It’s easy to forget how much a small act of kindness can brighten someone’s day. But time and again, we see how those simple moments reveal the true power of compassion.

"I believe that when everyone gets along that Rockford is a better place," writes Charlie Bilodeau, a fifth-grader at Welsh Elementary School.

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity.” ...