Landolt students Zander Marullo, first grade; Jayden Nguyen, second grade; Brooklyn Underwood, first grade; and Trinity Willingham, second grade; spread kindness with the “Kindness Club Drink Cart.”
Spreading kindness has quickly become a way of life at Landolt Elementary in the Clear Creek School District.
After hearing a lecture from professional speaker and co-founder of the organization CharacterStrong, Houston Kraft, teachers Bella Marks and Rachel Willard were moved by how he characterized kindness.
“He said, ‘Being nice is reactive, being kind is proactive,’” Marks said. “Rachel and I talked about it and decided to be proactive in bringing kindness into Landolt and our community. On Oct. 25 we kicked off the Kindness Club for first and second grade students.”
To their surprise, they had more than 60 students sign up to be a part of the club that meets once a week after school. Over the last three months, the students have come up with a different activity each week that reflects their mission of spreading kindness.
“The placemats we created for the homeless for their Thanksgiving meal was my favorite,” said second grade student Scout Towler. “I wanted them to feel good inside and be happy and excited.”
Some of the other activities the students have done are making kindness bookmarks that they placed in books throughout the library, writing nice and encouraging messages on the sidewalk as students and staff walk in, and delivering a cold soda to teachers with the “Kindness Club Drink Cart.” They are all motivated to continue to positively impact others in the years to come.
“Whenever you spread kindness when you’re a kid, you keep it inside you forever, and you never lose it,” said eight-year-old Taryn Gill. “Even if you don’t know it’s still in you, you have it, and you are still spreading it around.”
Interest in the club continues to grow each month as other students see the great things they are doing. Marks and Willard hope to expand the club to more grades next year and even to other schools across the District.
