You may have seen the hashtag #BeKindPaducah. The movement was birthed to spread and celebrate kindness throughout the Paducah communty. Susan and Morgan Guess of Paducah are the visionaries behind the hashtag. The mother/daughter duo are encouraging our community to practice daily gratitude as a way to bring happiness and peace expressed through kindness to others.
“If speaking kindly to plants helps them to grow, imagine what speaking kindly to humans can do.”
You likely know Susan and Morgan as the founders of the Guess Anti-Bullying Foundation. #BeKindPaducah is an extension of those efforts.
“Over the last seven years, we found people are often fearful of the word bullying. While they don’t support bullying, they can’t seem to get their arms around the issue and find it difficult to identify solutions,” explains Susan. Conversations around bullying often illicit strong emotions and passionate dialogue. Kindness, on the otherhand, is positive and people can see immediate results from a single act. We remain committed to changing the culture of bullying in our schools and communities, but we are equally focused on encouraging intentional kindness. We want to inspire our students, their parents, ministers, coaches, business leaders, and neighbors to look up and around and to find ways every day to share kindness. They are linked together. Bullying happens one act at a time and so does kindness.”
#BeKindPaducah has its very own mural located behind MAKE at 628 Broadway. “The mural was intended to be temporary while we searched for a permanent location,” Susan said. “Kisja Housman, owner of MAKE, has been a believer and a supporter of our mission. The mural has not only remained in its original location, but it has expanded. Paducah Bank’s Teen Ambassadors have added a second mural inside the MAKE studio thanks to Kisja’s generosity and support.”
“We want our hometown to be known for its commitment and passion for intentional kindness. We hope residents and visitors alike come to visit Paducah’s #BeKindPaducah mural, take photos and share them on their social channels with the #BeKindPaducah hashtag. If a kind act happens anywhere in our community, we want people to share it and include the hashtag. We want the mural to be a place where people gather to celebrate friendship, forgiveness, love, and the power of kindness. We believe the magic of kindness.”
#BeKindPaducah – Attend the 2018 Kindness Walk
Don’t miss your opportunity to be part of Paducah’s Kindness Initiative. The Guess Anti-Bullying Foundation, with support of dozens of local area business organizations, will host the 2018 Kindness Walk in Saturday, August 4, 2018 – the weekend before the 2018 – 2019 school year begins. The event will take place at Noble Park. Registration begins at 8 a.m. at Shelter 10. The registration fee is $10 and includes tshirt. Tshirts will be available for all pre-registered attendees. T-shirts will be available for same day registrants while supplies last.
This year’s Kindness Walk is in honor of the two students that were victims of the Marshall County High School shooting. The community will be honoring their kindness by handing out free #belikebailey #playlikepreston bracelets to the first 500 participants. To pre-register, visit https://guessantibullying.com/kindness-walk/
