Noyes Home uplifting kindness with essay contest
By Kendra Simpson
The Noyes Home for Children is fostering kindness among St. Joseph kids with a new essay contest and fundraiser.
Open to grades kindergarten through 12th in public, private or homeschool, the Kindness Saint Joseph essay contest asks kids and teenagers to write a one-page essay about the kindest person they know of in St. Joseph.
“We teach children to look for the good that’s happening in the community and to celebrate it in hopes that they’re going to want to emulate that and contribute their own level of kindness,” Noyes Home Executive Director Chelsea Howlett said.
The Noyes Home hopes the essay contest will generate more positivity for St. Joseph students and help them grow to be empathetic and kind members of the community.
“We know that there’s a lot of negativity in our world, and it’s really easy to get bogged down with that,” she said. “And so we want to be able to give a boost of positivity to our community and recognize that there’s a lot of people doing really great things in our community, and they deserve to just have a moment in the spotlight and be told, thank you for their efforts.”
The deadline to submit an essay is Nov. 8. Essays can be mailed or turned in directly to the Noyes Home at 801 N. Noyes Boulevard.
Once submitted, the essays will be read and reviewed by a group of volunteers. The Noyes Home and the volunteers will determine the winner for each grade level. The 13 winners and their chosen “kindness” subject will be honored at a fundraiser for the home on March 29. While recognizing the students and their subjects, the fundraiser will also honor two individuals who have made a big difference in St. Joseph.
“Not only will we be honoring those 26 individuals, the 13 students and their 13 kindest people, but we also are going to ask our community to nominate two Kindness Keepers,” Howlett said. “So anybody can make that nomination in St. Joseph. If they see somebody who’s just going above and beyond and they’re working really hard, whether it be in their professional (work) or their volunteer service, to make St. Joseph better, then go ahead and nominate that individual.”
The fundraiser will also recognize the Kindest School, meaning a local school that has the “best culture of kindness.” Children and adults can fill out a submission form for both the Kindness Keepers and the Kindest School nominations. Submission forms and additional information for the essay contest can be found on the Noyes Home’s website at noyehome.org.
