It started with an idea to make a million – and to give it away - before his 20th birthday for Holywood teenager Cameron Stewart. As the founder of ARK (Acts of Random Kindness) clothing, Cameron Stewart in his own words wants his company to operate ‘with a purpose other than profit,’ and so every time an item of his clothing is worn, one ARK should result. An ARK could be something as simple as buying a stranger a coffee or willingly giving your seat up on a bus.

Ark: changing the world through acts of random kindness

‘I was in this café the other week,” says Cameron Stewart, “and I was buying an ice-cream. So I gave the guy at the desk a fiver and said, the next person who orders an ice cream, tell them it’s on the house. Tell them it’s free, and this will pay for it.”

A simple and selfless idea, but one that has potentially revolutionary implications and results. For Cameron the point is to change the way people behave: “In the world, everyone is just out for themselves,” he says “and to an extent that works.

“But I think when you start to put yourself last, you realise that it is the best way to live.” With the logo and symbol created to inspire people, Cameron hopes people will see it, recognise it and think - ‘Oh yeah, I should really do something for someone’- That’s the idea.”

However, ARK wasn’t always intended to promote potentially world-changing kindness. “Originally it was going to be just for Cameron’s profit. And for me to be a millionaire by the time I was 20,” said the teenager.

But then I realised that it’s more fun to give money away than to store it all up. So it changed to being a millionaire by the time I was 20, and giving it all away.” All the profits from ARK clothes go to charitable works – basically, acts of kindness on a larger scale. “When the whole business was building up, I made a group on Facebook,” Cameron says. “There are about 500 or 600 members now. And just before Christmas I sent out a message saying, if you see a need anywhere, just e-mail me and we’ll pay for it.”

It’s clear ARK works. Acts of Random Kindness to date include delivering Christmas presents to a homeless shelter in Belfast and following an email from a girl who said: ‘There’s a woman I work with who’s recently had a child. And she was back to work within a week of having the baby, because she doesn’t have any money and she’s really, really struggling,’ Cameron gave her some money and sent a specially delivered Christmas hamper.

Where did this entrepreneurial spirit come from in someone so young you might ask? “Well, when I was in school, I was an entrepreneur at heart,” Stewart says. “I could sell anything, and I always tried to sell anything. Just for the fun of it, I guess. And I started buying designer clothing online, and selling it online. And then from doing that, all these Chinese suppliers e-mailed me, so I ended up getting this massive list of factories in China, all these contacts.”

After finishing his exams, he went to China himself to check he wasn’t buying from a sweatshop. “Thankfully, the first guy I met was just fantastic, and the factory was great. We drew up a contract and got 600 shirts ordered. It took a week.”

So put simply, Wear an Ark°, perform an Ark°. You’ll make someone’s day. No strings attached.

Visit www.ARKHQ.com for more info on how to be a part of the mission to spread and inspire kindness globally.

(This article is based on an Irish Times feature - http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2009/0228/1224241795032.html)