Last week, one of the Foundation Board members and I volunteered for an event produced by our colleagues at United Way of Madison County. The job description for the volunteer post at Blast Off to Kindergarten had only one requirement: 'Must want to have fun!". We felt qualified.
Our job was inviting families to sign in, with style points given for being friendly and engaging. We greeted each new student by name and hinted at the fun awaiting them beyond the sign in table. Our goal was to make every single family feel welcome and cared for as they crossed the threshold of their newest community, Pendleton Elementary School. It was only a one-hour assignment, but the two of us aimed for maximum impact- how much good feeling could we generate by greeting 300 neighbors with kindness? What if one kind exchange lead to another? Imagine the impact of connections made, roots established, a precedent set. What if just a few of the little ones started to fall in love with school that night? What if one nervous child had his fears of school or of crowds erased that night? Don't you feel like a plant that's been watered when someone looks you in the eye, smiles, uses your name, greets you with joy? Multiply that feeling and divide it among the geography around one elementary school and watch what grows.
Are you ready for a kindness experiment? On Sunday, April 28th, "Pay it Forward Day" provides a quasi-official reason to join groups around the globe to #standforkindness on the premise that it will inspire other acts of kindness and create a ripple of goodwill. How many acts of kindness can you rack up in one day's time? Hold a door, get at eye level to ask a child about her day, allow a harried parent your better spot in line... be creative and report your acts (not to brag, to inspire!) by sharing #standforkindness on your favorite social media platform.
Kindness is free... sprinkle that stuff everywhere!