When I do a presentation at a school, one of the things I share with the students is how to combat bullying with kindness. In fact, kindness is the opposite of bullying. For some students, this is exciting news. Most kids already know how to show kindness, and the idea that they can combat bullying with kindness is very empowering.
I decided to take this idea a step further with the reACT 30/30 Kindness Challenge. Your students already have the tools and the ability to change the way they behave towards others. What they might need, however, is a little bit of encouragement to do it. The 30/30 Kindness Challenge is that encouragement.
How It Works
The reACT 30/30 Kindness Challenge can be as simple or as elaborate as your school chooses. At the heart of the challenge, however, is intentional action. For 30 days, students embrace the challenge of performing 30 acts of kindness. They could even set a goal of one act per day. The accumulated 30 acts of kindness have the potential to impact your school and community in numerous ways.
Each school can choose how to run their challenge. Some might choose to make it a schoolwide program, while others might opt to let individual teachers decide how their classes will participate. Student organizations can take up the challenge, too. Once students begin developing their kindness muscles, there’s no telling how far this challenge will go!
Join the Kindness Challenge
Taking the reACT 30/30 Kindness Challenge is simple. All you have to do is download the Challenge Toolkit. In it, you’ll find great ideas for performing random acts of kindness, kindness checklists, and guidance on how to promote the program. Best of all, the reACT 30/30 Kindness Challenge is absolutely FREE to use!
When should your school begin the challenge? Any time of year is great to begin showing kindness, but be sure to choose a 30-day period in which your students can maximize their participation. A great time to start it is right after a bullying prevention program when the topic of kindness is fresh on everyone’s mind. Use that momentum to encourage your students to take up the challenge of random acts of kindness.
Challenge your students and change your school for the better – take the reACT 30/30 Kindness Challenge!