Binghamton City School District students are on a mission to change the world. It will cost them nothing and doesn’t require them to go anywhere different than they normally would. It does take effort, however; but once they start, it’s easy to keep doing it.
“When you do an act of kindness, it causes a ripple,” said Brian Williams, the founder & President of Think Kindness, an initiative that aims to inspire kindness and good deeds in communities around the world.
Williams visits each of Binghamton’s nine school buildings over the course of a four-day visit to the district. He challenged students at each school to complete five thousand acts of kindness over the next 15 days. It could be as simple as making a friend feel better if they’re having a tough day, or making room at the lunch table for a new student.
“Today I will make the world better than I did yesterday!”
Students during the Think Kindness assemblies held at each school shouted this affirmation. It reminds everyone - from kindergarteners to teachers - that they have the power to make an impact. No act is too small or too big and each one will quickly add up to the goal of 45,000 acts of kindness throughout Binghamton’s schools.
Think Kindness was brought to Binghamton by the Noah Farrelly Memorial Fund. The fund was established in memory of a 2018 Binghamton High School graduate who passed away after he was struck by a vehicle while running on campus during his freshman year of college. Noah is remembered for his kindness and compassion; the fund aims to ensure that his legacy of making the community a kinder place lives on.
“He made Binghamton a better place,” said Bridgette Farrelly-Hess, Noah’s mom. “Not by being a hero or a saint, but just by making every day a little bit better through his empathy, inclusion, and his kindness.”
During the Think Kindness assemblies, Binghamton students were introduced to the Kind Soles shoe drive. Students can bring gently-used shoes to school and place them in a bin to be donated. All the shoes collected will be sent overseas for children who cannot afford to purchase their own shoes. In return, one dollar will be donated for each pair of shoes collected in our schools; that money will be used to buy brand-new shoes for Binghamton students in need.
Students can donate shoes of any size, style, and type, from slippers to snow boots, and adult sizes are welcome too. Only pairs (no individual shoes) will be accepted, and shoes should not have holes, rips, peeling soles, or mold.
With one good deed, one pair of shoes, and one act of kindness at a time, Binghamton students will indeed change the world!