Spread Kindness To Save Lives Newsletter

Kindness Advocates,

September has been an exciting month for The Luken T. Boyle Campaign for Kindness as we continue to build relationships that can introduce our mission to more students, families, and members of our community.

One particularly exciting opportunity is developing through a new relationship with the Toledo Walleye. We recently met with members of their team to learn more about the youth assemblies they conduct at Toledo-area schools throughout the winter. These assemblies combine hockey with conversations about behavior, decision-making, and positive choices.

While our programs are very different, we identified a unique opportunity for the Campaign to participate during the student question-and-answer portion of these assemblies. This could give us an opportunity to introduce students to the importance of kindness while also introducing the Campaign to schools we may not currently serve. With four school assemblies planned this winter, this relationship could become another pathway for developing future school partnerships and speaking engagements.

We are also exploring ways for the Walleye organization to become more involved with our Kindness Rally, including opportunities surrounding our 250 Acts of Kindness and Kindness Recognition initiatives. Their enthusiasm for helping us grow the Rally and expand the Campaign is encouraging, and we look forward to continuing these conversations.

Another major milestone is moving forward with our new Kindness Room at the Wayman Palmer YMCA. We recently met with YMCA leadership to finalize plans, and the enthusiasm surrounding this project is tremendous.

This Kindness Room will be especially meaningful because it represents something new for the Campaign: an intergenerational Kindness Room accessible to people of all ages. YMCA leadership envisions senior adults working alongside younger people to create kindness activities and spread kindness throughout the YMCA and surrounding community.

We believe this has the potential to demonstrate that the Kindness Room concept can extend well beyond schools. If successful, this model could create opportunities for future Kindness Rooms in other YMCAs, community centers, and organizations. It is an exciting next step in expanding the reach and long-term impact of the Campaign.

Our school outreach is also beginning to pick up as the new academic year gets underway. Longfellow and Star Elementary have already been in contact about potential speaking engagements, and conversations with additional schools are underway. Fall has traditionally been an active season for our school outreach, and we look forward to getting back in front of students with our message of kindness, inclusion, and the impact our choices can have on others.

Our partnerships in the suicide-prevention community continue to deepen as well. I have been actively involved with the local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, helping prepare for the upcoming Out of the Darkness Walk and International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day. These relationships allow the Campaign to learn from others doing important work, connect families with resources, and build partnerships with people who share our commitment to hope, healing, and prevention.

Through this work, I recently connected with a local counselor whose background includes serving as an EMT and whose current work includes supporting first responders. This connection is particularly meaningful because first responders are often deeply affected by the tragedies they encounter. We are beginning conversations about ways kindness and support might be extended to these individuals and their families as another part of our broader community mission.

We are also preparing to strengthen our public outreach through the Toledo Free Press. We have opportunities to share stories about the Campaign, the opening of the Wayman Palmer YMCA Kindness Room, and the people and organizations helping kindness spread throughout our community. Telling these stories is important because every person who learns about the Campaign represents another potential Kindness Advocate, volunteer, partner, donor, or community champion.

What excites me most about this month is how these opportunities are beginning to connect.

Schools. Professional sports. The YMCA. Suicide-prevention organizations. First responders. Local media.

Each relationship gives us another way to reach people with the same simple but powerful message: kindness matters, everyone can practice it, and together we can create communities where people know they are valued and supported.

For our donors and supporters, these partnerships also provide something important: leverage. Your support doesn’t fund just one conversation or one event. It helps us build programs, relationships, and community partnerships that can continue reaching people long after that initial investment is made.

That progress is possible because people like you continue to believe in our mission.

Your support helps us open new Kindness Rooms, reach more students, build community partnerships, develop new educational resources, and create platforms that can carry Luken’s story and our message of kindness to an even larger audience.

There is much more ahead, and I am incredibly excited about where we are going.

Thank you for helping us spread kindness to save lives.