The Kindness Challenge

verdant123.com

verdant123.com

What if everyone chose to be kinder every day? While traveling in South America, I ran into a group of students in the photos above. In the center of Santiago, Chile, they spent an afternoon of their winter break giving away free hugs, or “abrazos gratis.” They could have been home watching TV or playing video games. Instead, they shared bits of happiness (even with a wayward gringo).

Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly around the world. She said, "A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees." 

Keep reading to learn about others who share Earhart's belief...

skateistan.org

Skateistan is a nonprofit that began in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2007. The organization now reaches out to youth in Cambodia and South Africa as well.

"Skateboarding is one of the best types of education you can get, as it is learning through play. Thanks to skateboarding youth are exposed to people of different ethnicities, gender and beliefs. It provides you with a community to inspire, guide and challenge the participator. It also teaches you how to be creative with your ideas and it provides the outlets for that creativity.

In Afghanistan, it is considered inappropriate for girls to ride bikes, but with skateboarding there is no stigma attached to it. In the skate park, youth from different backgrounds are able to form strong friendships and the novelty of skateboarding, compared to more mainstream sports, has been especially enticing for youth.

Gender-based inequality is an important social issue that Skateistan aims to address by including as many girls as possible in their programs. Over 40% of registered students are female, and Afghanistan has the highest percentage of female skateboarders in the world. Skateistan offers girls­-only sessions at all of their Skate Schools!"

-Skateistan.org

Click here to learn more.

skateistan.org

indykids.org

In Lexington, Kentucky, groups of kids sold over $40,000 worth of lemonade to support homeless families. Click here to read the whole story at Indykids.org.

madhousers.org

A kind group of volunteers in Atlanta build free shelters for homeless people. The Mad Housers make their building designs available online for anyone interested in helping the homeless with one of life's most basic needs.

madhousers.org

In 2008, I joined The Mad Housers for a build here in Athens at a homeless camp on Lexington Road called Tent City. We built a hut for Radar, a young war veteran. Click here to learn more.

Radical Joy for Hard Times

Radical Joy for Hard Times is a community of kind and compassionate folks around the world who identify places that have been injured by natural or man-made acts. According to their website, "Creating a sustainable, thriving future on Earth depends upon opening our hearts to the natural world in its brokenness as well as its splendor. Just as we cannot heal our personal wounds until we face them honestly and compassionately, so we must face the broken, ugly, “wounded” places we live among in order that we can find beauty there, thank the places for all they have given, and so heal our relationship with them." Click here to read more, or right here for a slideshow.

verdant123.com

To celebrate the 100th day of school, I challenge the class to 100 acts of kindness. Do something kind, compose a short personal narrative then place it in the Box of Kindness. We will track our acts on a graph and reflect upon the effects on friends, family, community, animals and the environment. Let's take Amelia Earheart's advice and throw out our kindness roots!