Committing random acts of kindness may be new year’s resolutions or personal goals, but the Clown Nose Club makes sharing compassion with people around campus its mission.

The Clown Nose Club is a newly formed student organization that revolves around the central idea that people matter.

“We…believe random acts of kindness is contagious,” Alma Buljina , graduate student in higher education administration, said. “Little things such as sending out a card to a friend you haven’t spoken to in a long time, or sharing a meal with a complete stranger add up. This genuine positivity is worth spreading.”

The club has more than a 100 enthusiasts since it’s recent founding at the University.

The Clown Nose at N.C . State a chapter of the original at Pennsylvania State University.

“During a recent trip, I had a chance…to meet members of this strangely-named club,” Buljina said. “I had expected to see its members dress up as clowns, and merely move around in that costume. Later, when I learnt more about them, I found it very interesting. I was even given a clown nose.”

Buljina said she first envisioned starting a chapter at N.C . State after taking her friends out to coffee.

“I was initially unsure what to do with the clown nose. After one really long and tiring lecture, I decided to buy my friends some coffee. I shared with them where this act of kindness was coming from, and they were completely pepped to tag along.”

Now with a formal constitution in place and an organizational structure, the Clown Nose Club is more than just a club for friends, according to Buljina .

Natalie Geist , graduate student in higher education administration, said it was the idealist in her that motivated her to join the club.

“There is an idealist in every person who wants to change the world around them,” Geist said. “But for that to happen, I have realized you must first change your world.”

Geist said her calling moment was a day when she was sitting next to an upset person on the bus.

“She was close to crying,” Geist said. “I asked her if she was okay, and she replied with a ‘Yes, alright.’ I did not believe her. When I asked her again, she spoke at length about how she had to leave a community college due to health issues, and was now unsure if she could get back to studies. I comforted her saying its not the end, and college is again a possibility. Maybe I was the first person to have told her this.”

The Clown Nose is both an ice breaker and a symbol for the fact that people matter, according to Buljina .

“It was inspired by the movie Patch Adams, a comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams,” Buljina said.

The movie is based on the life story of Dr. Hunter Adams and the book Gesundheit: Good Health is a Laughing Matter by Adams and Maureen Mylander .