Heroes

I want to induct heroes and heroines into my Gallery of Gratitude. These are just a few examples of caring individuals. Besides the adults that take on the bullies, there are several young, heroic people. I could post several more examples of teen activists and extraordinary children who give of themselves to others, their families, communities people and animals. If you ever need a reminder that the kids of today are wonderful human beings, type in ‘kindest kids in the world’, ‘teen activists’, Family Circle “Acting Up”, and read story after story about these normal, everyday, awesome kids, that happen to do extraordinary things with their lives. Kudos to the kids and adults who have made our communities, our world, a better place for everyone of us to live.

Khari Touré
Khari Touré fights back against daughters’ bullies with a viral body-positive rap on YouTube. Read more>>

Andra Liemandt
Andra Liemandt was stunned and heartbroken to learn that a friend’s 12-year-old daughter committed suicide after being bullied at school. Research showed that tween and teen suicides has steadily increased recently, but there are no preventative resources for elementary schools to utilize. In response, Andra created The Kindness Campaign (TKC). TKC is built on the foundation that if we teach children how to first be kind to themselves and then be kind to one another, we can change the peer-to-peer culture in schools and ultimately save lives.

Thomas Moore
When 8-year-old Thomas Moore watched a video on Facebook of a girl who had lost her hair, he came up with a heartwarming idea. He started growing his hair so kids with cancer can have wigs made from it after their chemo treatments. He grew an impressive amount of hair and after three years it all went towards making wigs for three kids. This kid is absolutely amazing!

Kenzie Hinson
Kenzie Hinson, 12, founded the Make A Difference Food Pantry in Goldsboro, NC, that serves more than 1,000 people a month from Wayne, Sampson and Johnston counties.  In addition to working at the pantry, Kenzie delivers meals to seniors, packs backpacks of food for low-income children to take home during the school year and will start a program providing summer meals for students on summer break. Read more>>

Sierra, the Kindest Kid in Connecticut
Doctors diagnosed 7-year-old Sierra with cancer two years ago. After finishing her treatment, Sierra wanted to raise awareness about childhood cancers, as well as money for research. The Madison, CT, youngster started the Childhood Cancer Kids program with her big sister, Emilina. The charity has already helped raised $10,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. When she’s not busy raising awareness, Sierra is visiting young cancer patients to raise their spirits. She shares advice and brings hospital patients gift bags or shows them breathing exercises and yoga-inspired relaxation techniques.  Read more>>

These are just a few examples of caring individuals. I could post dozens more examples of teen activists and extraordinary children who give of themselves to others, their families, communities, people, and animals. If you ever need a reminder that the kids of today are wonderful human beings, search for ‘kindest kids in the world’, ‘teen activists’, Family Circle “Acting Up”, and read story after story about these normal, everyday, awesome kids who happen to do extraordinary things with their lives.

We all can do one act of kindness. Who knows what that one act can do; maybe save a life, or make our day, or someone else’s day, brighter. Or maybe make a difference.