The Friends of Rachel Club has kicked off its new “kindness raffle” with its first winner, sophomore Isabel Proto.

The raffle is a way to recognize students for small acts of kindness, Friends of Rachel club co-sponsor Adam Foote said. When members of the Friends of Rachel Club see a student doing something kind, they give that student a raffle ticket. Then one student is randomly chosen to win a gift card, Foote said.

Sophomore Abdullah Makhoul nominated Proto and was glad when she won.

“I nominated her for going out of her way to help my friend in class. She’s a really nice person and she deserved to win,” Makhoul said.

Sophomore Johnny Scaretti nominated the most students for the raffle.

“The idea is to promote kindness in our school. It’s really great seeing so many people being kind to each other, and it also helps with self-esteem,” he said.

Proto, the first raffle winner, agreed.

“It’s good that it’s getting everyone together and encouraging people to help and be kind,” she said.

Raffle winners will continue to be drawn every week until the end of the year, Foote said.

“In keeping with the goal of the Friends of Rachel Club, it spreads kindness in the school and recognizes students for acts of kindness,” he said.

The club has several other activities planned for the future.

“We’re in the process of bringing the eighth grade (Friends of Rachel) club members to spend the day with the high schoolers so we can start next year with some things already planned,” Foote said.