Teaching Kindness

Hello! On Tuesdays the weekly edition of American Profile magazine comes with our local paper, and I enjoy reading it. There's at least one item of interest every week, whether it be new recipes, features on various facets of American history, articles about  businesses that have stayed in the same families for several generations, and more. 

Often there are stories about ordinary folks doing good. Case in point is the article in today's American Profile entitled "Teaching Kindness". The article discusses the Kindness Club at an elementary school in Minnesota, whose members make and distribute greeting cards to those in need. Since the club's beginning in 1995, kids have made more than 47,000 cards - this, from a total of only 316 total students in that time! That is a phenomenal number of cards from such a small group. (the town itself - Evansville, MN - has only 612 residents, according to the article).

Not only have the cards' recipients been grateful for the love and support shown by Kindness Club members, but the kids themselves have benefited. The school teacher who started the club and still runs it reported that former students will stop by to suggest someone who could use a greeting card, and a young woman in her 20's who had been a member of the original club now volunteers for the United Way. The club, she said, "...created an awareness of opportunities to give". 

I think this club is such a wonderful thing! The kids are learning kindness and compassion - and who knows, since the cards are handmade, maybe they're also learning that there are alternatives to store-bought things. I don't know how many elementary schools (or other settings where children gather) have similar programs, but in my opinion, every child would benefit by belonging to a Kindness Club. Actually, we adults could use something like this too! 

If you don't read American Profile, you can read the article on the Kindness Club HERE.