More than 15 years ago, a group of parents, teachers and religious and business leaders in Lindon got together to come up with a way they could better teach and instill character values in the students of Lindon Elementary School.

Shortly thereafter, Lindon Character Connection was formed, and since then it has aimed to make the community a better place, one "character" at a time.

"What it is is a nonprofit, community-based organization that connects the schools and businesses and homes in teaching character values throughout our city," said Kathy Allred, Lindon Character Connection president.

Children involved in the group were recently recognized by the Lindon City Council.

The Lindon Character Connection was officially formed in 1993 by a group of concerned parents but has since grown into a respected organization within the city, as well as within neighboring communities and cities.

Lindon Character Connection assigns each month of the year a particular character value the Character Connection wants to focus on. A monthly newsletter is created discussing that particular value and is distributed with the monthly utility bill to each of Lindon's residents. The Character Connection has a plan that rotates the values every four years.

The Character Connection also provides curriculum for all Lindon schools, which teachers can choose to incorporate into their lessons as they see fit. The curriculum includes 12 packets, each featuring a different character value for each month. Inside each packet are stories about people who live that particular value, games teachers can play that go along with that value and also quotes the teacher can put up in the classroom.

"Some of the teachers have particular lessons on a particular character trait or value," Allred said. "Some of them incorporate it with academics. For instance, they might have a quote on dependability and have kids use that as what they would copy or practice their penmanship with."

The Character Connection also works with Wasatch Mental Health each year to create a calendar, which is then delivered to each household in Lindon. Children at Lindon schools are asked to draw pictures to represent one of the 12 values focused on that year, and one winner is chosen to have his or her drawing represent each value and month of the year.

The 12 winning pictures are also made into a poster, which hangs in Lindon schools and local businesses. The 12 students whose pictures were chosen were recognized in a City Council meeting earlier this week.

"It's just so gratifying to see the little kids ... when their eyes light up at the opportunity to share and they can actually explain the value of what they've done with the picture they've done and how it can help others," Allred said.

Lindon resident Kevin Goodrich recently completed his Eagle Scout Award, assisting in the delivery of all of this year's calendars to about 2,000 households.

"I delivered all the calendars to everyone in Lindon, at least one per family," Goodrich said. "I had to call all the Scoutmasters and make sure they delivered one to each person in each of their wards. ... I learned some leadership skills. I had to make sure they got it done, even though they were older than me."

Besides the curriculum, monthly newsletter and yearly calendar, Lindon Character Connection also provides community parenting seminars and workshops. For more information on the group, visit its Web site at www.lindoncharacterconnection.com.