Students at FGL Celebrate the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The following is a press release from the Hendrick Hudson School District: The students in Ms. Dana Duffy’s Second Grade Class at the Elementary School honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a unique way.  During the weeks following his birthday, the boys and girls participated in the Kindness & Justice Challenge.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted peace and serenity throughout the world. He fought for justice in unfair situations, and stood up for what he believed in.  He performed acts of kindness for people every day, to ensure a more peaceful world. 

The Kindness and Justice Challenge is a national, school-based leadership program that invites students K-12 to learn about and perform Acts of Kindness (helping others) and Justice (standing up for what is right) for two weeks following the Martin Luther King holiday (January 17 – 28).

The overall goal of the program is to inspire young people to believe that change is possible and to help them take action to strengthen their communities. The two weeks following MLK day seemed an appropriate time to participate in such an event, as it was Dr. King who embodied the ideals of kindness and justice, including equality for all, nonviolent resolution of issues, respect for differences and moral courage. This is an opportunity for all of us to try to keep his dream alive.

"As a class, we discussed and kept track of the acts of kindness and justice we performed over the course of the two weeks, starting on Martin Luther King Day. An act as simple as reading to a younger sibling or calling up an older relative was fantastic!  Whenever a student performed an act of kindness or justice, they described their act on a paper “brick”, and added it to a wall we constructed," said teacher Ms. Duffy.

Overall the students performed over 100 acts of kindness.  One person can make a difference and the children proudly displayed that just by doing a simple act of kindness.