EASTON – Talbot County public middle and high school students and administrators are spreading kindness as part of Random Act of Kindness Week this month.
Random Act of Kindness weeks runs February 12 through 18, 2023 this year, as part of the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, which is a small non-profit that invests its resources into making kindness the norm. The foundation started in the 1990s on the west coast during a summer of violence when a reported suggested people stop reporting on random acts of violence and, instead, report on random acts of kindness.
As Talbot Goes Purple student clubs have reinstated in public middle and high schools, one of the first school-wide projects is to participate in kindness week. School counselors, principals, vice principals, nurses and students will write notes of kindness on purple post-its and distribute them around the schools. This project is based upon an activity from the Herren Project, on which the TGP student clubs are modelled.
“We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Talbot Goes Purple and the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation to promote substance abuse prevention efforts, and to build an atmosphere of kindness within our schools,” said Rob Schmidt, Ed.D., Mental Health Coordinator, Talbot County Public Schools. “Our Talbot Goes Purple Clubs provide leadership and raise awareness about the dangers of substance abuse and support students in making healthy choices both now and in the future.”
Everyone can participate in Random Act of Kindness Week – at home, at work or anywhere. Parents and guardians are especially encouraged to participate and can download the guide at randomactsofkindness.org. That website has resources for anyone, not just parents, who are interested in the challenge.
In addition to acts of kindness, TGP and TCPS have partnered on multiple initiatives for the first school semester. In September, students participated in TGP’s daily educational messages and learned about prevention with Sterlen Barr, CEO of Rapping About Prevention (RAP), which delivers high-energy performances for grades 3-12 on topics including substance use prevention. In October, TGP supported a school-wide poster contest for Red Ribbon Week. November saw elementary students collaborating on a gratitude mosaic and in December, students worked on ornaments that hung on the TGP Christmas Tree at the Talbot County Courthouse.
Current activities include working on projects that highlight the science of substances that will display at a health fair on March 23 at 6 p.m. at the Easton Volunteer Fire Department. Students also will learn about the dangers of impaired driving with a variety of activities with Madison Elliott with TCPS, who is the TGP club advisor and liaison. All of TGP’s activities are sponsored by Spring & Associates.
Talbot Goes Purple is a substance use prevention initiative geared toward helping kids stand up against substance abuse. Now entering year six, the initiative helps young people learn that they do not need substances to meet life’s challenges. Talbot Goes Purple includes school-based student clubs, outreach and education activities, and community engagement events.
An initiative from the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office and Tidewater Rotary, in partnership with Talbot County Public Schools, Saints Peter & Paul School and the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, Talbot Goes Purple empowers our youth and our community to ‘Go Purple’ as a sign of taking a stand against substance abuse.
###
More information about Talbot Goes Purple is available at www.talbotgoespurple.org. Find TGP on Facebook @TalbotGoesPurple or contact us at talbotgoespurple@gmail.com.
Talbot Goes Purple is a component fund of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization – donations to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.