CARLSBAD, Calif. — Dozens of kids are spreading kindness in Carlsbad. On Saturday, the Kids for Peace, a global nonprofit based in Carlsbad, held a rally to unveil a new sign that will go along Interstate 5. And the rain did not dampen the spirit.

Elementary kids from Carlsbad schools led a pep rally to inspire friends and family to take part in the Great Kindness Challenge. The challenge features a 50-item checklist with kind acts for the students to complete this week, starting January 22.

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Organizers told FOX 5 that all 15 Carlsbad schools are participating. The Carlsbad High School cheerleaders joined in the event’s celebration. Additionally, the Kids for Peace students painted the “KINDNESS MATTERS” landmark. The landmark will be placed outside the Carlsbad Strawberry Fields for drivers along the I-5 to witness.

The event also held landmark stations with arts and crafts.

“I’ve always loved helping people, it’s always been in me just to be nice to everybody, because I’ve been in everybody’s shoes a lot,” said Rishi Reddi, a Kids for Peace sixth grader.

“Kindness is not just a nicety, it’s a necessity, and its something that has to be taught, it has to be intentional, it has to be made a priority. And that’s what we are doing — kindness. We are really giving them the opportunity to practice it and make it a daily habit so that’s how they approach every situation going forward in life,” said Jill McManital, founder and executive director for Kids for Peace.

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More than 40,000 schools worldwide will partake in the Kindness Challenge. The students will be from all 50 states and 115 countries.

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