“What luck! You found a duck!”
They’re yellow and purple and blue, pirates and aliens and giraffes. They’re little rubber ducks, accompanied by kind messages, and meant to spread a little bit of cheer around the community.
It’s all a labor of love for Josiah Jocson, 21, who went on his first cruise last year and learned about the tradition of hiding — and finding — little ducks around the ship. While he hid some ducks, he never found any. His mother posted about the lack of quacks on Facebook, and soon, ducks began flooding in from around the world.
And Jocson decided to spread that cheer.
This week, Jocson and his fellow Irvine Adult Transition Program students hid some 200 ducks around Irvine to share smiles in time for Random Acts of Kindness Day, this year being celebrated on Saturday, Feb. 17. They tucked ducks away around the Heritage Park Library, Alton Square, Irvine Spectrum’s Barnes & Nobel, Woodbridge Village Center and a Del Taco.
Natalia Brandlin and Nikki Korneff were some early discoverers of the hidden Irvine ducks.
“It literally made my day. It made me smile, just like the note said,” said Korneff.
Like other schools in Irvine, IATP has what’s called a Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports program. This is, essentially, a unique way to promote certain characteristics and uplift students who exemplify those traits. At IATP, that mantra is “PRIDE”: positive mental attitude, respect and responsibility, integrity, determination and empathy.
“Josiah is definitely a student who demonstrates all of these characteristics pretty much on a daily basis,” said Karena Gibbs, IATP’s principal.
This is the first time IATP students participated in the hiding of ducks — and Gibbs said almost every student participated — but it might not be the last.
“I think this would be a great annual way to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day,” said Gibbs. “We’re open and flexible with ways we want to honor our…
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