Gerund phrases as subjects: "Teaching kids to return lost items" as a gerund phrase, serving as the subject of the sentence, emphasizes the important behavior of educating children, adding educational and moral significance to the sentence.
Present participle as an adverbial: "nurturing empathy and a sense of community" as a present participle phrase used to describe the goals of education, adding depth and purpose to the sentence.
Conditional adverbial clause: "like returning someone's lost property" as a conditional adverbial clause, provides an example of a small act of kindness in practice, increasing the specificity and practical application of the sentence.