Good Morning and welcome!
I’d like to thank you all for being here to support our mission, and a special thank you the members of the committee for coming to Burlington for this hearing.
In today’s world, with all the tragic events we hear and the day-to-day hardships people face, it is easy to sometimes forget about the goodness in the world and the goodness in people. Sometimes life has unexpected circumstances; an economy turns, a person falls ill, a job gets lost.
We all need some help at some point in our lives.
Declaring the month of May as a Month of Kindness is a way to turn the tide. It is a way to serve our community and beyond by building a wave. A wave of helping those around us by the simple act of sharing our talents and abundance as well as promoting the good acts of others who reach out to help.
The purpose is to inspire others that the simplest acts of caring and love at a time when it’s needed most can have a powerful effect on not only the person who receives, but also the person who gives.
The power of extending a helping hand to another in need has the ability to change a life, restore a spirit, and offer new hope.
So how can we bring out the kindness of people by the masses? One of the best ways is to follow by example. Children are one of the best examples of pure goodness. The children here spend their days learning at school, but they are also teaching us a valuable lesson. As you have seen in the many examples today, if a child can find the means to help someone in need that then starts a cycle of giving, then so can we. As a mentor, a parent, a friend, an adult- so can we.
There are so many holidays that exist where not everyone can be a part of. Not everyone is mother on mother’s day or a father on father’s day, and to many of us, some holidays just mean another day off. We would like a holiday where the world can celebrate and surround itself with kindness. One where we can get as many people to do one random (or not so random) act of kindness as an alternative to being bombarded by bad news.
Today we ask the committee to please help us inspire others.
The only effect of kindness is that helps and influences someone to pass it on. Kindness is contagious, and kindness is free.
Thank you. Joyce Deliyiannis