A kindness initiative is spreading across the nation and it all started in Monterey Park. It’s called “Kindness is Free,” which was created back in 2020 by the Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley and Eastside.
Chief Kindness Strategist Scott Ehlers showed us around a kindness pop-up at St. Thomas Aquinas School in Monterey Park.
“It started really small, we’re kind of teaching kids please and thank you, some manners, you know, hold the door open for someone, just try to choose kindness every day because we all have a choice,” said Ehlers.
Since then, the initiative has spread across the West Coast and beyond, including Texas, Florida and Connecticut.
“We’d love to have kindness is free anywhere. You know, we just we’re just trying to spread the message of kindness and hopefully create a better world and a better world and a better future,” Ehlers said.
They do everything from simple lunch pop-ups to full-out assemblies where students take the Kindness Pledge.
“We built a partnership because we felt like our missions aligned. We want to help students, we want to help the community, we want to do what’s best for the kids,” said Marco Juarez , St. Thomas Aquinas Principal.
“Helping people, like you said, on the playground, opening doors for others, whether it’s students or teachers, they’re just wanting help more. They’re being receptive to it, and it’s amazing,” said Phillip Contreras , St. Thomas Aquinas Vice Principal.
“I assist my teachers and my classmates with various tasks, such as if they need assistance with say certain problems in academics, or whether it just be talking to them about various things that may not even be school-related,” said student Patrick Barquera-Gomez.
Students appreciate the reminder, knowing that a simple message goes a long way.
“It’s really important to me ’cause it shows that you’re not a part of a town but you’re a part of a community and it’s a big impact no matter how small the gift is,” said student Emma Oliva.
“It’s a great opportunity to show everyone in the community how much we care to spread kindness around this world because there’s not enough of it,” said student Francesca Vazquez.
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