Week, student goodwill ambassadors will hand out free cookies and hot cocoa, donated by WVU Dining Services, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 14, and Tuesday, Feb. 15, in the Mountainlair. Kindness cards, encouraging students and faculty to practice kindness andpass it on,will also be distributed.

SGA President Jordan Workman said the goal is to pay it forward with random acts of kindness for others.

As student body president, I have witnessed many acts of kindness on the WVU campus,he said.Now we are challenging students and faculty to take that one step further.

Otherkindactivities range from an SGA collection drive for troops called Operation Support Our Mountaineers to daily giveawayst-shirts and bottled waterat the Student Recreation Center.

E-postcards will offer a way for students to saythank youto their parents, a friend or a favorite professor, said Cathy Orndorff, director of Web Services. Look for a link on the WVU Web site ( www.wvu.edu ) beginning Valentines Day.

Meanwhile, faculty and staff are getting into the spirit of Kindness Week. Departments at WVU Hospitals are encouraged to plan activities, and faculty and staff at the College of Business and Economics plan to report sightings of kind acts, which will be highlighted on an online kindness page.

Student Health Service is also doing its part by organizing staff appreciation activities such as an international lunch, ice cream social and healthy snack day, and the United Ways caped crusader of caring, Captain Kindness, has been invited to the WVU nursery school.

Diane Kisingera WVU graduate, lecturer in the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism and United Way Volunteer Action Center coordinatorsaid kindness is contagious, and one of the best ways to spread it is by volunteering. For information on volunteer opportunities, visit www.teamunitedway.org .

She added that the United Way will be documenting acts of kindness performed throughout the community during February. Students, faculty, staff and administrators are invited to share their stories of acts of kindness by calling 304-296-7525 or sending an e-mail to unitedway@teamunitedway.org . The Dominion Post will track the results and publish a dailykindometer.