In honor of this week's World Kindness Day, we recognize kindness in the Jersey City community.
Ellen DeGeneres fans know she always ends her show with the phrase, “Be kind.” This week we recognized World Kindness Day, a day to really let your kindness shine and have a positive impact on someone else. Whether you volunteer at a soup kitchen or simply hold the door for someone else, take the time to be kind this week (and every week).
We have so many kind neighbors in Jersey City. In honor of World Kindness Day, we wanted to highlight a few of these folks!
Mommies Heart to Heart:
Sarah Cho and Kausar Rasul started Mommies Heart to Heart in 2015 with the aim to teach our children to be givers. They teach children to care for the elderly and families in need, appreciate service persons and veterans, clean up Mother Nature, celebrate diversity and welcome refugees to JC. Children can touch hearts in a way that adults may not be able to.
Hazel Baby & Kids: How do you define kindness?
Mommies Heart to Heart: Kindness is imagining yourself in the other person's shoes and asking, what would they need and want?
Hazel Baby & Kids: How to you bring kindness to the Jersey City community?
Mommies Heart to Heart: Our sweet children have made countless cards and crafts for the elderly at St. Ann's Home, raised money to welcome refugee families, donated boxes of foods to families in need, made cards to thank the police, firefighters and veterans, raked leaves and picked up twigs to clean parks, and donated to build a playroom for kids with cancer. Our children learn about a need in the community and act to respond to that need.
The Scandinavian School of Jersey City:
Founded in 2010 in an effort to bring play, childhood, empathy, democracy and environmental consciousness to Early Childhood Education in America, Swedish native, Maria Germerud-Sharp founded Scandi School with her daughter in mind. As the school grows, so does its focus on its values. Working within a framework of empathy and kindness is a natural focus for all classes. Regardless of what each class is working on, 0r what they're exploring, the teachers put great emphasis on what it means to be kind and how we care for ourselves and others. We believe our main task as teachers is to inspire a new generation of empathtic and democratic human beings and global citizens. This means our children are given a lot of space to express themselves, encouraged to listen to others, to stand up for what they believe in, be open to revising their theories while always remaining respectful and kind to others.
Hazel Baby & Kids: How do your students bring kindness to the Jersey City community?
Scandi School: When a child or teacher notices an act of kindness, one class might have a kindness jar, where they add beads or leaves to acknowledge the kind act. Two years ago, one class finished an exploration about paths and maps. They made a stepping stone path in Hamilton Park, which after the official opening, which even the mayor attended, they all reflected on the event, focusing on that fact that the path is for everyone. This was an "act of kindness,” as they expressed.
These are just a couple examples of folks in Jersey City making a mark of kindness. We thank all of you who contribute kindness to our community and encourage all of you to let your kindness show this week.