By Chiara Volonakis \u201829<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here at Wyoming Seminary, we are all about community. Students and faculty alike want to do all we can to give back to our school, and also to the world outside of the SEM sphere. To keep the student body focused on that goal, each scholar is required to complete 10 hours of community service per year spent at the Upper School. Unfortunately, with lots of other activities taking up students\u2019 time, it can be a challenge to fit community service trips into our routine. Thus, hard-working SEM students came up with a solution: Kiddo Kindness! It\u2019s a new club founded this year that can help students connect with the local community and unlock their creativity without all the scheduling and heavy lifting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kiddo Kindness is a nonprofit organization that partners with schools and children’s hospitals. Through the chapter within their school, students make cards sending positivity or care packages, which are sent to local pediatric patients. Students can also obtain community service hours through the program. For every four cards or one care package sent, one hour of service is completed. This sounded enticing to Kashish Patel \u201830, the founder of SEM\u2019s Kiddo Kindness chapter. Kashish wanted to find a meaningful way to attain community service hours, but that would prove challenging due to other extracurricular commitments. Her search brought her to Instagram, where she first learned about the Kiddo Kindness program. \u201cIt sounded like a good opportunity,\u201d she said, \u201cwith just a few markers and some paper, I was able to make a real impact.\u201d With this spark of inspiration, Kashish reached out to Kiddo Kindness and local hospitals to kickstart SEM\u2019s chapter.
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Of course, starting a new club isn\u2019t easy. \u201cI didn\u2019t think we\u2019d have many people actually show up,\u201d admitted Kashish, worried about whether the club would gain any traction. But through advice from family and emails to hospitals across NEPA, Kiddo Kindness was up and running. The club\u2019s first card making was on September 15th, and the community support was incredible! Since then, the club has only grown, with many more card making meetings. \u201cBeing a kid who received \u2018get well soon\u2019 cards, and knowing that they always made my day, it\u2019s important to me to support others in hospitals,\u201d said Sasha Curtis \u201829 when asked what inspired her to join Kiddo Kindness. Her motives show the true goal this club is reaching towards: making a difference in the greater community.
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Not only is the Kiddo Kindness an opportunity to help brighten the days of kids in less-than-cheery health situations, not only is it a convenient and fun way to get community service hours, but it\u2019s also great for creative expression! Even if you\u2019re not the best of artists, a meaningful card can go a long way. By sending these heartfelt cards to local children in hospitals, the purest values of SEM begin to shine through: the true feelings behind kindness cards, the beautiful doodles decorating these messages, and the good deeds this club aims to fulfill.\u00a0
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