Earlier in the year, Moorestown Township Council proclaimed that 2015 would be a Year of Kindness. One resident has taken it upon herself to make sure Moorestown lives up to that proclamation.
Holly Myers, “Ambassador of Kindness” and community coordinator for Moorestown, created a Kindness Wheel, which is modeled like a “Wheel of Fortune,” with 18 aspects of kindness on it to help facilitate kindness activities among residents and organizations.
“I’m hoping that this will get people talking about (kindness) and that there will be this spread of awareness. I think that Moorestown is already a wonderful community, but there are plenty of places where we can spread out kindness,” Myers said.
Moorestown has been celebrating Kindness Week in the township since 1996, around the week of Valentine’s Day. As 2015 is the 20th year, Myers wanted to do something special. She approached Mayor Victoria Napolitano about her idea, but she was unsure of exactly what to do.
That was when Napolitano suggested that instead of having a week of kindness, Moorestown proclaim there be a year of kindness. In February, Napolitano gave a proclamation to Myers for just that.
Because of this, Myers was inspired to get everyone involved. According to Myers, there used to be a community non-profit group where kindness programs and activities were done each year.
With this, Myers felt it was the perfect opportunity to bring kindness to the forefront of people’s minds once again. She was greatly inspired by “The Power of Kindness” by Piero Ferrucci, a book breaking down kindness into 18 aspects.
“There is something so special about this book and the way the essays describe different aspects of kindness,” Myers said.
Through some trial and error, Myers came up with the idea for a Kindness Wheel, a “Wheel of Fortune” type of wheel that has the 18 aspects of kindness from Ferrucci’s book.
“The Kindness Wheel is a way to represent the 18 aspects of kindness in a simple form that is accessible to everyone,” Myers said.
Each wedge of the wheel is designated for a month and an aspect of kindness representative of that month. This wheel begins with Service in September; Contact in October; Gratitude in November; Generosity in December; Honesty in January; Forgiveness in February; Belonging in March; Joy in April; Memory in May; Respect in June; Loyalty in July; Flexibility in August; Mindfulness in September; Patience in October; Trust in November; Warmth in December; Humility in January; and ending with Empathy in February 2017. The wheel is designed is so it can be used over again, too.
People can use the spinner, or an object to throw on the wheel, to decide what other aspect to bring to the month or that day. For example, if the spinner lands on Trust, the person who spun thinks about how he or she can combine trust with that month’s idea.
“It brings a playful kind of feeling making it a wheel. It can also really provoke your thoughts and you’ll think about what it lands on and ask yourself, ‘How can I do that?’” Myers said.
In the center of the wheel, there is an open space for a name of a person or an organization, so it can deepen the purpose of being an ambassador of kindness.
For September, Myers suggests thinking of service along with peace, as Sept. 21 is the International Day of Peace.
“Rather than kindness being just a word, break it up into 18 different actions so it can become more readily available. We’re really causing a ripple effect, and that is what peace in the world is all about,” Myers said.
Before International Day of Peace, Myers will have an event at the Moorestown Library talking about the Wheel of Kindness, how to become an ambassador of kindness and what someone can do to spread kindness to others and the community at large. This will occur on Tuesday, Sept. 15 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
“(The purpose) is to deepen and enliven others, to give people more ideas and to generate more love and joy within the community,” Myers said.
Myers hopes the Kindness Wheel will get people talking and make others more aware of spreading kindness and the effect is has, not only on others, but the person spreading it and the world.
“I would like people to say, ‘This is a really kind town. Kindness is spoken here,’” Myers said.
For more information or to get a copy of the Kindness Wheel, go to Facebook and search “Kindness Today” or contact Myers at [email protected]. Myers also recommends checking out the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation at www.randomactsofkindness.org.
Myers would love for residents to share their stories with her through email and on the “Kindness Today” Facebook page. Also, if you have a special story, please send it to the Moorestown Sun at [email protected].
A copy of the kindness wheel can be found below:
