MOUNT LAUREL - The students gathered in the auditorium of Thomas E. Harrington Middle School yesterday were only in the eighth grade, but they each have the power to change the world.

That was the message Thomas Baldrick, an author of children's books and a former TV reporter and producer, had for the 550 eighth-graders during a special assembly.

Harrington Middle School is encouraging students to commit random acts of kindness in the school and the community.

As part of the program, the students watched the movie "Pay It Forward," the story of a young boy who shows kindness to others, then asks them to repay him by helping three other people and asking those three to do the same. His theory is that in two weeks, more than 4.7 million people would be touched by acts of kindness.

"We want the students to know that they have the power to start to give," said teacher Jennifer Uibel, who worked with Baldrick when he helped her daughter collect books for the Ronald McDonald House earlier this year.

"If we don't convince them that they have the power now, we are losing a whole lot of good things that could be done in the future," Uibel said.

Baldrick, of Philadelphia, is the author of "Kids Rule! The Hopes and Dreams of 21st Century Children," and "A Million and One Ways to Celebrate a Child." He also is the founder of Celebrate A Child Foundation, which promotes the mission of building character, self-esteem and resilience in children.