THE VILLAGES, Fla. – A man from The Villages is on a mission to make the world a brighter place, one thank you card at a time.

What You Need To Know

  •  Villages man acknowledges, spreads kindness through thank you cards

  •  Cards are free through the Santoro Education Lifeskills Foundation (SELF)

  • SELF has handed out and delivered more than 40,000 cards 

For the past year, Joe Santoro has been handing out thank you cards the size of business cards to anyone doing something good. He prints them and gives them out for free through his Santoro Education Lifeskills Foundation (SELF), which is aimed at teaching children personal life skills.

Santoro sees growth in the children’s SELF mentors.

“I know if you just get one or two things out of something, it’s going to change your world,” he said. “That’s my payback.”

Santoro said he hopes the thank you cards help get the word out about his mission to help children. Beyond that, he hopes they’re a conversation starter to promote positive interactions among everyone.

“It could be as simple as somebody opening up a door or someone smiling at a cash register,” Santoro said.

He enjoys giving thank you cards to restaurant workers and people at the drive-thru, who deal with a variety of customers and temperaments.

SELF has handed out and mailed more than 40,000 cards since beginning this program a year ago.