Month of giving, week of service, and now, Central introduces Day of Kindness for the first year. One year ago, junior class Student Council (STUCO) members, math teacher Sarah Reeves and her classes participated in activities inspired by Day of Kindness, including chalking the front of the school and hanging positive messages in the halls.

After receiving a positive response from the school community, it was decided that Day of Kindness would become an annual celebration.

“Day of Kindness is a global movement to spread unity and kindness. Every human experience includes struggle. Day of Kindness encourages compassion and empathy for those unique struggles, whether it is for someone else or yourself,” said Reeves.

This year, Day of Kindness took place on Nov. 13, marking the first annual tradition.

However, considering part of the student body was learning at home while some were learning on campus, STUCO had to get creative and find ways to reach the entire student body.

Whether in a classroom or on a Zoom call, students were encouraged to wear yellow, as many associate that color with happiness.

In addition, STUCO provided a, “tic-tac-toe board of random acts of kindness through Parkway Central sponsored social media accounts. Community members [were] encouraged to do three random acts of kindness in a row and share it with others,” said Reeves.

And, for those who attended school on campus Nov. 13, STUCO wrote inspirational messages for students and faculty to read as they entered the building.

“It is our hope that at least one of these plans reaches everyone in our community to spread kindness,” said Reeves.

One of the student chairs for the day, senior Peter Schaeffer, hopes that making virtual options for the day will lead to more participation as well as have a stronger impact on the community.

“There are so many things going on in our country and our world right now, so we need to spread kindness in order to remind people that they are loved, they are welcome, and there are people that care about them,” Shaeffer said.

Additionally, considering the age of social media we are in, as well as the online world embraced as a result of COVID-19, Reeves wanted the day to stress the importance of spreading kindness online.

“First and foremost, I think self kindness is one of the most important concepts to remember in a virtual world. We need to be aware of which accounts we are following, the images we see, information we are digesting, and how they are making us feel about ourselves. We can spread kindness to others by ensuring the photos, comments, and information we are putting into the world are positive, productive, and celebratory,” Reeves said.

The compassion, generosity, and self-love inspired by Day of Kindness made a positive impact on the Central community and will continue to do so in the many years to come as a Central tradition.