Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Day is an unofficial holiday increasingly celebrated around the world in order to encourage acts of kindness. It began not as a holiday, but rather a national day where individuals are challenged to do something kind to a friend or stranger for no reason at all, and has since evolved into an entire RAK week. I don’t mean to sound disrespectful or cynical; I get it—I really do—and thankfully this has not devolved into just another Hallmark occasion. But it does seem to me that the core of this is truly just some basic human decency, no? So I looked a little deeper into this holiday. There is a website (of course) dedicated to the endeavor with blogs of kind deeding documented as well as inspirational suggestions on how to practice kindness and pay it forward, such as: Buy something for the person in line behind you, donate time or money to a local charity, cook a healthy meal and share it, reach out to someone you have not talked to in a while.


Aha, now there is a truly inspirationally kind idea! Translation: Send an e-mail to your class secretaries and fill everyone in on your current whereabouts. It is clearly not a sign of unkindness that so many of you remain radio silent. Perhaps you are simply in need of some intervention to get things rolling.


How about some divine intervention? And who better to offer that than our very own Rev. Nancy Vogele? As the newly hired director of religious and spiritual life at the William Jewett Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth, Nancy has assumed oversight of an expansive arena of the college that sponsors more than 20 different faith organizations. Prior to assuming this appointment Nancy served for almost 20 years in Episcopal parish ministry, most recently as rector of the parish of St. Paul’s, about 10 miles from Hanover, in Hartford, Vermont. Having contemplated a career in the Foreign Service as an undergraduate at Dartmouth, Nancy spent two years in Africa immediately after graduating. However, this firsthand perspective provided Nancy with her own divine intervention of sorts as she realized that the political power of organizations backed by whatever administration was in power paled in comparison to the spiritual power she witnessed among so many in the poor African communities in which she served. So she answered the call, going on to receive her master’s from Yale Divinity School and a doctorate of ministry from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. If you are lucky enough to be in Hanover on a Sunday night, step into Rollins Chapel and you may see Nancy. And expect her to ask you her favorite question: “How are your spirits doing?”


Inspired to do right by the environment, prize-winning journalist Dan Fagin’s newly published book, Toms River, tells the riveting true story of this small New Jersey town’s 60-year history of industrial pollution. Reviewed as an “epic tale of our chemical age,” the book is lauded for Fagin’s investigative tenacity and masterful storytelling in “handling topics of great complexity with the dexterity of a scholar, the honesty of a journalist and the dramatic skill of a novelist.” In addition to his noteworthy journalistic accomplishments, Dan is also the proud parent to a Dartmouth ’13 and ’16 and, therefore, has a high probability of having his spirits checked in on by Nancy sometime soon. 


So how about some simple human kindness from all—send a little intervention on a classmate or yourself—stay connected: www.dartmouth85.com. All the best to all of you!


—Leslie A. Davis Dahl, 83 Pecksland Road, Greenwich, CT 06831; (203) 552-0070; dahlleslie@yahoo.com; John MacManus, 188 Ringwood Road, Rosemont, PA 19010; (610) 525-4541; slampong@aol.com