Culver City Observer -

By Jim B. Clarke

Culver City

Acts of kindness come in many forms.

For Rafia Cooper, of Culver City’s Kindness Campaign, the form this month is hiding plastic “kindness” eggs in Culver City’s 12 public parks during the first 12 days of April. Each day, Rafia and former Culver City Mayor Jeff Cooper, her husband, select a different park and hide some eggs, each of which contains a kindness message. One special egg holds a lottery ticket.

Rafia, along with Marta Valdez and Jolena Szewczyk, have assembled more than 12 dozen eggs and are hiding 14 eggs each day. After hiding the eggs, Rafia posts a message on Instagram and Facebook (CulverCityKindness #CCKind) to announce each day’s park. Then the hunt is on! Those lucky enough to find an egg are asked to post the results on Instagram or Facebook to help spread the kindness message.

Ethan Mullin, 9, who attends Farragut Elementary School, and Laura Mullin, his mom, were all smiles—underneath their masks, of course—after discovering a few eggs, including the “golden egg” with the lottery ticket, at Syd Kronenthal Park. Laura said they had been following the daily posts and finally were able to spend some time hunting. They got lucky!

In 2016, then Culver City Mayor Jim Clarke signed a proclamation joining the national City of Kindness movement. Rafia took up the challenge of promoting kindness in Culver City by developing Culver City Kindness sites on Instagram and Facebook. The Facebook site has nearly 3,000 followers. Each month, Rafia plans an event or activity to call attention to and promote kindness. She’s a good egg, always sunny side up.

For more information, contact Rafia Cooper at rafia336@aol.com

Jim Clarke is a former Mayor and Councilman in Culver City