ASHLAND If you live in the Ashland area, you might have been RACKed.

The term stands for Random Acts of Cody Kindness and started in honor of Cody Gollihue, who was 21 when he was killed in a car accident in 2017. His parents, Elliott and Lea Ann Gollihue, started RACK, which has a presence on Facebook.

“This group was created for people to share random acts of kindness in Cody’s name,” the page states. “Normally, I know we do not brag about acts of kindness, but hearing about all the wonderful things being done in Cody’s name will bring joy to his family and friends!”

Often the person who is RACKed shares their story — maybe someone bought their breakfast at a fast food restaurant or purchased groceries or diapers for a stranger who is struggling.

First, RACK spread throughout the area and into other states.

Now, people in every state and 101 countries are RACKing and being RACKed. Israel recently became the 100th country to be RACKed, followed by Serbia. Mrs. Gollihue said she hopes to have RACK in 125 countries by March 19, which would have been Cody’s 25th birthday.

“We laugh and say we’re smart about all this, but God has done this,” she said. “There is no way would could have done 50 states and 100 countries.”

RACK has spread via social media and word of mouth, but churches have played and will play a role in getting the word across the globe.

“We are reaching out to churches who might have missionaries in remove location,” Gollihue said.

Social media plays a role, too.

“My buddy has a girlfriend in Norway and he got her to do a RACK and make a post of it,” Gollihue said.

Mrs. Gollihue recalled the first RACK in the Netherlands: “The police pulled over a young woman and didn’t ticket her, just gave her a courtesy warning that said, ‘Slow down, stay safe, you’ve been RACKed.’”

Zambia was RACKed when some of Cody’s co-workers took as missionary trip there; they posed holding a sign from Cabell-Huntington Hospital.

It helps that so many countries consider English a second language, making communication easier and quicker.

Entertainer Donnie Wahlberg even mentioned the RACK movement, Mrs. Gollihue said, which added a substantial number of followers.

She said she believes Cody’s purpose was bigger than they understood. She said he didn’t understand the hate in the world and hoped things would change for the better, that once act of kindness could create a chain reaction of good.

“He was an avid Christian and loved doing random acts of giving and nice things for people,” Mrs. Gollihue said. “We were lucky enough to parents him for 21 years. God’s still writing his story and He’s doing it through other people.”

(606) 326-2661 |

lward@dailyindependent.com

Countries awaiting RACK

Somalia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Western Sahara, Libya, Sudan, Niger, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau,Guinea, Sierra Leone, Core D’Voire, Tego, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho;

Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Columbia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Argentina, Cuba, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Papua New Guinea;

Mongolia, North Korea, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Russia, Belarus, Yemen, Oman, Syria, New Zealand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia and Brunei.

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