One of the best ways to learn a lesson is to see it in action. While teaching her students about kindness, an educator worked with Random Acts to show what reaching out with a helping hand looks like.
Setting the Example
Meli Villesca is the school counselor at Morgan Independent School District in Texas. Meli shares that resources are often limited at her very small school. She noticed that two teachers were particularly struggling with a lack of classroom essentials as basic as chairs. The teachers had been getting supplies at garage sales to keep their classrooms up.
Meli began looking for grants that could provide assistance. She came across Random Acts and its program for funding Acts of Kindness. “We have to find ways to reward our educators so they know that their hard work, dedication, and selfless acts are appreciated and acknowledged,” says Meli.
As the school counselor, Meli works to teach students about the social and emotional aspects of learning. Funding from Random Acts was the perfect display of how kindness generates more kindness. “I wanted them to understand that kindness is important regardless of how old or young you are,” explains Meli. “This grant allowed me to show them that I watched their teachers be kind and try hard all year, and this was a way for us to return the act of kindness.”
As Good as Chocolate
The main goal of the kindness act was to provide classroom seating so students would not have to sit on the floor. Meli selected swivel chairs and bubble seats that allow movement for wiggly learners. Stretchy chair bands provide sensory aids for students with those needs. An organizational cart, whiteboard, and learning tools rounded out the list of supplies.
Delivery day was an emotional experience for everyone, shown in the teachers’ tears of joy and the students’ excitement over the new equipment. “The smiles on their faces were priceless,” shares Meli. The school superintendent was so excited that Meli compared him to “a child laying eyes on chocolate for the first time!”
“The Kindness Grant has been such a blessing to our school,” shares Meli. “It was definitely a way for me to show students that acts of kindness can be rewarding to the givers as well as the receivers.”
Local Acts Add up to Global Good
At Random Acts, our mission is to fund acts of kindness, both large and small. Do you have an idea for an act of kindness in your own community? Contact your local Random Acts Regional Representative for information on Sponsored Acts or any other help you need to turn your idea into reality.
