| | Published August 21st, 2019
| Lady Gaga's foundation to promote kindness in Lafayette
| | | By Pippa Fisher |  | | The city council declares Sept. 1-21 as "BeKind 21" in Lafayette to encourage daily acts of kindness. Photo Jeff Heyman, city of Lafayette |
The Aug. 12 city council meeting got off to a positive start with Mayor Mike Anderson issuing a proclamation on behalf of the city that Sept. 1-21 be designated as "BeKind 21" days in Lafayette, as part of the Born This Way Foundation's campaign. Schools, organizations, workplaces and communities are invited to make kindness a habit by performing an act of kindness daily for 21 days, culminating on the U.N. International Day of Peace.
The Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2012 and is headed by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, with the goal of creating a kinder and braver world. The foundation's executive director, Lafayette resident Maya Enista Smith, said that they are trying to encourage not just "transactional kindness." She explained that, based on the science of doing anything 21 days in a row it becomes a habit, at Springhill Elementary School they created a calendar for teachers, parents and students to do something kind every day.
Leslie Noel of Lafayette's Peter Pan Foundation told the council that many children are suffering from anxiety and want badly for kindness to be "cool." She said everyone needs the BeKind21 movement. "We all want to feel we belong."
According to a survey commissioned by Born This Way Foundation, young people who describe their environments as kind are also more likely to be mentally healthy. Performing acts of kindness has also been shown to boost reported levels of happiness, self-worth, and calmness while decreasing symptoms of depression.
The 2018 campaign engaged more than 440,000 people and prompted more than eight million acts of kindness across the country and around the world.
"I am excited that the city of Lafayette has joined the BeKind21 challenge, and encourage residents of all ages to join this exciting city-schools partnership. One act of kindness can make a difference," said Council Member Teresa Gerringer, who coordinated the effort at the city.
"Thank you to Maya Smith, Lafayette resident and the executive director of the Born This Way Foundation, and Danielle Gallagher, past president of Lafayette's Springhill Parent Faculty Club, for leading the charge on creating a culture of kindness in Lafayette," Gerringer said, adding, "I encourage everyone to take the BeKind21 challenge. Our community and each of us will be better for it."
Smith said that they are launching the campaign with more than 80 "super-impressive" partners such as Starbucks and other corporations. "But the one (partner) I care most about is this community and the people in this room, so thank you so much," she said. |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA