Kindness Bus stops in Sidney

The Kindness Bus stopped in Sidney Thursday.

It was an accident that caused the bus to break down at Sidney's Walmart, but for one day Sidney residents were witness to more than 450 quotes and messages of kindness painted along the blue bus's front, sides and back.

For more than 10 years, Bob Votruba, One Million Acts of Kindness founder, and his dog Bogart, a Boston terrier, have been traveling the country to spread a message of performing kind acts.

He was inspired to act following the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people.

"I was in Clinton, Ohio, when that event happened, and I drove down to Blacksburg, Virginia, three days after the shooting and was there for four days," Votruba said. "What I witnessed was parents, brothers and sisters, and friends of classmates who'd had a loved one taken from them."

Votruba was inspired by the charity and kindness he experienced in the days after.

"On my drive home, I thought kindness is something we could all use a little more of," he said. "But, with a little twist. It's having kindness as a goal."

Youths are the primary focus for One Million Acts of Kindness.

"Somebody, by the time they're in their 70s or 80s, if they're in their teens now, in their lifetime can personally do one million acts of kindness," Votruba said.

Votruba is currently on a perimeter tour of the United States.

"My bus broke down and I did a number of the miles in the car, so I'm playing catch up with the bus," he said. "I'm heading into the midwest and then down south to Alabama, and I'll finish up in Naples, Florida."

In each city he visits, Votruba rides a bicycle festooned with signs carrying messages of kindness toward those who are different.

"I will ride my bicycle for as little as a day or as long as a couple of weeks or so," he said.

On the 93-degree day in Sidney, though, he waited for dusk to ride his bicycle.

Votruba said he was pleased to deliver a message of kindness to Sidney even with his brief visit.

"Whether a person reads it or not, they'll read it subliminally, and I parked right here at the entrance, so I'll probably have a few hundred cars that drive by this bus," he said. "Some people will drive by and maybe they're in a hurry but they'll see the word 'kindness', they'll see the word 'respect.' It starts a conversation between child and parent."

Since starting his efforts, Votruba has found more than he expected.

"I started visiting college campuses and by the second campus I said, 'Boy, this kindness thing is catching.' The more people see it, the more people do it," he said. "It's nice to see a positive message now and then, and this bus has 450 positive messages."