Kindness Day Plans Continue for November 10 Event

October 27, 2023

Members of the Northwestern Oklahoma State University President’s Leadership Class took advantage of a nice weather day recently to paint the outside of the McKeever School Building, a one-room schoolhouse that sits on the Alva campus. This was an early project for Kindness Day in Northwest Oklahoma. The group also plans to help the Lutheran Church prepare for its annual fundraiser dinner in early November.

About 30 organizations and individuals at Northwestern Oklahoma State University as well as from the Alva and Waynoka communities have registered the projects they plan to do with the local group of organizers for this year’s Kindness Day in Northwest Oklahoma event set for Nov. 10.

This is the third year for these Northwestern and Alva community members to work with the United Way of Northwest Oklahoma in Enid to shine a bigger light on kindness, something the Enid organization has been doing since 2015. And, although Kindness Day in Northwest Oklahoma is being observed on Nov. 10 this year, the international observance of World Kindness Day, which has been in existence since 1998, is Nov. 13.

“We have projects at Northwestern from food drives for the Campus Cabinet food pantry to the collection of coats and warm outerwear and personal care items for both Enid’s Street Outreach Services and Salvation Army,” Valarie Case, assistant director of university relations and one of the organizers for the local Kindness Day event, said.

“Groups within the Alva community also are taking part in a big way,” Case said. “Alva State Bank is a monetary sponsor again this year helping to fund some of the needs of our local groups. Kayla’s Kindness Project is planning her activity for Nov. 9, and the Little Red Hens and Nam & Pops also are planning activities.

“Alva High School’s Student Council members are planning a week of events at the middle school and high school for BALTO – Be A Light to Others. The group is selling a BALTO Week t-shirt, and all proceeds from the sales will go to Creature Concerns. And, the Grow and Share Extension Group in Alva is planning to do an activity in November and December.”

Other groups at Northwestern who have registered an activity so far include the following:

Alva/Enid campus ITV, Enid Campus, Enid Campus SWAT, Forge, the Habitudes classes of Kaylyn Hansen and Sadie Bier, Jadyn Budig, J.W. Martin Library, Medical Sciences Club, Northwestern department and division chairs and senior staff, President’s Leadership Class, Ranger Business Club, the Ranger Connection class of Karen Koehn, Student Athletic Advisory Committee, Student Government Association and the Wesley House.

Other registered Alva community groups include the Alva Tag Office, BancCentral, Elevate Kids with Alva Wesleyan Church, GraceKids After School Program and Northwest Technology Center.

One group from Waynoka, the LoneStar OHCE group, also has registered to take part in a Kindness Day activity.

Any individual, club, school class, group, church, civic organization, business, etc., that would like to be involved in this project locally or in the surrounding towns – however big or small -- and wants to be added to the overall list of those planning acts of kindness that will be shared with the United Way of Northwest Oklahoma may contact Case at vcase@nwosu.edu.

“We welcome all those taking part in projects to post photos on their social media accounts throughout the day using the hashtag #BeKindNWOK,” Case said. “Taking photos of each activity from creation to delivery also is encouraged, and photos can be emailed to me for us to keep for documentation.

“If you are on the receiving end of an act of kindness, we also welcome you to post about it using the same hashtag and send photos of this as well. This is going to be a fantastic day in northwest Oklahoma.”

A print-quality logo for this event is available to anyone who needs one for their project or to display on digital signage to promote the Day of Kindness.

Anyone who would like to be a monetary sponsor of the overall Kindness Day in Northwest Oklahoma event should contact Dan Schiedel, CEO and executive director of United Way of Northwest Oklahoma in Enid, at (580) 237-0821 or dan@unitedwayenid.org.

-NW-