Make someone's day. Then do it together.
Project Joy turns small acts of kindness into organized, collective action on college campuses. We started in Detroit, and we want your campus next.
Our first national goal
One smile is one act of kindness for one person. A handwritten note, a free coffee, a thank-you to a dining hall worker. Every one counts, and every campus can help.
There's a place for you here
Start a chapter at your school
Three friends and one idea is enough to begin. Founding chapters help shape what Project Joy becomes.
Apply to start oneVolunteer or help out
Join the Wayne State chapter, help with a campaign, design, write, or just log your own acts of kindness.
Get involvedFollow along
Campaign kickoffs, smile counts, and stories from campuses, about once a month. No spam.
Join the newsletterMake kindness easier to practice, organize, and spread.
Kindness doesn't need a big budget. It needs people who show up for each other, and a little structure so good intentions turn into action.
Small acts of kindness, organized into something bigger.
Project Joy is a student-founded organization started at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. We spread kindness, compassion, and care across campuses and the communities around them.
To inspire and mobilize university students to spread kindness, practice compassion, and demonstrate genuine care through meaningful initiatives that strengthen campus communities and positively impact the lives of others.
A nationwide movement of university students who make kindness a defining part of campus culture, with chapters across the country connected by a shared identity, mission, and campaigns.
Three core values
Everyday acts of generosity, thoughtfulness, and positivity. Kindness doesn't have to be expensive, elaborate, or complicated to matter.
Seeing the struggles, experiences, and humanity of others, and meeting our communities with understanding and empathy.
Turning good intentions into action, and showing up for the people around us consistently.
National campaigns, local creativity
Instead of every chapter inventing everything from scratch, Project Joy shares campaigns that campuses run together during the same period. Each chapter adapts the campaign to its own students and community.
That way a Project Joy campaign at one school is recognizably part of the same movement at another, and new chapters can get started fast.
Honest about our stage
Now
We're an early-stage organization building a strong foundation at Wayne State: testing campaigns, documenting what works, and running our first national goal of 10,000 smiles.
Next
Founding chapters at other universities, a shared chapter toolkit, coordinated national campaigns, and better ways to measure our impact on belonging and connection.
10,000 smiles by December 31.
Our first national goal. Anyone can contribute, on any campus, in any amount. You don't need to be in a chapter to count.
One act of kindness, for one person, logged.
Hand out 50 encouragement notes at a table? That's 50 smiles. Buy a stranger's coffee? One smile. Write a thank-you card to your building's custodian? One smile. Keep it real, keep it kind.
Smiles that cost almost nothing
Finals encouragement notes
Leave handwritten notes in study spaces and libraries during finals week. A table with markers and sticky notes can make hundreds.
Thank the overlooked
Cards and small treats for custodial, dining, and facilities staff who keep campus running.
Study-break kindness table
Hot cocoa, snacks, or just a friendly face during the most stressful weeks of the semester.
Compliment wall
A board in a busy hallway where students leave kind words for anyone who walks by.
Reach out to someone
Text a friend you haven't talked to in a while. Sit with someone who's eating alone. Connection counts.
Log your smiles
Tell us what you did and how many people it reached. Every logged smile moves the national count.
Log smilesLog your smiles
Takes about 30 seconds. Count one smile per person your kindness reached.
Bring Project Joy to your campus.
We're looking for our first founding chapters. If you care about making your campus a kinder place, you're who we're looking for. No experience running an org required.
Four steps to your first smile
Apply
Tell us about you and your school. It takes about five minutes.
Meet us
A short call with the Project Joy team to talk through your ideas and answer questions.
Gather your crew
Find two or more friends to start with you, then register with your school's student life office.
Run a campaign
Launch your first campaign with our support and log your smiles toward the national goal.
Founders help shape the movement.
- Help write the chapter toolkit and campaigns future chapters will use
- Get direct support from the Wayne State founding team
- Lead something meaningful, and build real leadership experience
- Connect with students at other schools who care about the same things
Where we are
Start a chapter
You don't need a full team or a perfect plan yet. Tell us a bit about you and we'll take it from there.
- Open to students at any college or university
- No fees to start a chapter
- We'll follow up within a week
Help spread joy
Whether you have an hour a month or want to lead, there's a way to help. Tell us what you're interested in.
- Join the Wayne State chapter
- Volunteer at a campaign or event
- Help with design, social media, writing, or photos
- Partner with us as a student org, department, or local business
Joy in your inbox
About once a month: national smile counts, new campaigns, chapter launches, and stories of kindness from campuses.