I was very upset and almost felt sick after reading the top 10 stories of 2012 (Courier-Herald, Jan. 2). It just goes to show what kind of world we are living in when the majority of what we report on are the negative and disturbing stories of 2012. I just wanted to take a quick moment to recognize a few of the stories I felt should have made the top 10 list of this past year.

Rachel’s Challenge! The students and community of Enumclaw went on a mission to promote kindness and compassion last year. In total, this awesome community collected over 2 miles of links of kindness and started their very own chain reaction that will hopefully make for a better community and world.

Big Day of Serving! This past October, The Big Day came to Enumclaw and it was an amazing day of serving and blessing many in this community. Over 200 youth came as far as Oregon, Bremerton, Moses Lake and many of our own to: paint the Enumclaw Senior Center, clean up and paint portions of J.J. Smith Elementary, deliver over 200 senior care packages to seniors in need and also complete an additional 20+ community service projects that have left a lasting impression on this great town.

Kind Campaign! At the start of this past school year, Enumclaw welcomed the Kind Campaign to their middle schools and community. The Kind Campaign’s mission is to bring awareness to bullying. Lauren Parsekian and Molly Thompson, both affected by female bullying, decided to create a documentary and nonprofit that would ultimately change the lives of hundreds of thousands of people across America. The girls have gone on three national tours, spreading their school assembly program and documentary film in hundreds of schools and communities across the country, including Enumclaw. The documentary was shown in schools and at the Chalet Theatre and our youth were changed for the better by being a part of it.

I am sure there are many other great stories that I have forgotten to mention, but just had to take a minute to show that there are many bright lights still shining in the midst of all the darkness that seems to make the headlines.

Here’s to a brighter 2013!

Jaclyn VanHoof

Enumclaw