Plans for Kindness Day in Northwest Oklahoma continue as club and organization members at Northwestern Oklahoma State University as well as community members put the finishing touches on projects for the Nov. 18 event.
A local group of Northwestern and Alva community members is working with the United Way of Northwest Oklahoma in Enid again this year 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. 18 this year, the international observance of World Kindness Day, which has been in existence since 1998, is Nov. 13.
Multiple groups as well as individuals from Northwestern and in the communities of Alva and Waynoka are planning various projects and random acts of kindness this year.
“We have projects from food drives for the Campus Cabinet food pantry and painting kindness messages on rocks to making signs to put out on campus and providing fun hands-on activities for elementary students,” 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 and Community Bank are monetary sponsors for local Kindness Day events helping to fund some of the needs of our local groups. Alva State Bank personnel also have a few other fun things up their sleeves. Our elementary, middle, high school and Northwest Technology Center groups have various projects lined up for the days leading up to Kindness Day and the day of. Alva 4-H students will be doing a project on Nov. 16, and Kayla’s Kindness Project is planning her project for Nov. 17. So, we have projects happening from now until the end of the month and even into December.”
For those who took in the Northwestern Homecoming Parade on Nov. 5 in downtown Alva, they may have received a Kindness Day card from Woods County 4-H members as they made their way around the square or could have seen cards at their lunch fundraiser at the eXtreme following the parade.
On Nov. 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Woods County Oklahoma Home and Community Education group is planning to take items to the Alva Public Library’s Chocolate Fantasy Fundraiser in honor of Kindness Day. The library’s live auction will start at 7 p.m. that day in their auditorium.
OHCE also is sponsoring a Christmas Craft Workshop open to the public on Nov. 15 from 5-7 p.m. in the Woods County Courthouse conference room in honor of Kindness Day to make items for the Northwest Family Services fundraiser. The group will provide some basic supplies but those interested in making Christmas crafts to donate to the cause are asked to also bring additional supplies to make fun crafts. NWFS plans to have a Facebook Auction in early December from among all the Christmas items donated to them by Nov. 21.
Members of the Waynoka Girl Scouts also are planning some fun surprises for their community.
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 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, Angelia Case, academic projects assistant/media specialist at Northwestern, at arcase@nwosu.edu or Magen Lehr, an information security officer at Alva State Bank, at magenl@alvastatebank.com.
“We welcome all those taking part with projects to post photos on their social media accounts throughout the day using the hashtag #BeKindNWOK,” Valarie Case said. “If you are on the receiving end of an act of kindness, we also welcome you to post about it using the same hashtag. 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.
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