Syracuse man uses treasure hunts to bring community together, deliver random acts of kindness

SYRACUSE, Utah – If you search for kindness you tend to find it, and in Syracuse, these random acts are bringing a community together one gift card at a time.

Hunting for treasure has always been a way to get people working together, and Ben Kemper wanted to do just that.

So, he started hiding gift cards and posting clues on a Syracuse community Facebook page Friday night.

“I hid $200 in Stoker Park, and he found it Saturday morning,” Kemper wrote in a message to KSL about the first winner. 

Saturday night started a new hunt for $200. It was found in Jensen Nature Park around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

“I hid them in any one of our city’s parks, they have to decipher the clues to find the right park, and then the right location in the park,” Kemper wrote.

And, as you would expect, the community loves it.

“It’s been soo amazing to see all the FUN and togetherness going on in the little piece of Utah this weekend! I’ve never been more proud and delighted to be a part of such a tight-knit/giving and fun community,” Celly Jessie wrote in a Facebook message to KSL.

“Since day one of moving here a year and a half ago, I have felt love and support from this community. Any time there’s a concern or question, you can count of the community coming together on Facebook to get answers.”

He sure has found a way to be generous and unique, but Kemper writes that he wants to stay on the sidelines a little longer to capture the excitement of the person finding the prize in real time.

So far, Kemper has done two treasure hunts, giving out a few hundred dollars and he’s got another one planned for Monday night. In a message on Facebook, he told KSL that he is getting ready to start a more public page and open his hunts up to more people.

“Tomorrow night, when the next one begins at 6 p.m., all parks should be filled with treasure hunters,” Kemper wrote.