'Kindness Week': OC Elementary Schools Launch Weeklong Event

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Orange County community members are joining forces to inspire elementary school students to share messages of kindness with each other this month.

From Nov. 14 to Nov. 18, students in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District will celebrate "Kindness Week," which is led by nonprofit Let's Be Kind, in collaboration with Moxie Marketing Agency.

During the week, the nonprofit will give out t-shirts to campus-members and coordinate activities to help promote "social emotional interaction" to school campuses.

Meanwhile, Moxie will give out a social emotional learning book "Be Kind To Yourself," authored by founder Jeanette Knutti.

Rebekah Robeck, a freshman at Vanguard University, started the Let's Be Kind movement in 2018 when she was just 13 years old. She started it as a solution after observing unfriendly behaviors between her peers.

One day, she Brough pizza to school with signs that read "let's be kind to each other," on the boxes to encourage unity. Later, she was able to raise $3,000 in 24 hours to purchase 700 t-shirts for every student, faculty and staff member on her campus.

"What inspired Rebekah was seeing every student for one day unified for one purpose: kindness. Kindness began to break down walls that day on her campus," according to a news release.

Knutti wrote her book about kindness in memory of her late husband Josh, who was passionate about helping others. Through his podcast, Overcoming You, he helped people overcome their struggles with mental health.

"Jeanette realized that Josh‛s legacy didn‛t have to end, and so she used her own storytelling and creative abilities to bring his interactions with real children to life in the enchanted world of the book," according to a news release.

The weeklong event is expected to reach more than 10,000 elementary, middle and high school students. Knutti's book will be read to more than 7,000 students.

Those who are interested in supporting "Kindness Week" can make a donation here. Donations in the form of Knutti's book can also be made here. Community members can also purchase merchandise to spread the word here.