In the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Needham resident Dina Creiger created Choose To Be Nice, an organization dedicated to encouraging and inspiring kindness around the world. Creiger says she hopes to improve the way people interact with each another.

“With bullying and myriad other negative behaviors a heartbreaking and constant backdrop in the classroom, workplace, media and online, people are hungry for something positive,” she says. “Choose To Be Nice starts with a promise, which states, ‘I promise to help spread kindness whenever and wherever possible. And to the very best of my ability, I’ll be nice to those with whom I come into contact on a daily basis.’”

Creiger, who has a goal to receive 1 million promises by 2020, has participants in the United States and more than a dozen other countries so far. “We also seek to improve interactions between and among people and generally help the world become a nicer place,” she says. To help spread the message, people can purchase T-shirts, sweatshirts, baseball hats, bumper magnets and wristbands at ChooseToBeNice.com. Creiger also works with schools to create Choose To Be Nice clubs, organize fundraisers for local community organizations and purchase banners with the promise for students and teachers to sign and hang in the lobby.

For more information, call 781-608-0833 or visit ChooseToBeNice.com.