At the ASSE conference in Denver Dr. E. Scott Geller, one of safety’s most prominent thought leaders, spoke on a project that has consumed a good bit of the good doctor’s considerable passion in recent years.

Actively Caring for People embodies a large-scale movement that aims to establish a more compassionate, interdependent, and empathic culture within schools, businesses, organizations, and throughout entire communities. By encouraging people to actively care, individuals are inspired to perform intentional acts of kindness as part of their daily routine. The positive exchanges between people, resulting from actively-caring behaviors and its supportive recognition has a mutually reinforcing effect and leads to an actively-caring culture, according to a post on the website www.ac4p.org.

Actively Caring, coined by Dr. Geller, refers to any behavior going above and beyond the call of duty for others. For decades, Dr. Geller, alumni-distinguished professor at Virginia Tech, has applied behavioral science to keep people safe at work and on the road.

In the aftermath of the April 16th, 2007 shootings on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, VA, Dr. Geller and his students initiated a culture shift at Tech — the Actively Caring for People movement.

Thousands of green actively-caring wristbands were distributed across the country to individuals performing acts of caring with the instructions to pay it forward, by passing on the wristband, when (s)he observes someone else performing an act of kindness. By using the wristband to recognize helping behavior, a tangible reminder of kindness is associated with the feeling of self- transcendence, according to the web post.

Want to join the movement? Find out how at activelycaringforpeople@gmail.com.

1.      Together, we can change the world with small intentional acts of kindness.

2.      There are 86,400 seconds in a day and it takes only a few seconds to perform an act of kindness.

3.      Every act of kindness has a ripple effect with no logical end.

4.      "People will forget what you said, forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." — Maya Angelou

According to the website: “Everyone has the ability to care for others; all we need is a proactive approach. Most importantly, caring for others is easy. Little sacrifice or deviation from your typical routine is required. It takes only seconds to do someone a favor, but the contagious nature of such acts is undeniable. Through caring for others, as a community, we collectively possess the ability to make an impressive difference in each other’s lives.”

Dr. Geller states: “I challenge you, next time you step out the door, to make someone’s life a little easier. Bringing a smile to a stranger’s face yields a level of fulfillment that is second to none.”