The Gifts of Kindness program just marked an important milestone: Ten years of spreading kindness throughout central Ohio! Today, we’re celebrating all 47 Gifts of Kindness nonprofit partners dedicated to supporting community members through life’s unexpected challenges, like job losses or medical diagnoses. Learn more about the Gifts of Kindness Fund’s impact here.

In honor of World Kindness Day, each Gifts of Kindness nonprofit partner received a surprise bag of snacks and a potted plant symbolizing growth, resilience, and the lasting impact the organization has on the community it serves. The Center for HumanKindness also awarded each organization an unrestricted $1,000 grant!

Dive Deeper: More than 200 community members nominated local nonprofits that are spreading kindness to receive a $50 grant from the Center for HumanKindness. With the community’s suggestions, dozens of nonprofits received surprise grants to support their missions. Thank you to all who participated!

Be a walking/driving billboard for kindness! For a few days, we opened up our swag closet for central Ohio kindness ambassadors.

Dive Deeper: Thanksgiving is just two weeks away! With the upcoming season of gratitude and holiday gatherings front-of-mind, consider how you might make kindness a tradition with the children in your life. We’ve partnered with Seeds of Caring to create a free guide for helping families engage the next generation of kids or grandkids in conversation about gratitude, kindness, and how they can make a difference. The Family Philanthropy Guide is designed for younger children, but the activities can easily be adapted for family members of all ages. 

The HumanKindness Prize was created in 2022 to recognize and celebrate nonprofits that exemplify unwavering and intentional human kindness in action. Today, in partnership with the Walter Foundation, we’re excited to introduce you to the newest HumanKindness Prize honorees!  

Bringing together older adults and youth in meaningful ways helps create a vibrant sense of community where everyone can thrive. Studies show that when older adults invest in the well-being of young people, it gives them a renewed sense of purpose and creates mutual benefits for both generations. Programs that nurture intergenerational connections not only reduce loneliness and challenge age-related stereotypes, but also enhance the mental and physical health of all ages involved. 

Today we’re honoring and celebrating four local organizations that are fostering a culture of kindness across generations! These four nonprofits received surprise HumanKindness Prize grants from the Center for HumanKindness totaling $50,000! Watch the video to learn about the honorees. 

Congratulations to the HumanKindness Prize honorees: 

• ARISE, a Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) program, connects teens and older adults through intergenerational storytelling in the arts, fostering shared experiences and mutual understanding. This five-week initiative uses theatre, music, and visual arts to build relationships that improve well-being, reduce isolation, and enhance community bonds. 

• Catholic Social Services’ Foster Grandparent Program creates opportunities for mutual learning, support, and companionship by pairing older adults with younger students. This initiative benefits students through mentorship and academic support and enriches older adults' lives by providing a sense of purpose and belonging. 

• Festa is focused on alleviating poverty by building meaningful relationships across generations through education, community support, and service programs. The organization’s three-generation English as a Second Language (ESL) program, along with community events and educational workshops, builds language skills across families, creating a foundation for intergenerational support and long-term economic resilience. 

• GrowIN strives to build intentional connections across generations through education, nutrition, wellness, and the arts. Lauren Feyh, GrowIN’s founder, was recently named an Eisner Prize Fellow for their intergenerational gardening program. 

Dive Deeper: The ninth annual Everyday Kindness Heroes event is Wednesday, December 4, at COSI at 6:00 p.m. We hope to see you there!  

The merits of kindness have been affirmed by many faith traditions over thousands of years as a call to care for and treat our neighbors with compassion. Accessible to all in an endless supply, kindness is for everyone!  

Stop by any of the 23 Columbus Metropolitan Library locations to pick up some kindness swag and inspiration while adding a link to the kindness chain! Maybe you’ll even find a book or movie exemplifying kindness that you can share with a friend or loved one. 

Dive Deeper: Small Business Saturday is two weeks from today on Saturday, November 30. As you think about your gift list this holiday season, consider purchasing items that bolster the community by shopping at locally owned businesses and social enterprises. Or, consider making a donation to a nonprofit in honor of your friends and family. 

As we adjust to the changing seasons, we can cultivate brightness inside our homes through the age-old art of coloring. Coloring relieves stress, improves sleep, and nourishes creativity for people of all ages! We’ve partnered with local artist Natalie Keller Pariano to create these FREE kindness coloring sheets as you settle into the holiday season. Whether you display them on your refrigerator, pin them above your workspace, or gift them to a friend, these coloring sheets remind us that we all have the power to be kind and help build a more connected, kinder community.

Share your finished artwork with us by posting it on Facebook or Instagram and tagging the Center for HumanKindness (@center4humankindness) or emailing us a photo at kindness@columbusfoundation.org. We’ll enter all participants in a drawing for the opportunity to select a local nonprofit to receive a $100 donation in your honor! 

Dive Deeper: For the fourth consecutive year, the Center for HumanKindness and Seeds of Caring have partnered to offer a free World Kindness Day Toolkit to K-8 educators in central Ohio. This year, more than 400 educators have registered to participate with up to 50,000 students.  

This month, students are learning about why our connections with one another are important. They also discuss community challenges and opportunities and identify a local nonprofit to support from a pool of $20,000 from the Center for HumanKindness. The World Kindness Day Educator Toolkit features great resources and lessons that grown-ups can use, too! 
 

• Students in grades 3-5 watched strangers make new friends in a creative, unexpected way in Take a Seat, Make a Friend.

• Middle school students learned about the concept of a Human Library to connect with and learn from people who have a different background or experience from their own.