Strangers inspired by grieving dad’s online tribute to dead son

A father mourning the suicide of his son figured a few dozen family friends might join the page he launched on Facebook, his attempt to share stories of kindness and to urge people to do good deeds without expecting anything in return.

Less than a month later, Dennis Vassallo’s “The Kindness Challenge” page has more than 44,000 followers. Dozens of posts each day share stories of kindness, including heartwarming photos, words of thanks to doctors from cancer patients and motivational messages.

The page has become an oasis amid all the division, rancor and anger online; a big virtual hug.

“Never in a million years would I have expected such a response, but it seems to have people thinking about what we were all taught as kids: to be good to people and help them,” said Vassallo, of Holmdel in New Jersey.

Vassallo created the page to honor what he called his late son Dylan’ s selflessness and volunteering for charitable causes. Group members have taken his efforts to heart, saying it has inspired them to give more of their time to helping others.

Dylan was an altar boy at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church of Holmdel and volunteered at organizations including Students Helping Honduras, where participants help build schools, homes and other projects. He served at a local food pantry, a school for special needs students and many groups related to his school. He also was a military buff who was applying to the Naval Academy.

He was 17 when he killed himself in August 2015.

Group members say the page provides a refuge from the seemingly never-ending wave of negative political commentary online and other vitriol while reminding them to focus on life’s truly important matters.

“It is such a paradigm shift from all of the dreary political rhetoric and scary news stories,” said Amanda Blake, of Kasilof, Alaska. “I feel inspired and alive with hope.”