What does kindness look like? The students of Alta Vista Elementary School created “Kindness Quilts,” comprised of hundreds of individual portraits of kindness, demonstrating unique expressions of kindness at home and at school, as well as ways to be caring to animals, to the planet, and to oneself. A celebration launch party was held on […]
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for Your Kindness Project Donations! The Kindness Starts With Me Campaign was a huge success thanks to the generosity of so many donors! On Valentine’s Day I met with 630 students at Alta Vista Elementary School and presented each one with their own copy of the book Kindness Starts […]
“Kindness counts and so do you. You never know what your kindness can do.” ~Linda Commito At Alta Vista Elementary, a Title One school in Sarasota, Florida, we created a kindness program, which we called Kindness Starts With Me. Here’s how it started. I asked each class of students, sitting in a circle on the […]
Six year old Will was riding in the car with his mom one day when he noticed a man holding a sign by the side of the road. Although Will was just learning to sound out words, he could make out, “Hungry. Need money.” “Why is that man asking for money, Mom?” he asked. Nicole […]
I grew up in easier times. Although most of us never talked about kindness, we lived by The Golden Rule, treating others with respect and caring. It was a simple life where neighbors knew and helped each other, we were safe at home and at school, and we felt cared for, with a roof over […]
The library/media room at Alta Vista elementary school is buzzing with activity as class after class come to participate in their school’s service project, Alta Vista Cares Sew Much, spearheaded by their progressive principal, Dr. Barbara Shirley. The individual tables, seating 4 students at each, are piled with large squares of fleece – warm, cuddly, […]