It has been a busy two weeks for me and the Kindness Corps team here at Seeds of Caring.

As I have said previously, the Kindness Corps is a program held during the summer and school year that teaches kids to choose kindness every day, as well as it teaches empathy and about community needs here in Columbus. Our focuses this summer are empathy tools, senior citizens, hospitalized kids, and hunger in the unhoused.

Last week was all about learning the curriculum and how to teach the kids these important lessons. This week was all about implementing those practices. On Monday, we prepped all our supplies for the week, which included what we needed for the kids to make Kindness Bracelets. During our lesson the kids brainstormed brief phrases that will remind them to choose kindness every day. On Monday we also prepped our lessons and practiced them as well.

On Monday evening I attended a meeting with some staff regarding operations. This was very interesting to see the different ideas everyone had, and I also got to add to the conversation with some ideas of my own, as well as some commentary on different social media practices and app uses.  

Tuesday came, and it was time for camp. I was extremely nervous, since I don’t have much experience with kids but as soon as I entered the Rec center and saw the kids and how excited they were, my fears vanished. This week is Week 1 in a 4-week session. Our lesson this week was about empathy tools, and how kids are extremely powerful when it comes to making a difference in our community because of their hearts, hands, and minds.

We introduced Seeds of Caring and what we do in Kindness Corps, and we explain how anyone could have certain community needs at any time. I read the book Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña to the kids, and they really enjoyed it! It showed them how you can learn and choose kindness by doing small things.

After the book, we made the bracelets we previously mentioned which was very fun, and they came up with some great phrases to remember kindness every day, like “K is for Kind”, “Love Others”, “Peace”, “Open Doors”, “Be a Friend”, and many others. They were excited to do this and really put thought into how they wanted to be reminded to choose kindness.

This week was mostly for giving kids a look at what we do at Seeds of Caring and what our mission is, and how they can help the community in Columbus. Overall, I’ve had a really great time this week giving kids the introduction to Seeds of Caring and the Kindness Corps, and I’m excited for camp to continue next week as we start our second lesson about senior citizens living in senior living communities.