Kindness Campaign

Buncombe County Commissioners' KINDNESS MATTERS Program

Human Resources Departments in governments recognize, particularly during stressful economic times, that employees who interface with the public need supportive training in providing kinder and more compassionate service to frazzled citizens. This can happen by having government employees practice more kindness and compassion with each other by recognizing acts of kindness and empathy in their exchanges with each other. This strategy creates a positive workplace climate that makes it easier to meet and greet the public with a smile and an attitude of kindness, empathy and compassion. Most importantly, it encourages kinder and gentler responses from citizens.

County Commissioners in Buncombe County, North Carolina surrounding Asheville are addressing this problem through their “Kindness Matters” program. The commissioners have posted the following message on their website to all their employees: 

“Now more than ever, in these difficult times, our attitudes toward each other and those we serve have great consequence.”

They ask county employees, “Have you taken the Kindness Challenge?  If you did, we want to hear about it.  Please log your experiences at the site on the back of the kindness card. Taking the challenge is easy, just:

1. Watch for kindness in fellow employees and be more kind to those around you.
2. When you witness someone being kind, give them a kindness card. Posters and cards will be available in your department. Log what you witness here, so we can share your stories with others.
3. If you receive a card, simple follow the instructions on the back.”

The web site then reminds County employees about the importance of acts of kindness. 

“Most of the time we are just too busy to notice simple acts of kindness. It’s worth the time to acknowledge your fellow employees for being kind and make it part of your day to ‘commit’ acts of kindness yourself. When you witness someone doing something kind, give them a card.”  

The commissioners had Kindness Matters cards printed up to hand out as reminders. They also have t-shirts available to purchase for $10 SM o XL and $12 for XXL by staff to wear on the 4th working day of the month. Then they add,

“You’ll be amazed how watching for kindness will make you more aware of how badly needed it really is. Take the Challenge.”

The Human Services Department of the County has really taken hold of this Program. Lisa Eby of the Buncombe County Human Services Support Team sent me the following up-date on what they are doing: "We have an ongoing survey that allows clients/customers to comment on how kind our staff are. In addition, our staff members wear the Kindness Matters T-shirts on Friday and continue to practice 4 intentional acts of kindness, especially on the 4th day of each month.... We continue to integrate the Kindness Matters Campaign into other aspects of our culture. We just finished a Food Stamp Challenge which challenged our staff to live on a 5 day allotment of food stamps. Currently, we are gearing up for a Poverty Simulations in the next 2 months that leads staff through an experiential workshop. By providing these types of experiences to our staff, where they can experience what it is like to be on the other side of the desk, they find a renewed appreciation and understanding of the challenges our clients face.... In addition, we are getting ready to launch an extension of the Kindness Matters Campaign, called "Caring Community." This will focus on fostering a caring relationship between staff and clients that results in community ownership and safety."

For further information on this program contact Lisa Eby at Lisa.Eby@buncombecounty.org. This kind of program can help change peoples’ negative beliefs about government, so I urge you to contact your city, county or state government officials and suggest that they also start a “Kindness Matters” program or a Kindness Campaign.

On March 10, 2009, the North Carolina Citizens for Quality Government posted this congratulatory note on their website acknowledging the Kindness Matters initiative: 

"Congratulations to the Buncombe County  Commissioners for receiving an A+ grade for their bold creative and innovative action to conform to the greatest universal law (love) and recognize the Oneness of all - to establish the "Kindness Campaign" in Buncombe County and promote, love, peace and harmony in our community."

The Kindness Matters campaign continues initiatives begun by the Kindness Campaign in the Asheville  area between 2004 and 2007. The many programs and events during these three years included some of the following:

Kindness Weeks were declared each year by the Mayor of Asheville during the week of Valentine's Day in which the Campaign handed out awards to schools, non-profits and government agencies. Here's Mayor Charles Worley watching children hug Leo the Kindhearted Lion in February 2006 during a signing ceremony at the Mayor's Office.

And here's Barry with Mayor Terry Bellamy in 2007.

And Volunteer Coordinator Cathy Holt and Leo give Kindness Awards to children at a special ceremony.

Adults, businesses and non-profit organizations received Community of Kindness awards:

and there were numerous interfaith dialogue dinners that met to find common values and beliefs.

The Asheville Police Department also implemented the Kindness Campaign into its organization. Here''s Police Chief Bill Hogan speaking to a group about how to improve community relations with the department.

Kinder Police / Community Relations

I recently got a call from a Kindness Campaign (KC) volunteer, Robert Wilson, who told me that his friend, Kyle Ross, had been tazered and arrested by the police. He asked if I would be willing to help her. I asked Robert to have Kyle contact me and describe what happened. I received a 12-page, detailed description.

I learned that at 6:00 am, Kyle was walking to a neighbor's house to perform an act of kindness. She had agreed to feed the neighbor's dog and cat, and to put the dog in the backyard until the neighbor returned from a trip later that day. As she walked briskly along, an officer shouted at her from behind and asked her name.

Mistaken Identity Leads to Panic

She did not know that the police were looking for a robbery suspect in the neighborhood who vaguely fit Kyle's description as a white female. (Later the police learned the robbery report was false, the byproduct of a domestic argument.) Kyle began "freaking out" from the questioning; the officers did a full body search of her, and one officer fired his stun gun, knocking Kyle to the ground. He used his stun gun on her two more times, then Kyle was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. She was held in jail for nine hours.

Because she had no prior police record, she was finally released without bond, very much shaken by the experience. Soon afterwards, Kyle filed a complaint against the police. After an internal investigation, the police dropped the charges; she got a letter of apology from the Police Chief and the officer who tazered her was dismissed. She later won a lawsuit against the City for medical and other expenses resulting from this incident.

Wanting to prevent others from enduring a similar ordeal, Kyle spoke at our "Conversations on Kindness" community meeting last June. A group of volunteers consequently formed the Kindness Campaign's Police and Community Relations Action Team. Their goal was to help create "kinder" police/community relations.

In January, the Kindness Campaign's Executive Committee endorsed the Action Team's recommendations to update the police department's complaint/ commendation process, making it more visible and accessible to citizens who wish to file formal complaints. The Action Team also recommended a departmental process for identifying and recognizing police officers who perform exemplary acts of kindness. We plan to give the team our Community of Kindness Award.

Citizens/Police Advisory Committee

On January 24, the Action Team presented their recommendations to the Citizens/Police Advisory Committee. Composed of citizens who represent geographic areas of the city, the Advisory Committee accepted the recommendations, and also invited an ad hoc Kindness Campaign representative to join their team. Our recommendations will be presented to City Council this summer.

Kyle has done a remarkable job of heading this Action Team, which will be honored on March 30 at a party sponsored by the Kindness Campaign. She told me recently, "A lot of good things happened as a result of this terrible event. It awakened my passion for writing [a book about her experience] and for police/community relations." She would like to see Asheville become a model for kind police/community relations and hopes that her efforts help make that happen.

The KC Selects a Winning Bumper Sticker

The Kindness Campaign received more than 250 entries to its bumper sticker contest, initiated as part of Kindness Week in Asheville, February 13-19. The winning entry came from Judith Toy of Black Mountain: "Kindness, the ultimate renewable resource." Judith, a meditation teacher at her Black Mountain Center, won a dinner for two at Vincenzo's in Asheville. She told me that she had an intuitive feeling she was going to win.

Barry Weinhold, Ph.D., is founder of the KC in Colorado and now North Carolina. Find out more and how you can participate by calling Barry at: 828-686-1890.

(This article was first printed in the April 2006 issue of Spirit in the Smokies, Magazine of Living Newstories. 

The Community of Kindness Awards in Asheville NC

“Deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments." - the Talmud

The Community of Kindness Award was created to recognize the exemplary acts of kindness by individuals and organizations. We are committed to identifying the people and organizations that are helping to create a “community of kindness.”

MAYOR PROCLAIMS KINDNESS WEEK IN ASHEVILLE, NC; AGENCIES RECEIVE COMMUNITY OF KINDNESS AWARD

Thursday, February 9, Mayor Terry Bellamy read and signed a Proclamation declaring the week of February 13-19, 2006 as Kindness Week in Asheville (See attached Proclamation and picture).

In addition to signing the proclamation, Mayor Bellamy helped the Kindness Campaign present its Community of Kindness Award to 13 different non-profits in the Asheville area for their contributions to the relocation to the Asheville area of over 500 families to who lost their homes in the Katrina disaster. The agencies receiving this award were ABCCM, The Affordable Housing Coalition, The Asheville Mountain Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, Asheville City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, Catholic Social Services, The Department of Social Services, Eblen Charities, Hearts with Hands, Manna Food Bank, The Salvation Army, The Sisters of Mercy Urgency Care Centers, and The United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County.

For example, the Red Cross helped 850 families with Client Assistance Cards that enabled them to buy $310,000 worth of clothes, food, household items and medication. They also helped find temporary housing for them working with local motels, hotels and the Corporate Lodging Program. They also acted as a referral source and helped develop a coordinated plan of service delivery to the evacuees.

The schools districts provided free tuition to the children so they could attend school and the 221 Center of the United Way provided needed information to evacuees on how to get replacement driver's licenses, birth certificates, social security cards, marriage licenses and information on how local citizens could contribute to the relocation effort. Other agencies helped evacuees find permanent housing, gave them rent money, utility assistance, furniture, school supplies, medical treatment and clothing. It was a seamless cooperative effort of all the agencies involved that made this possible.

Last October, as part of Make A Difference Day, the Kindness Campaign presented 14 area schools with Community of Kindness Awards for their contributions to the Katrina relief effort. To date the Kindness Campaign has given 37 Community of Kindness Awards to area individuals, schools and organizations that have performed extraordinary acts of kindness all contributing to the creation of a Community of Kindness in Asheville.

Kindness Week 2006

Servers at Valentine's Day Dinner at ABCCM Women's Shelter -(from left) Julie Profita, Cathy Holt, Annie Mitchell,Jenny Howard, and Lynn Brooks.

From Goodwill Industries

Kindness Week 2006 was Feb. 13-17 and we wanted to participate in our community and thought of several options.

The clients in the art classes made over 300 valentines; primarily from discarded-donated paper. Community Access staff then distributed them with the clients at Magnolia Health Care Center, and our drama and visual art group distributed them on Feb.15th at Eliada Home for Children.

The store staff had given the art department over 200 bottles of brown finger paint which I could not use and I had a large box of green crayons formerly donated which I had no use for so I included (with our valentines to Eliada’s 4 year olds) large sheets of paper for them to make their own tree pictures! We gave them a few other new items to supplement their project, and they were very pleased and started enjoying them right away. I am attaching a picture of one of the classrooms at Eliada.

The other Valentines were distributed to over 120 kindergartners at Black Mountain Primary School on Feb. 16 after our Music Group gave a wonderful interactive children’s performance. We also handed out samples of Braille as we discussed differences and blindness, the cut outs of Braille were from old donated Braille magazines. The children went back to their rooms and practiced writing their names in Braille (I had included Braille alphabet info. sheet for the teachers from my donated encyclopedias here in the art room).

So I’d just like to say how proud I am of all of us as we work to share our talents, good ideas and resources with our community. And I’d like to relay back to all our staff; administrative, CA, and store staff, the appreciation in all the children’s eyes and smiles. And, I am so grateful that our clients could experience their smiles, hugs, and applause for their hard work and goodwill.

Emily Welsh

Kindness Connects All Faiths, All Hearts

There are all these religions, so everyone can sing along. And all these people singing together make just one song. - Rumi

Why would Christians, Buddhists, Baha'is, Muslims, Jews, and Earth religions come together? To celebrate kindness! The Kindness Campaign sponsored its second Interfaith Celebration of Kindness on February 13 along with co-sponsors WNC Interfaith Network, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville, Christians for a United Community, and Holy Ground, at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Mark Ward, minister of the church, welcomed everyone and later led the singing of a Unitarian hymn, "Spirit of Life." Sharon Oxendine, a Lumbee Indian woman, called in the four directions. Judith Toy and other Cloud Cottage Sangha members led a chant to the bodhisattva of compassion, while carrying a gold and blue giant puppet of the Buddha with gently waving hands. Anne Wray and other Jubilee Community dancers performed "Seasons of Love," acting out a drama of a group of friends rallying around a person who is in trouble. "All creatures are God's children, and those dearest to God are those who treat His children kindly," said Ahmad Amara, quoting from the Qu'ran. Zeranges sang a Baha'i prayer in Farsi. Josefa Briant and other members of Beth Israel Synagogue danced a traditional Hebrew prayer, "Our steps bring the One who gives good messages." Robbie Williams of Hill Street Baptist Church performed a beautiful Praise Dance ("We Shall Behold Him") and Margaret Evans of St. Eugene Catholic Church sang "The Lord is Kind and Merciful." Robert Akers and the Sounds of Joy from Unity Church of Asheville sang "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" and the audience joined in enthusiastically with "Everybody get together, try and love one another right now." Calen Rayne read a Jack Kerouac poem, "The Trance of Compassion," and sounded a 300-year-old Tibetan singing bowl.

American Sign Language interpreters Susun Slatky and Lynn Brooks gracefully signed for the hearing impaired. All celebrated the good news that kindness is universal among faith traditions. The ceremony closed with a benediction from Byron Ballard, as a spirited group of Pagan drummers beckoned the crowd into the fellowship hall for a potluck feast.

Several participants were asked what they thought the impact of the celebration was for themselves and for the community:

"Bringing together people of ALL faiths around the concept and practice of Kindness is huge.  The program was simple and beautiful and I left feeling warmed, more open, and KINDER.  It was an inclusive evening of the highest order.  If others felt similarly, the event must have increased the city's (and the planet's!)  kindness-consciousness through the hologram that connects us all."
– Katherine Rose

"A couple hundred people of various faiths coming together and expressing themselves in very different ways, but all giving the same message about charity, kindness, giving love and encouragement—if 200 people can come together, we can bring the whole world together in very much the same way."
–Roger Beaumont

"I liked the eclectic mix of many races, creeds and religions, and how Kindness was the core of everything. Sitting, eating and chatting with people I'd never met before was a positive experience. People were getting to know each other a little. Each year, new people are coming and sharing in it."
– Stephen Levine

"I was truly impressed and inspired by the Celebration.  And it really was a Celebration.  The energy in the sanctuary felt wonderful.... There was such diversity on one hand and such unity on the other.   I absolutely think events like this can bring the community closer."
– Carla Taylor

"There we were all one, for a common purpose: to show that we support kindness in the community. I believe that it breaks down religious differences when we come together as a group to celebrate something we all believe in: that there's goodness, kindness in each of us. This event inspired me to want to volunteer for the Kindness Campaign!"
– Joanna Walsh

Kindness Week, proclaimed by Mayor Bellamy, began with an award ceremony in which Barry Weinhold, Director of the Kindness Campaign, and the Mayor gave out "Community of Kindness" awards to eleven agencies that helped refugees from Hurricane Katrina. Other events were a Valentine's Day dinner cooked by Kindness Campaign volunteers for homeless women and children, and several showings of "Ryan's Well," an inspiring documentary film about a young boy whose efforts made a huge difference for a thirsty Ugandan village.

Why do people cook for the homeless? Annie Mitchell, one of the volunteers, said, "I enjoy serving people—not just to be nice for Valentine's Day, but throughout the year. I volunteer in my church, and I care for my handicapped sister. I just like to help out and share the kindness that's in my heart."

Roger Beaumont, who baked 4 dozen cookies for the women and children, added this: "To mindfully and with kind intent make dozens of cookies to be shared, somehow brings together Nonviolent Communication and the teachings of the Buddha. They are both ways of doing things reflectively, thoughtfully, meditatively. I take great pleasure in feeding others my cookies and other meals. Sharing food seems for me to be a way of pleasing, of inviting vulnerability, a stage for receiving and giving empathy."

KC In Asheville: The Beginning

Barry K. Weinhold

I'd had an intense day completing projects and almost did not go to the Open Space Meeting with Col. Bowman. Then I got lost and ended up arriving a half hour late. Col Bowman was truly inspiring and I was glad I had decided to attend.

In the Open Space portion of the evening I remember saying to myself, “I’m tired and I’m just going to sit in on these discussions and listen,” thinking I would not contribute much. As I looked over the posting of the topics only one seemed interesting at all to me. That was the one posted by Daniel Barber on “Bringing Heart, Soul, Creativity and Bliss to Politics.” Daniel shared about being a political activist for 15 years and feeling he wasn’t having much fun in the process. Several others shared a similar theme but there were only a few general ideas about how to have more fun. In that moment, I decided to share the Kindness Campaign project that I directed in Colorado Springs for ten years and how it spread to other cities in the U. S. and over 700 schools in the U. S. and Canada.

After sharing how much fun I had doing the Campaign and what a positive impact it had on the community, someone in the group said to me, “Why don’t you help us do this in Asheville?” Others seized the idea and began to talk excitedly about doing something similar here. What could I say? I agreed to explore the idea, if others were interested in doing this.

In the Action Phase of the evening, I posted the notice about having another meeting to discuss the idea. Six others said they would like to do that. I agreed to convene that meeting. We held that follow-up meeting June 20 at Earth Fare with about six new people joining some from the Open Space group. The consensus of the group was to hold another meeting and invite the community to consider the idea. Grant Millin agreed to organize the notes from the follow-up meeting and help publicize the July 12 community meeting. Others began to brainstorm the agenda for the meeting and even what the next steps could be after that meeting. Each agreed to invite some of their friends.

I came home that evening excited that I might be able to contribute to this community in a positive way. So I began to pull together some of the information that I thought might be useful if a group of people wanted to start a similar project in Asheville. As a result of Sunday’s community meeting, a core group of interested individuals appeared to support the idea and ran with it for almost three years.

Playback Theatre's World Kindness Day Celebration

Sunday, November 13, 2005 from 7-9 p.m. the Kindness Campaign in Asheville, Asheville Playback Theatre, St Eugene Catholic Church and students from area schools joined with the community to celebrate World Kindness Day. This event was part of a worldwide celebration co-sponsored by almost 100 Playback Theatre Companies on five continents, in 30 countries and in 10 different languages who will perform "Stories of Kindness" on this day. The idea for this World Kindness Day event came from Raphael Peter, the Director of Asheville Playback Theatre, after he and the cast had performed "Stories of Kindness" as part of Asheville's Kindness Week celebration February 13-20, 2005.

Playback Theatre invites participants to share personal stories, told in community, and honors the storytellers through enacting their experiences. These enactments have promoted compassion and understanding in challenging arenas around the world. Groups in conflict and people divided by race, class or caste have found common ground through sharing experiences in playback performances.

The transformational power of kindness presents an alternative to the negativity of fear and division that has been so prevalent in our world. Fear often leads to secrecy, violence and chaos. We can choose to change our perceptions and remind ourselves of the common meeting place that kindness creates, a place where our civil society is strengthened and people are empowered to take back their communities.

In addition to a performance of Playback Theatre's "Stories of Kindness," children from area schools will read inspiring messages of kindness in other languages that reach across the seas and give hope to all people who seek to practice acts of kindness. The St. Eugene Children's Choir will also perform songs of kindness that reflect the hopes of every human being for a kinder and safer world. It should be a truly inspiring evening.

DIRECTOR'S REPORT: The Kindness Campaign in Asheville, NC

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." - James Barrie

This is a progress report on the Kindness Campaign in Asheville since its inception July 15, 2004. I will describe the progress we have made on the reaching the goals listed in a separate article on this site and our plans for reaching them in 2005.

During July, August and September 2004 we held several a number of organizational meetings and finally October 22, 2004 we held a Community Kick-Off Meeting and launched the Campaign in Asheville.

Goal #1: Hire a Volunteer Coordinator: In late September 2004 we hired Cathy Holt to be our Volunteer Coordinator for 12-15 hours per week. Cathy has performed admirably and we would not progressed as far as we have if Cathy had not come on board. We would like to be able to increase this position to 25-30 hours per week in 2005.

Goal #2: Recruit One Hundred Volunteers: We have recruited approximately 60 volunteers and about 25 of them have actively participated in one of our events. From this group, we have formed an Executive Committee of 6 volunteers to help advise the Director and Volunteer Coordinator on the direction of the Campaign in Asheville.

Goal # 3: Circulate 57,000 buttons: With existing funds and a $500 grant from Jubilee we purchased 7,000 buttons. In addition, Ashley Furniture has agreed to buy 10,000 more buttons and Ingles Grocery has agreed to purchase 40,000 additional buttons. When all these buttons are distributed in the community this goal will have been met.

Goal # 4: Hold an Annual Kindness Week Celebration: This is currently being planned for February 13-20, 2005 and will include many community activities. See the separate article on Kindness Week on the Kindness Campaign in Asheville page on this site.

Goal # 5: Hold an Annual Interfaith Celebration of Kindness: A committee of 14 people is busily planning this event for Tuesday, February 15, 2005 at St Eugene’s Catholic Church in Asheville. See the separate article on the Interfaith Celebration on the Kindness Campaign in Asheville page on this site.

Goal # 6: Give Community of Kindness Awards: So far this fall we have given this award to 8 individuals and three organizations. We plan to give at least one of these awards each month. There are stories about these awards in the article on the Community of Kindness Awards in Asheville on this site.

Goal # 7: Target One Neighborhood to Make Kinder and Safer: We have begun planning for this to happen in during 2005. One area we are targeting is the West Asheville neighborhoods. We have a number of representatives of West Asheville organizations on our Community Advisory Board who are helping us plan this initiative.

Goal # 8: Implement the Kindness Campaign’s Kind and Safe Schools Program in Six Schools: We have contacted five schools in the Asheville area and have begun preliminary work with three of them. Asheville Catholic School has committed to begin the Kind and Safe Schools Program starting in August 2005. Two schools helped us by having the children make Christmas Cards that a local men’s group distributed at Christmas time. These schools will be having children make Valentine’s that they will distribute to senior centers and nursing homes on February 14.

Goal # 9: Have Businesses Adopt Four Schools: We are asking local businesses to “adopt” a school and help pay for us to implement our Kind and Safe Schools Program. We are currently discussing this project with Ingles to see if they will participate. They have committed to integrating publicity on the Kindness Campaign and possibly helping schools to purchase our curriculum materials. With their support, we could move this project forward rather quickly.

Goal # 10: Encourage increased aid and support to one group of disadvantaged citizens: With the advice of the community representatives on our Community Advisory Board, we plan to select a disadvantaged group in Asheville to assist in 2005. We have not made that selection at this time.

Goal # 11: Team With RiverLink on River Cleanups: We plan to mobilize our volunteers to assist RiverLink on any river cleanup projects they initiate during 2005.

Goal # 12: Recruit at least twelve businesses, non-profits and churches as Community Sponsors of the Kindness Campaign. We already have nine Community Sponsors, so we are confident we can reach this goal early in 2005.

Goal # 13: Help Asheville Become “The Kindest City in America:” We are not sure this will be completed by the end of 2005 and may be an on-going goal. Having said that, we are clearly getting lots of support toward reaching this goal. The Mayor and City Council have given their support to the idea and we have developed a set of indices with which to measure our progress. These are described in a separate article on this site titled “The Community of Kindness Index.”

Goal # 14: Secure Media Sponsors: We have made great progress on this goal.
The Citizen-Times has agreed to be a media sponsor, The Spirit in the Smokies magazine has also agreed to sponsor the Campaign. Clear Channel radio, with five stations in Asheville, has agreed to carry Public Service Announcements of all our events on their stations. We are talking with other media outlets to expand on the excellent coverage we are currently getting.

Goal # 15: Secure Grants and Donations: We have set our goal on receiving at least four grants this year to help pay for the operating expenses of the Kindness Campaign. In addition, we will need about $20,000 in corporate and individual donations.

Goal # 16: Hold Dialogue Dinners: We are interested in promoting more understanding across religious, racial and cultural lines. We will partner with other organizations to hold at least six dialogue dinners in the next year designed to reach this objective.

Goal # 17: Create a Community Advisory Board: We have created a Community Advisory Board consisting of 18 members. This Board met for the first time November 19, 2004. We may add more members to this Board as we expand our programs. The Board members are available to consult with us on any projects that involve the constituents that the Board members represent.

- Barry K. Weinhold, Director

The Kindness Revolution in Asheville: An Invitation to Conversation

Hungry for meaningful dialogue? On June 8, you can satisfy more than your appetite for Mexican food when you go out to dinner at Los Volcanes Restaurant. The Kindness Campaign is hosting a special Kindness Conversation evening, starting with a talk by Barry Weinhold, the campaign's founder, called "The Kindness Revolution is Happening in Asheville." Immediately afterwards, international business consultants Maureen McCarthy and Zelle Nelson will facilitate a series of conversations in way that combines World Cafe and Open Space Technology. Participants rotate to different conversation tables for added layers of richness and diversity, and they select the topics to be discussed. Action steps will be generated. This is an opportunity to network (bring your cards and brochures), meet new people, and discuss how to make Asheville a truly kind city. Everyone's vision is needed and all voices will be heard.

The Kindness Campaign has recently hosted a series of Interfaith Dialogue Dinners, enabling small groups of people from differing faith traditions to get to know one another more personally. They are now encouraging a wider series of conversations to bring out everyone's best ideas about kindness for Asheville.

Those who wish to order dinner are encouraged to arrive by 5:30 pm; the program is from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Los Volcanes Restaurant is located at 275 Smokey Park Highway in West Asheville. Take Patton Avenue west, or I-40 to exit 44. The restaurant is next to Best Western Hotel. Dinner is on your own; the evening program is free, although donations are gratefully welcomed.

Some of the Kindness Campaign's goals for Asheville are:
- Distributing 57,000 "Spread Kindness" buttons
- Giving "Community of Kindness" awards recognizing exemplary acts of kindness by individuals and organizations
- Implementing the Kind & Safe Schools Program in at least three area schools
- Recruiting local businesses to "adopt" schools to pay for the program
- Working with other groups to create kind & safe neighborhoods

- Enlisting businesses, nonprofits and churches as Community Sponsors.

Download The Conversations Flyer

Director’s Report on the Kindness Campaign in Asheville, NC

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." - James Barrie

This is a progress report on the Kindness Campaign in Asheville since its inception July 15, 2004. I will describe the progress we have made on the reaching the goals listed in a separate article on this site and our plans for reaching them in 2005.

During July, August and September 2004 we held several a number of organizational meetings and finally October 22, 2004 we held a Community Kick-Off Meeting and launched the Campaign in Asheville.

Goal #1: Hire a Volunteer Coordinator: In late September 2004 we hired Cathy Holt to be our Volunteer Coordinator for 12-15 hours per week. Cathy has performed admirably and we would not progressed as far as we have if Cathy had not come on board. We would like to be able to increase this position to 25-30 hours per week in 2005.

Goal #2: Recruit One Hundred Volunteers: We have recruited approximately 60 volunteers and about 25 of them have actively participated in one of our events. From this group, we have formed an Executive Committee of 6 volunteers to help advise the Director and Volunteer Coordinator on the direction of the Campaign in Asheville.

Goal # 3: Circulate 57,000 buttons: With existing funds and a $500 grant from Jubilee we purchased 7,000 buttons. In addition, Ashley Furniture has agreed to buy 10,000 more buttons and Ingles Grocery has agreed to purchase 40,000 additional buttons. When all these buttons are distributed in the community this goal will have been met.

Goal # 4: Hold an Annual Kindness Week Celebration: This is currently being planned for February 13-20, 2005 and will include many community activities. See the separate article on Kindness Week on the Kindness Campaign in Asheville page on this site.

Goal # 5: Hold an Annual Interfaith Celebration of Kindness: A committee of 14 people is busily planning this event for Tuesday, February 15, 2005 at St Eugene’s Catholic Church in Asheville. See the separate article on the Interfaith Celebration on the Kindness Campaign in Asheville page on this site.

Goal # 6: Give Community of Kindness Awards: So far this fall we have given this award to 8 individuals and three organizations. We plan to give at least one of these awards each month. There are stories about these awards in the article on the Community of Kindness Awards in Asheville on this site.

Goal # 7: Target One Neighborhood to Make Kinder and Safer: We have begun planning for this to happen in during 2005. One area we are targeting is the West Asheville neighborhoods. We have a number of representatives of West Asheville organizations on our Community Advisory Board who are helping us plan this initiative.

Goal # 8: Implement the Kindness Campaign’s Kind and Safe Schools Program in Six Schools: We have contacted five schools in the Asheville area and have begun preliminary work with three of them. Asheville Catholic School has committed to begin the Kind and Safe Schools Program starting in August 2005. Two schools helped us by having the children make Christmas Cards that a local men’s group distributed at Christmas time. These schools will be having children make Valentine’s that they will distribute to senior centers and nursing homes on February 14.

Goal # 9: Have Businesses Adopt Four Schools: We are asking local businesses to “adopt” a school and help pay for us to implement our Kind and Safe Schools Program. We are currently discussing this project with Ingles to see if they will participate. They have committed to integrating publicity on the Kindness Campaign and possibly helping schools to purchase our curriculum materials. With their support, we could move this project forward rather quickly.

Goal # 10: Encourage increased aid and support to one group of disadvantaged citizens: With the advice of the community representatives on our Community Advisory Board, we plan to select a disadvantaged group in Asheville to assist in 2005. We have not made that selection at this time.

Goal # 11: Team With RiverLink on River Cleanups: We plan to mobilize our volunteers to assist RiverLink on any river cleanup projects they initiate during 2005.

Goal # 12: Recruit at least twelve businesses, non-profits and churches as Community Sponsors of the Kindness Campaign. We already have nine Community Sponsors, so we are confident we can reach this goal early in 2005.

Goal # 13: Help Asheville Become “The Kindest City in America:” We are not sure this will be completed by the end of 2005 and may be an on-going goal. Having said that, we are clearly getting lots of support toward reaching this goal. The Mayor and City Council have given their support to the idea and we have developed a set of indices with which to measure our progress. These are described in a separate article on this site titled “The Community of Kindness Index.”

Goal # 14: Secure Media Sponsors: We have made great progress on this goal.
The Citizen-Times has agreed to be a media sponsor, The Spirit in the Smokies magazine has also agreed to sponsor the Campaign. Clear Channel radio, with five stations in Asheville, has agreed to carry Public Service Announcements of all our events on their stations. We are talking with other media outlets to expand on the excellent coverage we are currently getting.

Goal # 15: Secure Grants and Donations: We have set our goal on receiving at least four grants this year to help pay for the operating expenses of the Kindness Campaign. In addition, we will need about $20,000 in corporate and individual donations.

Goal # 16: Hold Dialogue Dinners: We are interested in promoting more understanding across religious, racial and cultural lines. We will partner with other organizations to hold at least six dialogue dinners in the next year designed to reach this objective.

Goal # 17: Create a Community Advisory Board: We have created a Community Advisory Board consisting of 18 members. This Board met for the first time November 19, 2004. We may add more members to this Board as we expand our programs. The Board members are available to consult with us on any projects that involve the constituents that the Board members represent.