New Brunswick declares Becca Schofield Day to honour Riverview teen

A Riverview teen with cancer, who has inspired people around the world with her campaign to perform random acts of kindness, is being honoured by the New Brunswick Legislature with an annual day in her name.

Progressive Conservative Riverview MLA Bruce Fitch proposed the third Saturday in September be declared Becca Schofield Day.

The motion was passed unanimously on Thursday.​

• A mission of kindness: #BeccaToldMeTo campaign continues to grow

Becca, 17, who has terminal brain cancer, is undergoing treatment at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax and couldn't be reached for comment. But her mother, Anne Schofield, told CBC News the family is thrilled.

"I'm a little speechless," she said.

"There isn't a word to express how grateful we are for the recognition she's getting for this little thing that she started that we thought was just going to be, you know, family and friends doing acts of kindness to put a smile on her face, and we're very honoured and very proud."

Cancer 'inactive'

It comes on the heels of more good news for the family after an MRI on May 2. Becca's cancer has been deemed "inactive," Schofield said.

The two tumours have "shrunk a bit," she said, and there have been no new tumours or growth.

Although not officially in remission, Becca is in no imminent danger, her mother said.

"She still has cancer, it's still there, but right now, it's not progressing," she said. That means Becca could live longer than her prognosis of between three months and year, her mother said.

"Her expiry date has been extended. We call it her expiry date," Schofield said. "We deal with this with a lot of humour. That's the way we've dealt with a lot of it is to try to find some humour and some positive in everything."

The big challenge now is to help Becca cope with her nausea and gain back some weight. She's down to 98 pounds and has no energy, Schofield said.

Kindness catches on worldwide

Becca first made headlines in December, when she made a "bucket list" after learning her cancer was terminal.

One item on the list was to persuade people to perform acts of kindness and to share them through social media, either by posting on her Facebook page Becca's Battle with Butterscotch or tweeting using #BeccaToldMeTo.

Since then, Fitch said, "the phenomena of doing random acts of kindness has caught on worldwide with hundreds of people posting their good deeds in honour of Becca."

'Becca is an amazing person who has shown us that acts of kindness, big or small, can make a real difference.'- Brian Gallant, premier

Becca has been recognized by many community organizations and politicians in the provincial legislature, federal legislature and Senate.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even signed a certificate naming Becca an "honorary emerging leader," said Fitch.

Her school, Riverview High, and citizens of New Brunswick requested a day in her honour, Fitch said.

"Becca is an amazing person who has shown us that acts of kindness, big or small, can make a real difference," Premier Brian Gallant said in a statement.

"The example she has set makes the people of this province proud to be New Brunswickers and Canadians," he said.

New Brunswickers will mark the first annual Becca Schofield Day on Sept. 16.