#BeKind21
SeP 1st - Sep 21st, 2023
Lafayette Elementary makes Kindness a habit!
We partner with Born This Way Foundation and the city of Lafayette each year on their challenge to make kindness a habit. It reportedly takes 21 days to build a habit, and we're making Kindness one of them!
What does #BeKind21 hope to accomplish?
From the Born This Way Foundation: BeKind21 is an invitation to think about and prioritize how you are caring for yourself and how you’re taking care of those around you. We hope #BeKind21 is an opportunity for students, teachers, and families to kick off the new school year by establishing kinder habits that will last all year and for everyone else to head into fall with spirits of compassion and action.
What will #BeKind21 look like at our school?
Our #BeKind21 Team has put together four lunchtime kindness projects and our daily Kindness Calendar to follow.
Kindness Projects on Campus during Lunch/Recess:
- Friday, Sept. 1st, Kindness Chalk Art Activity: As our #BeKind21 kickoff, we will have a chalk art event for the kids during recess/lunch. There will be chalk available for kids to draw or write words of encouragement or other kind or affirming messages. This will be a great way for kids to walk around campus and see these notes and pictures written by their fellow students!
- Tuesday, Sept. 5th, Making Cards for Lamorinda Village: Lamorinda Village is a community-based network of people over age 55 living in Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda, whose purpose is to provide the support and connections that will help members remain in their own homes as they get older.
- Tuesday, Sept. 12th, Thank you Notes to Our Troops: Cell Phones for Soldiers is a non-profit that sends thousands of calling cards to US deployed soldiers and also sends thank you cards alongside these shipments. Our students will create thoughtful and/or colorful notes of appreciation to the soldiers to help them feel more connected and appreciated.
- Friday, Sept. 15th, Hope's Corner Lunch Bag Decorations: Hope's Corner is a non-profit in Mountain View, CA that distributes over 500 bag lunches to homeless and low-income people. Our students will help decorate the lunch bags with pictures and encouraging messages so the guests will be able to see them when they receive their bag lunches.
- Want to volunteer on campus to assist with these Kindness Activities? Opportunities here!
Non-Profit Spotlight: Create the Change (formerly Project Giving Kids)
Participating in community service from an early age helps kids cultivate compassion and a broader sense of identity, empathy, and community. However, when families with kids 5-14 want to get involved in serving their community and making a dfference, they often face obstacles that leave them asking, "What can I do?" or "Where do I start?" Create the Change (formerly Project Giving Kids/PGK) aims to become the hub for age-appropriate service learning and participation, making getting started easy and approachable.
#BeKind21 Kit
BeKind21 Words of Encouragement
BeKind to your Body - Healthy Snacks Kids will Love
Random Acts of Kindness Free Lesson Plans
List of Additional Online Volunteer Opportunities for Families:
Points of Light Virtual Volunteer Opportunities
Ancestry.com World Archives Project
Children International - Testing for Impact
Hands on Bay Area Project in a Box
“Just be kind. The act itself is free and it’s priceless.” - Lady Gaga
If you would like to promote your own acts of Kindness, you can tag public posts with #BeKind21 and @BTWFoundation who may re-post to help spread the habit of kindness! You can take their pledge here.
Updated: September 2023
