KINDNESS BRINGS ITS REWARDS.

Byline: Sharon Cotal Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - There are many people in Santa Clarita who promote kindness and understanding in the community, but their efforts tend to go unrecognized.

The city of Santa Clarita's Human Relations Forum would like to change that. It has created the Random Acts of Kindness program to allow residents to nominate someone they know who has demonstrated an act of kindness.

The program began in October, and 125 people have been recognized so far, but the forum has just increased its effort to get the word out to the public.

The nomination forms can be found in local newspapers, at City Hall, the Santa Clarita sheriff's station, the city's Community Center and One Stop Career Center, said Cynthia Boyd, the city's youth outreach coordinator.

Actions to be considered good deeds include, but are not limited to, extending a helping hand, being a positive role model, promoting unity or volunteering.

The acts of kindness do not have to be recent. Some people are just now being recognized for services they performed during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, Boyd said. Those who are ``caught doing something good'' receive letters of recognition from the city and window decals or bumper stickers.

``So far, people have been nominated for things like volunteering, helping the sick, donating to needy families, offering a listening ear to a friend, or helping kids with homework,'' Boyd said.

Boyd encourages people to send in their nominations so that residents who normally would not be recognized for displaying traits of selflessness and compassion in their everyday lives can be honored.

For information about the program, call Boyd at [phone].