Kindness - WKTV Journal

Holland Home CEO Mina Breuker received a pleasant surprise in her mailbox earlier this year. (Supplied)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

It was like any other winter evening when Mina Breuker headed out to get the mail. Except this time around there was a package among the letters.

“I know John VandenBerg,” said the CEO of Holland Home about the Allendale Christian School teacher who sent the package. “His in-laws are good friends of ours but I hadn’t seen him or his wife in a while and really didn’t know why he was sending me a package.

Breuker took the package in, opened it and a surprise – or rather surprises – fell out.

“There were all these handmade cards, so wonderfully written,” Breuker said, adding that there were all kinds of messages of “thank you” and “we are praying for you.”

The fifth grade students in John VandenBerg and Jessica Kirchoff had sent the notes as part of the “Choose Kind — Spread Kind” fifth grade initiative. The goal is that by sending out letters of encouragement, the students would help spread kindness within the community or as one letter writer put it “I have learned a lot about kindness. It is a lot like dominos. When you hit one, it spreads.”

According to VandenBerg, the purpose was to spread kindness amidst the pandemic and other continued national difficulties. The idea came from VandenBerg’s own fourth grade experience, when his class wrote to then President George Bush.

“He wrote back and I thought how cool that was,” VandenBerg said, adding he wanted to give his students that same experience.

The 29 students in Kirchoff’s and VandenBerg’s classes first spent time exploring the book “Wonder,” by R. J. Palacio, which explores the nature of friendship, tenacity, fear, and kindness. The teachers used the book as a launchpad to discuss kindness and how to inspire acts of kindness. From there, the students wrote letters to share kindness with others.

The first the letters were given to Allendale Christian School staff such as the librarians and food service providers. The campaign eventually expanded to include local, state, and national leaders.

“I like it because I like seeing the reaction from the letters that people send back,” said fifth grader Eden VanderWaal. Eden said seeing how one act of kindness has a ripple effect on others has encouraged Eden to do more for others.

Returning the thank you: the response board at Allendale Christian School for the “Choose Kind-Spread Kind” initiative. (Supplied)

Not everyone has responded back but VandenBerg said that was not the point of the initiative.

“The whole idea is that people will pay it forward,” he said. “They will share the kindness and it will create this whole snowball effect everywhere creating an avalanche of kindness.”

While many think to send letters to the seniors, few have come to the management team. For that reason reason, Breuker said she felt the need to share the “beautifully written letters” with the rest of the Holland Home team to let them know that what they have done was appreciated.

“It certainly lightened the load,” Breuker said., adding that there have not been many good feelings this year and it was nice to know that the students at Allendale Christian School were working to help spread the “love” even if it is one letter at a time.

Random gestures of kindness and thoughtfulness are the surest, simplest ways to bring happiness back into your own life. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)

By Robert Preidt, HealthDay

A sure-fire antidote to the blues is to focus on others, a new study suggests.

“Walking around and offering kindness to others in the world reduces anxiety and increases happiness and feelings of social connection,” said study author Douglas Gentile, a professor of psychology at Iowa State University.

“It’s a simple strategy that doesn’t take a lot of time that you can incorporate into your daily activities,” he said in a university news release.

For the study, Gentile and colleagues had students walk around a building for 12 minutes and use one of three approaches.

Loving-kindness: This is where you look at others and think, “I wish for this person to be happy.”

Interconnectedness: In this approach, you look at others and consider how they are connected to one another.

Downward social comparison: This is considering how you may be better off than each of the people you encounter.

The study also included a control group of students who were told to look at people and focus on what they see on the outside, such as clothing, makeup and accessories.

Before and after going for their walk, all students were assessed for levels of anxiety, happiness, stress, empathy and connectedness.

Compared to the control group, those who practiced loving-kindness or wished others well felt happier, more connected, caring and empathic, as well as less anxious. The interconnectedness group was more empathic and connected.

Students who compared themselves to others felt less empathic, caring and connected than those who extended good wishes to others.

There was no benefit with downward social comparison, according to the study published online recently in the Journal of Happiness Studies.

“At its core, downward social comparison is a competitive strategy,” said study co-author Dawn Sweet, an Iowa State senior lecturer in psychology. “That’s not to say it can’t have some benefit, but competitive mindsets have been linked to stress, anxiety and depression.”

Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.