Even a little bit of kindness can go a long way in promoting good will.

On some level, we all realize this.

For most of us, though, actually practicing kindness is another story altogether. We’re busy, we’re juggling — and we’ll get to it, we tell ourselves.

Not student Catherine Kehrer of Lapeer, Michigan. Her penchant for dishing out kindness includes passing out 17 notes a day to her fellow students at Lapeer High School. She shares simple, uplifting messages.

“My second-hour teacher challenged us to pass out 17 nice notes to our peers after the Parkland shooting happened,” the 17-year-old said, according to MLive.com.

“I was really touched by it, and I’ve been doing it every day since she challenged us in the beginning of March.”

The aim of the challenge, called “#WhatsUr17?” is meant to inspire students to offer 17 kind phrases to 17 random people.

“There were so many days I could have used a kind word in high school –– you know those days where you’re smiling on the outside, dying on the inside?” a 24-year-old sales professional from Albuquerque, New Mexico, told LifeZette. “A note would have made all the difference. The very definition of loneliness is that you’re operating in a vacuum, trying to get through the day.”

The number 17 is most likely a reference to the 17 victims killed in the tragic mass shooting on Valentine’s Day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Wise beyond her years, Kehrer is onto something big. And there are myriad health benefits to being kind — for the giver as well as the recipient.

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Kindness lowers stress and anxiety levels and reduces depression, reports the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation on its website. It also decreases pain, and –– like distance running –– produces euphoric endorphins, the brain’s natural painkiller.

To be sure, by helping others Keher is also helping herself. Clearly, though, this is not her motivation.

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Bullied as a child, Keher has turned pain into empathy: Her plans for the future include a master’s degree in clinical social work to help others get through tough times.

In the meantime, “It’s been fun seeing people’s reactions,” Kehrer told MLive.com. “Some people really take it to heart and are touched by the messages. Other people think it’s hate mail, and throw it away. I had one teacher hug me and tear up because she was moved by it.”

Elizabeth Economou is a former CNBC staff writer and adjunct professor. Follow her on Twitter.