Kindnessgirl

“You are kind like my teacher Karen. I am sorry those kids were mean” -Lucy, age 6

So you may have heard or seen the story of Karen Klein that raced through the internet yesterday. Karen is a grandmother and bus monitor in Greece, New York. A 10 minute video was released on 6/20 of her being verbally abused by some kids on the bus. Honestly, I could only watch about 3 minutes of it. It was really, really bad. You can read the story here: http://huff.to/PvAgVU (warning: the verbal abuse is graphic- lots of expletives)

The moment you first see something so mean, you say a little prayer in your heart for the person being abused and pray, pray, and wish this is an isolated incident…but somewhere in your soul, you know it probably isn’t. I start to wonder if I live in a kindness bubble, and I know I do….BUT then something else rises in me- this work, this belief we hold so close around here- that Kindness Changes Everything.

There is this drive to hold on to it closer than ever, to return it in an overwhelming expression, to find it in the places you would least expect it, to ask people to stand up tall in it. We have to make the connections for people that have suffered terribly as a result of extreme unkindness. We have to be and offer what we want to see in the world. We have to believe it is not only possible, but real and thriving….and bigger than anything else.

So here is what we came up with:

1. We created a I AM KIND Facebook page for kids, adults, all human beings to take a pledge of Kindness in honor of Karen and all those that have endured a similar experience. We are doing that by offering photos of us holding signs saying “I AM KIND.”  Pictures in front of school buses would be especially awesome!

You can upload all your pics to the Facebook page here. OR e-mail them to patience@kindnessgirl.com .

2. We are leaving notes and pictures with the words “You are LOVED” for Karen on the Facebook page too!

3. We still believe there is some kindness magic in Greece, NY and would love to send them some wands! Does anyone have a contact there or would be willing to hide some there for us? Let us know in the comments or e-mail me!

Thank you all for holding the space for kindness today…and for returning it in critical times when the world and people really need to know it exists! Love to you all!

If you can help spread the word of this project via Facebook or Twitter, that would be great!

Other good news: Funds raised to send Karen on a vacation! over $119K in less than 24hours

another place to share your love for Karen!  Kindness For Karen Facebook Page