Mississauga School Does Random Acts of Kindness in Memory of Young Car Crash Victim
Published February 14, 2019 at 5:12 am
In 2014, a young student from Mississauga named Rima Younes decided to do something special with Alyssa Richardson, a fellow student and good friend who also hailed from Mississauga.
The two young women, who went from being top of their class rivals at Sheridan College to fast friends at Ryerson University, decided that the world needed more random acts of kindness on Valentine’s Day.
And so they started a tradition that would continue for years–even after Alyssa’s tragic death in 2015.
“Back in 2014, Alyssa became inspired by my random acts of kindness ritual that I would perform at the university during exam time and in the community during holidays such as Easter, Valentines Day and Christmas,” Younes explains.
“Alyssa and I would go out every Valentine’s Day and hand out roses with positive messages in the community. We’d hand them out at Starbucks, grocery stores, the hospital, etc. We did it for a couple of years, and then she passed away in a car accident. Her friends and I continued the ritual in her honor. Now her mother would like to carry on the ritual through her students with help from me and her high school committee.”
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Alyssa Richardson, left, and Rima Younes, right
Alyssa’s mother, Kylie Roberto-Richardson, the principal at Ascension of Our Lord Secondary School in the Malton neighbourhood in Mississauga, is indeed keeping Rima and Alyssa’s tradition alive.
Today (Feb. 14), the students in Ascension’s grade 11 leadership class will go out into the community to perform random acts of kindness in Alyssa’s honour.
“Our students have been through different challenges and a lot of our kids are so good about wanting to do things for others,” says Teddi Lowie, student council staff advisor at Ascension.
“When Rima came in and spoke to them and talked about her experience and showed videos [of her random acts of kindness], the kids were beyond excited and got ideas. Seeing someone else’s experience, seeing what two girls did out of their goodness of their hearts, it was inspiring.”
Lowie says the students wrote positive letters and put them in bags of Valentine’s Day candy. To spread joy, the students, along with their teacher, Nadia Lopreiato, will visit Westwood Mall and the nearby Malton Community Centre and engage in a number of thoughtful acts. These acts involve holding doors open, talking to people and wishing strangers a happy Valentine’s Day.
“They’re going to give out the gift bags and they’ve made,” says Younes. “It’s about spreading that positive feeling. Valentine’s Day isn’t great for everyone, but this says that people are loved and cared for.”
While the acts will no doubt brighten people’s day, they also let Younes and Roberto-Richardson honour Alyssa and, in Roberto-Richardson’s words, celebrate her life.
In the early morning hours of Aug. 1, 2014, Alyssa, 24, was traveling on the northbound 427 with two friends, Chantelle Nunes, 27 and Shane Redway, 26. For an unknown reason, their vehicle left the roadway and burst into flames. Redway, who was an up and coming rapper, died at the scene. His death shocked the Toronto and Mississauga rap scene, prompting beloved performers such as Kardinal Offishall to offer condolences to his family and friends.
Chantelle, left and Alyssa, right
After her tragic passing, Roberto-Richardson decided to keep her daughter’s memory alive by performing random acts of kindness.
“I think that sometimes, in times of challenge or crisis, we reach out to love and support each other. I know that Alyssa and Rima had a special relationship. They were battling through college and university and learned through heartache that it’s better to give. I’m proud of Rima for starting it and for Alyssa for doing it with her,” says Roberto-Richardson.
“When I lost Alyssa tragically, it helped me. It was something the girls did when they were having a hard time.”
Kylie Roberto-Richardson, left, Alyssa, middle and Terry Richardson
The news also came as a terrible shock to Younes, and prompted her to continue on even though Alyssa was gone.
“It was the worst phone call. Kylie was strong for her friends and family and took this awful tragedy and made it into something so beautiful by doing a random act of kindness and converting a tragedy into something beautiful.”
On Feb. 13, 2016 (when it was -33 outside), Roberto-Richardson hosted the ACToutwithkindness (#actoutwithkindness) event to honour Alyssa and Chantelle, the other young woman who passed away in the collision (ACT stands for Alyssa Chantelle Together). The event welcomed dozens of participants who handed out food and clothing at homeless shelters in Toronto while wearing ACT t-shirts.
“For me, I looked at it as the last opportunity to be able to celebrate her life. After she passed away, I reached out out to every friend she had and asked if they could help me celebrate her. The funeral is a short time to celebrate someone, and I learned that love and giving and connecting with people helps and makes life richer. I wanted to do good things in her honour, and not let her die in vain,” says Roberto-Richardson.
“My friend and her husband own the Crocodile Rock on Queen St. and they let us use that as our hub. We had over 80 people and we brought them all together and fed over 400 homeless people. We connected with a reverend who works in Toronto who regularly helps the homeless. We made egg salad sandwiches and donated coats as well.”
Crocodile Rock homelessness event
That same year, Younes also continued on with her own random acts of kindness tradition.
“The Valentine’s Day after she passed, myself and [Alyssa’s] friends got together and went to Credit Valley Hospital and brought a bunch of flowers and gave them out. It was really rewarding because hospitals are not happy places. We wanted to cheer people up and spread some joy,” says Younes.
Now, almost four years after Alyssa’s passing, Younes and Roberto-Richardson are attracting even more people to the random acts of kindness movement.
“This is our first year doing it with our students at Ascension. This year we’ve decided to keep it to our grade 11 leadership class, but we’re hoping this will take on a student council role as well,” says Lowie.
“Kylie has always been so amazing, sharing the story of her family and of her daughter. Last year she was showing us the video of Rima and Alyssa and I thought it would be amazing to do this as a legacy for Alyssa and for what her and Rima did.”
Lowie says the movement has inspired students to come up with ideas on their own.
“The kids have come up with other ideas. On a normal day, they want to stay late and put a positive message on every locker, so that people have a positive message to start their day. I think more things will come up.”
For Roberto-Richardson, Younes’s random acts of kindness don’t just spread joy–they honour her daughter and show that women can be incredible leaders.
“Chantelle was a lot like Rima and Alyssa, and Rima carries their legacy and continues it every year. Teddi is a young leader who is also continuing to carry that torch. For me it’s very beautiful as a female leader myself. Giving is what really satisfies us and completes us and makes us happy as humans.”
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