BEACHWOOD, Ohio – The word “kindness” can be defined as “the quality of being friendly, generous, and caring.” It is in the spirit of this definition that Senders Pediatrics will host a Family Kindness Festival, 1-4 p.m., May 1, at Beachwood High School, 25100 Fairmount Blvd.
The free family event, organized in partnership with Beachwood Schools, will be aimed at children aged 5-13. All ages are welcome, but children must be accompanied by an adult.
Senders Pediatrics, 2054 S. Green Road in South Euclid, designed the festival to inspire students and their parents to see that no act of kindness is too small, and that individual acts of kindness add up and can have a large and significant impact on friends, classmates and entire communities.
“We live in a world where childhood anxiety, stress, adolescent aggression and cyberbullying are at an all-time high,” Dr Shelly Senders said in a statement. “Promoting and spreading kindness in our schools and communities can go a long way to alleviating the anxiety, anger and aggression that students are exposed to on a daily basis.
“Furthermore, a plethora of research has shown that children who learn to be kind, generous, and determined have less stress, experience more happiness, and form more meaningful connections with others throughout their lives. Our goal for this event is to shine a light on those kids who are already adding more kindness to this world, to demonstrate that being kind can actually be fun, and to remind and reinforce to everyone that doing acts of kindness can be contagious and create a positive ripple effect across the globe.
Several activities are planned throughout the event, including:
- Craft for a cause: During which participants can engage in a variety of creative and restitution projects to benefit local nonprofit organizations and the people they serve.
- To exchange ideas: Children will have the chance to meet and exchange ideas with other local students who have developed great ideas for spreading acts of kindness in their own schools and communities.
- Recycled parts: Participants will create crafts that reuse recycled parts and materials and understand that being kind means being kind to our planet, by recycling, reusing and reducing waste.
- Children’s wigs: Children will have the chance to participate in the tuna cutter or cheer on the volunteers who donate their own hair to help make wigs for children who are losing their hair.
- Meet local organizations: Youth can engage with a wide variety of Cleveland-area organizations and nonprofits and discover ways to get involved and give back. Participating organizations include The Gathering Place, Beachwood Marketing Junior Achievement Program, Cuyahoga County Public Library Kindergarten and Baby Club, Fostering Hope and 25 others.
- Wizbang Circus School: Participants can clown around, juggle and walk on stilts.
- Snapology: Participants will have the opportunity to build unique structures with LEGOS.
- MedWish International Sourcing Campaign: The Beachwood High School Pre-med Club will hold a medical supply depot in front of the high school. Supplies such as new unopened dressings, bandages, gauze, toothbrushes and toothpaste, bar soap and shampoo are all needed and will be donated locally and internationally.
The event will also include music, entertainment, a bouncy house and refreshments.
“The Beachwood City Schools mission, ‘Developing Intellectual Entrepreneurs with a Social Consciousness,’ aligns perfectly with the Festival of Family Kindness,” said Beachwood School Superintendent Robert Hardis. “We are thrilled to welcome the community to this important event and proud to showcase the acts of kindness our students engage in daily.”
The festival was supported by the Sherry and Neil Cohen Fund, Crestmont Automotive, Pease CPAs, TXI, NF, Dave’s Markets and Pinecrest. For more information, visit senderspediatrics.com or tinyurl.com/familykindness.
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