You never had to ask Nathan Alberts for help. Somehow, the 25-year-old knew when it was needed before being asked.

It's for that reason that his family friend and youth pastor Bryan Bitton is asking others to perform a random act of kindness on Tuesday Jan. 8.

That day last year was when Alberts took his own life. In his memory, Bitton is asking everyone to participate in what he's calling Random Acts of Kindness Day.

"He was known as the type of person who, if a person was in some sort of need - it was like Nathan didn't need to be asked."

"Whether it was cleaning the basement or helping with academic studies - for him it just seemed to come naturally."

Extending a helping hand isn't something that comes naturally to most people, said Bitton, 54. It seems people would rather write a cheque than offer their own efforts to help a cause.

"If I help you, then I have to get to know you," said Bitton. "And then there may be more there."

Bitton acknowledges helping others doesn't come to him as intuitively as it seemed to come to Alberts. He is hoping to spread the young man's message of "people before ideals" on Jan. 8.

After speaking to his parents, with whom Bitton and his wife are good friends, it was decided that Alberts' death should result in something positive. Alberts was also close friends with Ian, 26, one of Bitton's three sons.

Random Acts of Kindness Day started with the youth group he manages as youth pastor at Grace Community Church. It has spread to the church's congregation, to Lakeside Com-munity Church and to the Wellington Catholic District School Board, said Bitton.

He hopes the day will highlight Nathan's kindness and act as an "example for blockheads like me that kindness does not come naturally to."

He said while he'd love to see Random Acts of Kindness Day become an annual celebration, it depends what Alberts' parents think of the idea.

Alberts was a student at John McCrae and College Avenue schools and graduated from Centennial Collegiate before attending university on the east coast, said Bitton.

He received a bachelor of arts from the University of New Brunswick. He completed his masters thesis in international development shortly before he died. His master of philosophy degree was awarded posthumously.

Alberts planned to start his career doing aid work in developing countries, Bitton said.

Alberts travelled to Asia and South America, where he not only had great experiences, but also saw a lot of human suffering.

"That really affected him. People in poverty who, compared to the situation we live in, had a lot of need," Bitton said.

However, "there was no hopelessness." When Alberts returned from his travels, he spoke positively about his experiences. "He seemed to have a feeling he could do something," said Bitton.

Besides travelling, Bitton said Alberts loved to spend time with both sets of his grandparents. Friends would often call on Alberts at home, only to be told he was over at a grandparent's house for coffee, Bitton said.

On Jan. 8, Bitton said he plans to visit one of Alberts' grandmothers, who now has trouble leaving home. He plans to bring his own six-month-old granddaughter when he visits.

"Which isn't huge," said Bitton. "But that's the whole idea of the day. It doesn't have to be an event. It wasn't for Nathan - it was every day."