A year of kindness
As part of KindWorks’ year-end fundraising campaign, we’ve produced a 2022 Kindness Calendar — with inspiring stories, kindnesses for every day of the year, and joyful art by Kulsum Tasnif. For donations of $100 or more, KindWorks will send you a calendar as a thank you gift. All donations are tax deductible, and 100 percent will be used to support KindWorks’ projects and mission to inspire action for a kinder world. To donate, please visit the KindWorks website.
Here’s my introduction from the calendar, and images of the beautiful art, stories, and kind ideas.
If there is a silver lining to the monumental pain and suffering that the coronavirus has caused, it’s the surge of kindness that we witness each day. At KindWorks, the nonprofit I help lead in my volunteer capacity, we call it a “KINDdemic”. At no other time in our history, have we seen more people eager to give, volunteer, donate, and be of service. It’s been overwhelming, and deeply gratifying; and has reaffirmed what we have known to be true: that we are each other’s keeper; that crises begets compassion; and that being kind is fundamentally who we are.
When our traditional ways of volunteering were no longer possible, we came up with creative, safe ways to do good, during a time when the need was so great. We collected supplies to make Covid kits, engaging neighborhood streets in friendly competition to see which one would collect the most thermometers, hand sanitizers, and face masks. We packed boxes of food, produce, and essentials at “consolidation hubs” dotted around the community that were providing urgent supplies to so many in desperate need. We collected and refurbished computers for students and families so they could continue to learn, work, and stay connected.
And we made lots and lots of soup! For over a year, we’ve been gathering in our kitchens every week, connecting via Zoom, and cooking “KindSoup for the Soul” together. We’ve shared soup with shelters, food banks, consolidation hubs, those who are sick, new mothers, the elderly, neighbors, healthcare heroes, essential workers - really anyone who could use a nourishing, warm hug (which is just about all of us right now!). In the process, we’ve built a sense of community at a uniquely lonely time – learning about our grandmother’s traditional recipes, wisdoms we treasure from our elders, our favorite kitchen gadgets … and the best places to find mung beans. With the recent arrival of Afghan refugees, we invited Afghan chefs and friends, to teach us Afghan soups and culture, for our new neighbors. One of my fondest memories of this time will be peeking inside my freezer and seeing it fill up – often overflow – with KindSoups.
We’re now busy setting up apartments for Afghan refugees arriving in our community. Our apartments brim with all the essentials a family needs to start a new life – and with lots of extras like computers, bicycles, pressure cookers, vacuum cleaners, backpacks, spices, toys, and loving touches that make a home. On the day a family arrives, we tuck a home-cooked welcome meal in the fridge - traditional dishes, beautifully plated, made with love.
While these acts of kindness are not making the pandemic disappear, we hope they’re making the lives of people who are suffering a little bit easier; in the process, I think they’re helping us get through this stressful time too.
As we slowly emerge from this challenging time, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we carry forward the things we’re learning – that we need each other for companionship and sustenance; that helping each other makes us feel good and eases our worries; that kindness is a sustainable, renewable, always available, source for good that has the power to change one life … and the world.
