There’s a big reason people are going to be a little nicer next week.

Vision 2020’s Community Pride & Spirit Committee and Austin Mayor Tom Stiehm have declared Nov. 18-23 as Spirit Week in Austin. The event is part of a larger effort to instill more hometown pride in Austin.

“We’re celebrating those acts of kindness no matter how small or large they may be,” said Laura Helle, Director of Creative Vision for Vision 2020.

Helle said acts of kindness can range from saying hello to a stranger or buying someone’s coffee to helping people with chores. The important part, according to Vision 2020 organizers, is to perform nice acts for their own sake.

Residents who see particularly inspiring acts are encourage to share them with the community. Vision 2020 will post those stories online at vision2020austin.com to share the spirit and residents can also find paper forms to share stories at the Austin Public Library, Coffee House on Main and Steve’s Pizza.

“The larger encompassing goal is for people to identify that they belong in Austin and that Austin is a place where people care about each other,” Helle said. “We do [these acts] all the time, but we don’t take the time to stop and celebrate it.”

A kickoff event for Spirit Week will take place Monday, Helle said.