Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Cities and Towns Celebrate Kindness

A message from your friends at the Connecticut Public Affairs Network...

Connecticut’s Kid Governor Elena has shared many great suggestions for kind acts that anyone can do on their own. But wouldn’t it be great if groups of people got together to explore the idea of kindness and see what they could do to make the world better?

That is the idea behind several different “Day of Kindness” gatherings that have taken place in the past year, all across the United States.

In October of 2015, the city of Philadelphia, PA (nicknamed the “City of Brotherly Love”) hosted the Philadelphia Day of Kindness, the first day of an entire month of kindness activities to celebrate the city’s 333rd birthday. The month of kindness included celebrations all across the city, with different kindness activities at each site. They included a musical celebration featuring Tibetan music in honor of the Dalai Lama, and Kindness in the Wind – a flag-making activity and art installation of flags made by people from all over saying and showing how we could be kind to one another.

Kindness flags fly in Philadelphia! Photo credit: Paul Kurtz

In addition to these celebrations, the people of Philadelphia encouraged each other to be kind in a lot of different ways:
  • They set up a Kindness Exchange, a webpage of different causes and organizations where people could donate their time, skills, or money.
  • They also started an online Wall of Intention, a place where visitors could pledge to do something kind with a simple fill-in-the-blank like this:
    • I intend to be kinder by ________________________
  • Their website even included a place where people could share stories about acts of kindness they had seen or been a part of. Check out the event and activities on their website!
In fact, going online is a good way to learn about other towns and groups who have hosted their own Kindness Days, and several of them offer not only great ideas for how to be kind, but also let you share your own ideas or stories of kindness!

In April 2015, a group in Meridian, Idaho, hosted a “Do the Right” Day of Kindness. The idea? Do something nice for the person to the right of you. See how it works here:


A group in Louisville, KY, has hosted a “Mighty Kindness Hoot” for the past nine years. This past June it featured a whole day of music, classes on being kind to the earth and each other, a community circle to share kindness ideas, and hugs from their mascot “Hootin’ Annie”! Here she is:
Hootin' Annie at Louisville's Mighty Kindness Hoot

Would any of these great kindness ideas work in your community? If so, talk to your parents and local elected officials! They can help you come up with a plan to bring these ideas to action in your town.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

"Sit With Us": Spreading Kindness at Lunch Time

A message from your friends at the Connecticut Public Affairs Network...

Hello everyone! We hope the new school year is off to a great start for all of our student, teacher, and parent followers!

One of the most exciting parts of a new year – especially if you’re at a new school – is making new friends. And lunch time is a great chance to talk to those friends – you might find out that you have lots of things in common! Do you have a favorite subject in school? Tell a new friend about why you think that subject is cool, and ask them if they have a favorite subject too. You can do the same thing with your favorite sports team, television show, or food! Sharing your interests with others and asking what interests them is a great way to make friends, and can be a great way to show kindness!

For some students, choosing which table to eat at can be stressful. It can be scary to ask to join somebody else’s table, especially if you don’t know anyone sitting there. Natalie Hampton, a student from Sherman Oaks, California, was nervous to join someone’s table for lunch at her new school. Instead, she decided to eat by herself every day. Natalie felt embarrassed and lonely sitting by herself, but she was afraid that the other students would be mean to her if she asked to join their table.

Natalie moved to a new school and quickly made new friends! But she didn’t want other students to have the same experience she did. She wanted to make sure that students at her new school weren’t embarrassed or nervous about asking to join someone’s table, and she didn’t want anyone to have to eat alone.

Natalie decided to create an app for phones to make it easier to find a place to eat. Her app, “Sit With Us,” lets students volunteer to be lunch ambassadors. These ambassadors can set up an “open lunch,” meaning that any student is welcome to sit at their table. Natalie says the best part about the app is that it’s private. Shy or nervous students don’t have to ask someone if they can join their table. All they have to do is check the app and join an ambassador’s table.

A screenshot for Natalie Hampton's Sit With Us app. 

So how can you get involved? You can download the app and spread the word around your school. Or, you can keep an eye out for students who are sitting by themselves and ask if they want to join your table, even if you don’t have the app!

Natalie witnessed a problem at her school and wanted to do something to change it. With her app, Natalie is helping her fellow students. Are there any problems in your school? How can you fix them? Talk to your parents and your teachers – they can help you think of ways to make your school a friendlier, more welcoming place for everyone. That’s a great way to spread kindness!

And, if you’re a 5th grader, consider running for Connecticut’s Kid Governor using the problem you’ve identified as your campaign platform! Visit CT.KidGovernor.org for more information.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Pleasant Valley School in South Windsor installs their Buddy Bench!

A message from your friends at the Connecticut Public Affairs Network...

Hello everyone! By now you have probably heard about Elena’s three-point plan to promote kindness. One of the goals of her platform as Connecticut’s Kid Governor has been to have 10 Buddy Benches installed at local schools. So far, 14 schools have received Buddy Benches as a direct result of Elena’s Campaign for Kindness! The following message comes from Principal Tiffany Caouette from Pleasant Valley Elementary School in South Windsor, whose students were inspired by Elena’s call to action: 

During the 2015-2016 school year, a group of six students from Pleasant Valley attended the Connecticut Association of Schools' (CAS) Student Leadership Conference at Asnuntuck Community College. While there, students heard Connecticut’s Kid Governor, Elena Tipton, speak. Elena had stated that her goal was to have ten buddy benches installed throughout the state. Students were so impressed by her message of kindness that they returned to the school and requested a meeting with Principal Tiffany Caouette that day. They decided immediately to return to the Student Council body and suggest that the fifth grade class gift to the school be a Buddy Bench. At the next Student Council meeting, the six students made their proposal; it was well received by the Student Council and subsequently the entire fifth grade class. 


Top: Elena speaks to her constituents at the CAS Conference.
Bottom: Pleasant Valley Elementary School students use their new Buddy Bench this past September!

Additionally, students heard Elena's message of the 13th of every month being a Kindness Day, and that was instituted at Pleasant Valley for the remainder of the year as well.

Buddy Benches are a great way to bring more kindness to your school! The benches give students a place to sit at recess if they need a buddy to play with, which can lead to new friendships. Are you interested in bringing a Buddy Bench to your school? Check out these cool resources to see how you can make it happen!

Listen to Elena's remarks at the CAS Conference that inspired the 5th graders at Pleasant Valley!

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

It's almost time for October Kindness Day!

Hi friends, it's Elena!! Kindness day is coming up on Thursday, October 13th!! This month I have ten more kindness suggestions!!
  1. Compliment a stranger!! 
  2. Introduce yourself to your neighbors 
  3. Say "thank you" a lot!! 
  4. Send your friend a letter 
  5. Tell someone the impact they have made on your life 
  6. Bring a small gift (like chocolate!) to your new teachers 
  7. Recognize the good in others! 
  8. Stand up for your friend who maybe doesn't have a voice!! 
  9. Do a task that nobody else has the courage to do 
  10. Smile at people to make them smile!! 
Those are all of my kindness suggestions this month!! 

Here are some more kindness suggestions from the new friends I met on the Summer Library Circuit!!

This month I have four new shout outs! The first one goes to an extremely kind usher at a concert I went to!! Also Mayor Dan Drew from Middletown for donating one of his kidneys!! 

Here's me with Mayor Dan Drew!! I met him on my Summer Library Circuit!!

Also the Republic Restaurant in Hartford!! They try to give each costumer a compliment!! And last but not least, everyone who is willing to be kind and celebrate other people's kind acts!!!!

Be sure to email me your acts of kindness at CKGElena@kidgovernor.org for a shout-out in my next blog post!

-Elena

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Trinity and her Buddy Bench!

A message from your friends at the Connecticut Public Affairs Network...

Hello everyone! You probably remember our August blog post about some of the awesome schools and organizations who have worked together to bring Buddy Benches to local playgrounds. Putting a Buddy Bench in your school or park’s playground is just one of the really cool things you can do with your friends or classmates to spread kindness! But you don’t need a big group of people to get a Buddy Bench in your town. Our friend Trinity, a six-year-old from Grayling, Michigan, worked with her family and community to bring a Buddy Bench to her school’s playground!
Last year, Trinity’s school had week-long campaign against bullying. Afterwards, she started thinking about ways she could spread kindness to her friends and classmates. The subject of bullying came up again in her karate class, and Trinity decided that bringing a Buddy Bench to her school could be a great way to encourage others to be kind!

Trinity and her mom worked with her teacher and principal to get their support for the Buddy Bench, and then they set out to start fundraising! Trinity’s mom and karate teacher got the word out on Facebook, while Trinity and her grandmother collected soda cans and bottles. Her karate dojo and her grandmother’s co-workers at the local Post Office donated cans as well, and pretty soon she had raised $500 – enough money to have the Buddy Bench built at her school’s playground!



The Buddy Bench wasn’t the only act of kindness Trinity worked on this summer! She also made “Survival Kits” for her local police and fire departments, as well as her teacher. The survival kits included a poem and candy to encourage their recipients to have a great year! A big shout-out to Trinity for her multiple acts of kindness this summer and congratulations on being featured on the Girl Scouts of the United States of America's Facebook page!

What can you do to spread kindness? Maybe you can make survival kits for your teachers, police officers, firefighters, or medical first responders in your town! Or, if you want to get a Buddy bench for your school or park, you can use the resources listed here to get started.