Spread the word, invite your friends: #502kindness week is March 15-22.
Local group Parents for Social Justice (PSJ) has organized the event and wants Louisvillians to share random acts of kindness throughout the community. Everyone can document the kindness with the #502kindness hashtag on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
I asked Rebecca Frederick, PSJ co-founder, and Amy Rock, PSJ member, about #502kindness week and what the organization wants to accomplish for the city.
Rock explains why she suggested the kindness week idea, and how the group embraced it quickly.
“I read an article about the healing effects of random acts of kindness and a particular phrase resonated with me: In giving away your life, you find it. I posted the article on the PSJ Facebook page and the idea grew from there with Rebecca helping to work out the details. Our city desperately needs a lot of kindness right now,” Rock says.
“I thought if we challenged ourselves to do random acts of kindness, people would talk to strangers in the community. We never know what struggles people face and I think it is our responsibility as a community to care for one another regardless of perceived differences.”
Once the idea hit the group’s Facebook page, says Frederick, “within 24 hours, we had over 250 people signed on to do it with us and we have been growing ever since. “
Not sure how to approach random acts of kindness? It can really be anything, explains Frederick:
“We hope that people will use their imaginations with their acts of kindness. There are a million and one ways to brighten someone’s days and the main goal is that for this one week we can come together as a city and a community to brighten each other’s days, which we hope can show people in that week how simple it really is to make a positive impression of someone’s day every day. A big part of the social justice world is community and we hope that with this week we can do our part to help make a step towards building community throughout Louisville. For me personally, I would love to see people come together and do these acts as small groups rather than individuals. Reach out on the event page and meet a new family or a new individual or just simply a new friend to go out and do this together. Shaking the hands of your neighbors as you do something to build up your city rather than tear it down is what community is built upon. So I guess to sum it up, we would love to see this as a chance for people to build and foster the city-wide community of Louisville, not just the area of town we live in.”
Rock and Frederick are looking forward to everyone sharing their pictures and experiences during kindness week on social media, and are posting lots of ideas on the group’s Facebook page. They also recommend Pinterest as a goldmine of fun and thoughtful ideas.
What Is PSJ All About?
The group came together originally, says Frederick, out of a conversation about embracing diversity in parenting.
“We were having a simple discussion about ways that we could be involved with the movement that was really unfolding after the killing of Mike Brown and the militarized police response to the protesting that came after. Being activists, our first response would be to go to Ferguson and put our bodies in the streets, but as parents of young and school-aged children, that draw to be there physically can prove to be a hurdle that can’t be overcome.”
The group decided to figure out what they could do here at home.
“Our main goals are to create a space to show up for social justice as a family and also a space that focuses on educating ourselves and our children for sustainable change. As parents, we have a duty to raise socially conscious children into socially responsible adults so our grandchildren don’t have to march for the same issues 50 years from now. All of our gatherings are kid-friendly, which was something that we found was lacking in the social justice community as a whole, not just in Louisville. The women at the [initial] meeting were Natasha Pitcock, Emily Van Bogaert, Molly Shah, Elizabeth Barnes, Shannon Stone-Porter and Rebecca Frederick.”
By inviting speakers and teachers to talk to the group, and by attending organized events around Louisville, together, the members are trying to teach their children by example.
“We have had meetings about everything from felon voting rights with the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, to single-payer health care with Kentuckians for Single Payer Healthcare, to zoning laws and how they help keep Louisville a segregated city with the Metro Housing Coalition and even a Friday Night Movie showing of Sicko by Michael Moore. These are just a few of the groups we have had meetings with and hope to host more groups from the community of Louisville in the future. We do also try to be present for actions of other groups, for instance, we work with Stand Up Sunday (the local Black Lives Matter movement) to make sure that we are present for direct actions and rallies surrounding racial justice and police brutality. Part of teaching our children how to be socially aware is showing them by example what it means to show up for others in a way that builds community and empowers those that we showing up for,” says Frederick.
A stronger sense of community and caring, says Rock, is what these meetings, events and efforts like kindness week add up to:
“The ultimate goal is that people have compassion for everyone in our city, regardless of religion, race or socio-economic status or any other difference. If we want to reduce crime in our city, we must stop thinking it is another part of town’s problem and they need fix it. We all play a part in what happens anywhere in Louisville because this is OUR city and we all must work together to make it better. If everyone did one small, simple kind act a day, we would truly be deserving of the title ‘Compassionate City,’ and that is what PSJ is striving for. Our similarities far outweigh our differences and maybe this challenge will bring the community closer together.”
Everyone is invited to follow PSJ on its Facebook page and to send any questions, comments or concerns to parentsforsocialjustice@gmail.com.
Photo: Shutterstock Copyright: Gustavo Frazao
