Massachusetts is home to a PLETHORA of Upstanders. On June 6, 2024, Jennifer Young (Executive Director/Co-Founder) and I, Daniel Simpson (Media Coordinator/Teen Kindness Board Chair/Marketing & Strategy Intern), had the honor of meeting some of them! đ€©
SUNSHINE VILLAGE
Our first stop was the beautiful SUNSHINE VILLAGE (Chicopee, MA), home of longtime Friend Mail senders and supporters of the Be A Friend Project. Sunshine Village is a disability services and support organization with a similar mission to the Be A Friend Project: making every day a great day. We started the visit with a meaningful conversation with Executive Director, Gina Kos. We absolutely loved her "shine line" on her office wall, a string of kindness cards to uplift her each day. We are excited to work more with her in the future!
We then toured the facilities, led by Bruce Wood (Life Engagement Services Manager), Corinne Dumont (Community Relations Manager), Jonathon, and Joyce. Jonathon and Joyce lead the Friend Mail program at Sunshine Village for all of our recipients. They showed us their Be A Friend Project Bulletin Board where they display their BAFP certificates and current Friend Mail recipient stories. Multiple classes at the facility participate in the Friend Mail program, and all members gave us a warm, energetic greeting. They made us feel like celebrities! One client asked us "Does the Friend Mail make them happy?" â€ïž
We are always AMAZED by the heartfelt words and masterful artwork the Sunshine Village Upstanders send to us! âïž
ROGER L. PUTNAM VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL ACADEMY
Next, we went to PUTNAM ACADEMY (Springfield, MA) to celebrate the WIN of their "Call to Action Club." Ms. Amy Scott and her Business Tech class are truly Kindness Warriors. This January, we launched "5 Months of 50 Challenges" - a checklist of 50 acts of kindness for clubs to complete. The Call to Action Club is the ONLY club in the world to complete this spring's challenge.
Jennifer and I spoke to the class and presented them with their winner certificate, exclusive winner drawstring bags, and exclusive winner pins. The class provided helpful feedback for the future of our Kindness Club Challenge and shared kindhearted words when we interviewed them. Ms. Scott presented the class's completed checklist (with their own challenge ideas!) and their own Be A Friend Project Bulletin Board. We especially loved to see the poems they wrote about bullying prevention and kindness on the board. The Be A Friend Project is inspired and thrilled by Putnam Academy's positivity, friendliness, and commitment - we cannot wait to see the work their club does next fall!
LUNCH WITH CHRISTINE MAIWALD
The trip concluded with a heartwarming lunch with former Executive Director of Unify Against Bullying, Christine Maiwald. Christine is a longtime friend of ours and we greatly admire the hard work and dedication she had poured into the non-profit along with founders Ed & Susanna Zemba and a fabulous board of directors. She is a role model of what it means to be a friend.
Here's a picture of Jennifer with Christine from one year ago at the Unify Against Bullying grant ceremony!
Comments