Three years ago physical education teacher B.A. Byerly and music teacher Julie Rohrman came up with the idea of organizing a group to involve kids in activities that would focus on character building, emphasizing qualities such as integrity, courage, patience, kindness, respect, anti-bullying, responsibility, perseverance, environmental awareness and helping others in need.

Participating kids meet every Friday, and special area teachers lead the sessions. The students have done food drives and other projects to raise money for groups including the the American Heart Association and American Cancer Society.

Most recently, the kids came up with a project of their own to help a local organization: Paws4Ever, which used to be called the Animal Protection Society of Orange County. The students made posters, put out collection boxes, sold lemonade and otherwise gathered donations. They gathered dog and cat food, pet toys and good old cash. Last Friday they presented all the goodies and $175 to Paws4Ever.

The project was conceived, initiated and implemented entirely by the students. "This doesn't get any more rewarding for a teacher," Byerly said. "We are so proud of our students. Not only are the kind and caring kids, but great community members and emerging responsible citizens."

There's no box for that on the End of Grade tests, but it might be the most important thing the kids have learned all year.

Roses to Jon Wilner, who for six years has worked tirelessly not only to keep The ArtsCenter afloat but to expand its offerings and its reach.

Wilner announced last week that he will retire at the end of this month, although he'll stay on as interim director through September. Running The ArtsCenter is a demanding job, and Wilner is not the kind of guy to do things halfheartedly. A series of difficult and draining health issues affecting him and his family left him without the energy he once was able to bring to the job. And without that, he said, he wouldn't be able to give the organization the kind of leadership it needs.

He has brought a formidable energy and enthusiasm to the place -- indeed, to the whole arts community -- and it shows. Under his leadership, The ArtsCenter's budget more than doubled, and the organization launched and expanded many programs, especially for young people, such as the afterschool arts program and the wonderful Youth Performing Arts Conservatory.

Wilner is passionate not only about The ArtsCenter itself but in a wider sense about the value of the arts in giving the community a sense of vitality, creativity and energy. He's right: without The ArtsCenter, and other arts programs and venues, this would be a poorer place indeed.

Roses to three local Girl Scouts -- Charlotte Pate, Rachel Greene and Jennifer Kueffer -- who earned the organization's highest honor, the Gold Award, for developing and implementing projects benefitting the community.

Pate formed a theater group to encourage imagination and creativity in young children by participating in improvisational fairy tale theater. Greene developed a bilingual program to deliver at area schools about the prevalence of diabetes in the Latino community. Kueffer formed a student organization at Chapel Hill High School to educate and inspire teens to participate in the electoral process.

Sounds like gold to us.

Please send suggestions for Roses & Raspberries to Dave Hart, associate editor, at dhart@nando.com.