By Lauren Valentino

At the end of January, Botelle’s Student Council took on a new challenge, the Great Kindness Challenge. This weeklong event is designed to promote a positive community, with students, staff and families completing many different acts of kindness.
The Great Kindness Challenge is a yearly program for schools and families across the nation and the world. Schools that sign up for the challenge receive a toolkit of resources that includes a checklist of suggested acts of kindness. Student then have to make a plan to complete as many of the kind deeds as possible during the week. Some of the suggestions are simple, like “Smile at 25 people” or “Give a friend a high-five.” Others, such as “Write a thank-you note to a community helper” and “Bake cookies for an elderly neighbor,” require more planning and effort.
Big or small, these acts of kindness make the giver and the receiver feel great. Samantha Barbagallo, one of the Student Council members who had a key role in planning Botelle’s participation in the Great Kindness Challenge, said, “It’s fun seeing students having fun doing the acts of kindness.”
One of the special acts of kindness that Botelle students are participating in is “Make a wish for a child in another country.” Each year, the organizers of the Great Kindness Challenge include a fundraiser, called Kind Coins, to support children in need around the world. This year’s Kind Coins philanthropic effort is collecting money to build a medical center in Paynesville, Liberia. Botelle students learned where Liberia is and how the difficult it is to get proper medical care there. They were encouraged to bring in spare change to support the fundraiser, which continues until March 1.
In addition to acts of kindness, Student Council members planned related school-wide activities, including like a poster contest, Say Something Nice Day and Write a Kindness Note—all to reinforce the message “Kindness Matters.” Students and staff dressed up each day to show their kindness spirit. On “Hats Off for Kindness Day” students wore their favorite hats, and “Crazy for Kindness Day” featured wearing crazy socks. Carter Nadeau, a sixth grader who has been on Student Council for two years, said, “I like seeing everyone participating.” David DeCerbo added, “My favorite thing about the Great Kindness Challenge is it’s all fun! Everyone is included and everyone likes it.”