Hey heroes,
We’ve made it SUPER easy to help spread kindness throughout your school – by starting a KINDNESS CLUB! YOU have the opportunity to be the founder of something great. Check out our suggestions below on how you can bring a “Kidkind Club” to your school.
Check it out:
- Copy this letter and suggested structure for the club into a new email or document.
- Modify it to apply to your school.
- Bring it to a teacher, guidance counselor, or principal.
- Start spreading the message that it’s cool to be kind, and encourage your peers to be BETTER THAN THAT™, better than hurtful behavior. You can do this in leading by example and having the courage to speak up with this positive message.
Dear ______,
I’m working with Wear the Cape and the kidkind Foundation ( to help spread kindness, courage and respect. As part of this goal, I’m compelled to start a Kidkind Club here at [INSERT SCHOOL NAME].
This Kidkind Club would be a student-led group, open to all grades. One teacher or adult would need to be the club’s sponsor and provide oversight.
The goal of the Kidkind Club is to help develop greater self-awareness among the student body, which will promote kindness and good character. I hope that the club will help improve relationships at [INSERT SCHOOL NAME], as well as foster a more positive school culture overall.
Below is a list of materials that will be needed to run the program. Wear the Cape and the kidkind Foundation have also created a sample outline that can be used to help guide club meetings.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you to determine next steps, as my goal is to have this club begin by [INSERT DATE].
In kindness,
[INSERT YOUR NAME]
Kindness Club Requirements:
- 1 adult to oversee
- 1 room – classroom, library, all-purpose room, cafeteria, gym available for monthly meetings
- 45 minutes-1 hour per month for meetings before or after school, or at lunch
Suggested Meeting Objectives and Outline:
1. September: Kindness
-Students will come together to brainstorm ways to be kind and set Random Acts of Kindness goals to be completed before the next meeting.
-Students will create an “IT’S COOL TO BE KIND” poster to hang in school.
-Takeaway: Students will commit to carrying out Random Acts of Kindness, in pursuit of the goals they created.
2. October: Respect
-Students will brainstorm ways to show respect to themselves and to others.
-Students will create a RESPECT anagram.
-Takeaway: Students will commit to abstaining from criticism of their classmates and teachers.
3. November: Making Good Choices
-Students will create lists of everyday decisions that they face and write downgood choicesfor each.
-Students will create a “The Choices You MakeToday Matter” poster to hang in school.
-Takeaway: Students will commit to selecting good choices each day,from the lists they made during the meeting.
4. December: CompassionEmpathy
-Students will reflect on thePlato quote: Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. Students will discuss what it means to have empathy and show others compassion and, if comfortable, will share a time when someone did/did not have compassion towards them.
- Takeaway: Students will commit to creating a canned food drive or coat drive and will collect items for a local food pantry or shelter.
5. January: Heroism
-Students will learn the meaning of the word UPSTANDER,an individual who sees wrong and acts.
-Students will brainstorm ways to be an upstander when they see someone being bullied.
-Students will create a “Be an Upstander, Not a Bystander” poster to hang in school.
-Takeaway: Students will commit to being an upstander at least once before the next meeting, if and when they see someone being bullied.
6. February: Being a Good Friend
-Students will share an instance when they’ve observed someone being a good friend.
-Students will be introduced to the 3 H strategy: Before reacting to confrontation, students should ask themselves, “Does this person need a Halt, a Hand, or a Hug?”
-Takeaway: Students commit to using the 3H strategy, as needed.
7. March: Being a Leader
-Students will list the qualities of a good leader and will share leaders whom they admire and why.
-Each student will create a leadership certificate to give to someone who they know personally that exemplifies the qualities of a good leader.
-Takeaway: Students will commit to developing one leadership quality that they do not yet possess.
8. April: Helping Others(National Volunteer Week is this month)
-Students will discuss the importance of helping others in need and will share their favorite volunteer opportunity.
-Students will volunteer with a local non-profit during National Volunteer Week.
-Takeaway: Students will commit to offer half an hour of their time to help a teacher at school before the next meeting.
9. May: Self-Control
-Students will discuss the importance of having self-control and the ramifications for not displaying self-control.
-Students will discuss what self-control looks like when tempted by gossip or anger.
-Students will roleplay how to have self-controlwhen others are gossiping and when a situation causes anger.
-Takeaway: Students will commit to practicing self-control in the areas of gossip and anger management.
10. June: –Self-Awareness and Creation ofGoals
-Students will review the areas of discussion over the past year, while noting positive changes within the school.
-Students will independently create a list of areas in which they have seen personal growth over the past school yearon an index card.Students will then independently draft a list of goals toward which they want to strive over the summer months, on the reverse side of the index card.
-Takeaway: Students will commit to making progress toward their personal goals throughout the summer months.