#bekind21

Today’s #BeKind21 message is from Find Your Anchor.

My name is Ali, my pronouns are she, her, and hers, and I am the founder of Find Your Anchor. I am a firm believer in the power of little things – that the smallest act of kindness can change somebody’s world.

That is why, for your first #BeKind21 message, I am so proud to share about my organization Find Your Anchor, where we launch kindness in the form of little blue boxes. Each FYA box is packed with various materials designed to inspire, soothe and offer support – such as a deck of 52+ Reasons to Live cards, an infographic on depression, list of resources, a letter, posters, a bracelet, a sticker, some other sweet nothings, and a whole lot of good vibes.

Within each box, we also include the Please Stay Pledge, an interactive and accessible mental health resource, created in partnership with our dear friends at Born This Way Foundation.

We’ve built a community of strangers who offer support and believe selfless acts of kindness nourish our souls and strengthen our communities. Through kindness, we promote empathy and personal connection, lessening feelings of isolation.

We hope to inspire each of you to build acts of kindness into your lives with our gift of the #BeKind21 (printable) cards. Here’s a sneak peek of our cards:

Although no act of kindness is too small, we hope you enjoy these pocket-sized ideas to get you started spreading love.

Your kindness challenge today: Click here to access and print your 21+ Ways to Be Kind cards on 8.5 x 11 paper to carry with you, share with others, and serve as a reminder to show love to yourself and others. You never know who might need an uplifting message reminding them they matter and we need them to please stay.

Watch this video to learn more about Find Your Anchor:

In Kindness,

Find Your Anchor

Today’s #BeKind21 message is from Catching Joy, Inc.

The most important lesson I’ve learned is the power of empathy and kindness – these are the driving forces that can change the world.

When I was four-years-old and holiday shopping with my family in Back Bay, Boston, I saw a man standing alone. He was dressed differently to my young mind. He wasn’t wearing a coat, hat, mittens, or socks. In one hand, he grasped a tin can, and in the other hand, he held a cardboard sign with one word: “help.” My parents and I put some change in his cup, and I heard a “clink” sound. I wondered to myself whether his cup was empty, how long he was there in the freezing weather without help, and if he was invisible to others because people seemed to be ignoring him. Before this experience, my sheltered young self did not know or understand that not every person has food, clothing, shelter, or support.

Since my earliest memories, I have been leading Catching Joy, Inc., a nonprofit that promotes volunteerism and acts of kindness beginning with kids, teens, and families. I organize hands-on service projects to help share the responsibility and joy of giving. For over a decade, I’ve helped mobilize an estimated 100,000 people, mostly youth. I aim to empower my generation to get informed, get involved, raise our voice, and take action. I’ve never forgotten the man I saw when I was four-years-old. His story is a part of my story, and now it’s part of your story, too.

Your kindness challenge today: Donate food, toiletries, or socks to a shelter serving people who are unhoused in your community. These necessities keep people safe and healthy, and also offer comfort and dignity.

In Kindness.

Maxwell Surprenant CEO + Co-Founder of Catching Joy, Inc.

Today’s #BeKind21 message is from Mighty Kind.

In honor of the #BeKind21 movement, we want to challenge you to embrace a new kind of kind.

As members of this community and champions of kindness, you know kindness is more than being polite. Kindness is action. It is filled with purpose, fueled by human connection, and has the power to transform the world for the better.

Today, we are excited to invite you to #RadicalizeKindness with us! Within each of us is the capacity to learn more, listen more, and invest effort in doing more. The “Mighty” in Mighty Kind means taking action. The children in our lives are ready to be activated along with us!

At Mighty Kind we believe children deserve to be empowered with resources and tools that allow them to bring humanity, honesty, and empathy into their everyday learning experiences and practices. To that end, we source stories, authors, creators, and artists from around the world to amplify diverse voices and perspectives in our quarterly kids publication. We use kindness and compassion as a foundation for anti-bias learning. With open hearts and open minds we can seek meaningful opportunities to connect with the people in our communities as well as serve as helpers, cheerleaders, and allies.

Your kindness challenge today:

1) Take an inventory of the perspectives that have a seat at your table (including the social media accounts, podcasts, shows, and books you enjoy) and find diverse perspectives to add into the mix.

2) Find one opportunity to celebrate differences with a kiddo in your life- read a children’s book that features a character from an LGBTQ+ family, tune in to the Paralympics together, find a show or movie that centers people from another culture or community than your own. Maybe even pick up a copy of Mighty Kind and chat through it!

3) Seek out ONE opportunity for allyship with a marginalized community- sign an impactful petition, call an elected official, search for local organizations needing volunteers or support at events, make a donation to move social justice projects forward.

Let’s move forward together in radicalizing kindness. Go out and be kind, Mighty Kind!

In Kindness,

Mighty Kind

This generation of young people is hopeful, engaged, and ready to act in support of their own and their loved ones’ mental wellness. They are also being faced with overlapping and ongoing global crises affecting their mental health. The BLKBX Project aims to unlock those “black boxes” that many of the teenagers in our lives keep deeply hidden.

Finding a path toward healing requires each of us to unlock thoughts, feelings, and secrets in non-intimidating environments. It’s important to provide safe spaces that connect teenagers with resources for support on their own terms and in their own time, remind them they’re not alone, and encourage them to choose how to forge their own path.

Your kindness challenge today: Practice a mindfulness exercise like these and spend intentional time with yourself, working to unlock the black boxes and live in truth and affirmation. 

In Kindness,

BLKBX Project

Today’s #BeKind21 message is from Pencils of Promise.

At Pencils of Promise, our mission is to provide access to quality education for all. Our Teacher Support program ensures teachers are supported and trained to create learning environments where students will be set up for success. The curriculum includes digital learning and social-emotional learning to create an engaging environment where children can feel safe, affirmed, and validated.

The Ghana Teacher Prize is an annual celebration by the Ghanaian government of teachers and their contributions to educational development. Awards focused on “Teacher leadership in developing crisis education response.” Last fall, the Best Kindergarten Teacher award went to Ms. Felicia Ahotor from the Kpando Kpodzi E.P. Primary School in the Volta Region. An educator of over 17 years, she credits PoP’s school building as a factor in winning the award.

“It has helped to reduce absenteeism among the kids. First, they didn’t like coming to school because the old building was not attractive to them. But now, every day they are in school. In the new building, now we have displayed a lot of TLMs (Teaching and Learning Materials) in the classroom so that anytime the teacher is absent, the children can do individual learning.”

Your kindness challenge today: We’ve experienced firsthand the impact education and interactive teaching can have on a student’s life. A school building with access to resources and an engaging teacher can make all the difference. For today’s act of kindness, thank a teacher who has helped you learn, or pay it forward and teach someone something today.

In Kindness.

Pencils of Promise

By Maya Smith

My text messages are buzzing as I’m trying to get through my to do list, with kind messages congratulating our team on a successful #BeKind21, wishing me a happy last day of the campaign, or, in the more personal ones, celebrating the day that my friend Gabriela ‘gets her Maya back’ and I can go back to sitting on the couch with my laptop closed for a full episode of reality television. I have the urge to respond to my loved ones to let them know #BeKind21 isn’t over, we still need your kindness, and I personally still need to witness your kind acts unfold in the world because they bring me hope and serve as my anchors in this uncertain world.

Over the past 21 days, together, we’ve catalyzed more than 143,000,000 pledged acts of kindness. I had the opportunity to contribute to those 143 million acts of kindness by picking up trash day on my walk to school with my kids, our co-founder Cynthia bought coffee for folks at her neighborhood cafe, our co-founder Lady Gaga donated to three organizations who are helping to welcome and support refugees from Afghanistan, our program director Alex helped carry boxes of donations for the Precious Dreams Foundation and Hopeloft, our digital director Mitu got to celebrate Mayor Bowser’s Be Kind Day proclamation in Washington, D.C., our program associate and #BeKind21 boss Taylor stood in awe (and us, in gratitude) of the kindness that their hard work brought to the world this year, and our whole team collectively reminded Josh of how much we love him as he said goodbye to a family member.

A million times over, these small acts of kindness added up. The person that you held the door for, the new student in your class whom you gave a welcome note, the educator who felt the gratitude you shared with them, the coworker you sent a kind compliment to, every time you modeled respect and affirmation by introducing yourself with your pronouns and inviting someone to share theirs. You have been actively building a kinder, braver world and I implore each of us to keep going.

Our team at Born This Way Foundation will rest for a couple of days at the end of this week and while we do, we want to learn from you. What happens now? What happens when we exceed even the wildest goals for this global kindness movement? How do we continue to encourage, invite, and acknowledge each other in the big and small ways we show up for each other every day? This is what I am going to ask myself, and then I’m going to ask our team and while they’re thinking about it, I’d love to ask you – our community – the people for whom and with whom we do this work. What do you need next from kindness, in kindness, and with kindness?

Let us know online using #BeKind21 or send us a note at [email protected].