The Kindness Club for Girls
"Kindness is Love!"
Inspiring ~ Learning ~ Growing
Message from the Founder
Hello,
My name is Gia Angelina Massoni and I am a senior in high school. Please allow me to share with you why I chose to create the Kindness Club for Girls.
Kindness is a way that people show common courtesy and respect to others, along with random good deeds without expecting anything in return. In recent years, kindness is disappearing more rapidly than glaciers. You can’t turn on the TV, go to a restaurant, out shopping, or school without seeing some sort of unkind behavior towards others.
I was often told to “be the change you want to see”. Right now, I am that change. In the fourth grade, I noticed that girls weren’t always acting kind to each other. I couldn’t understand why my friends were no longer friends and would often be spiteful towards one another. As they got older I saw where they were not only mean to each other, but to themselves too. Some developed eating disorders, cutting, or isolating themselves… the list could go on.
No, not every girl behaved this way, but it was extremely painful for me to see one girl treat herself and/or others poorly. By the time I reached seventh grade, I knew I had to do something to make a change.
I knew I couldn’t help or change everybody, but if I could at least help one girl then, I made a difference. Helping one life means more to me than anyone could imagine. That is when I knew I had to create a club just for girls entering the most formative middle school years to teach them to not only be kind to each other, but also to themselves. “The Kindness Club for Girls” became a thought; then a reality. The Kindness Club for Girls is a Catholic faith-based afterschool program that was designed for girls in grades four through six to help them become more aware of kind efforts made by those in the community while being more intentionally kind to others and expecting nothing in return. It is a place where a girl can see she is worthy. I initially set up a nine-month experiment in two local schools to see what worked and what didn’t. I spent my junior year creating and adjusting plans for the club while maintaining my grades, volunteering, and playing sports.
What I brought to the girls is nine monthly themed topics for kindness in their communities, families, schools, peers, and most importantly with themselves along with an activity, project, or craft that supported the theme. The monthly meeting also included a presentation, discussion, and supportive handouts that the girls were to keep in their kindness journals. Journaling was a big part of the meetings. These journals are a fun way for them to store the message of the month and reflect back on the goodness it contained.
Last year was a growing year for me. I created this club and facilitated it in two schools on my own. Because of the great reviews from the parents, students, and faculty at the schools, I am able to bring the club to three more local schools with a mentorship program out of my high school that I have created and lead. Now I am able to reach girls in five schools, giving them an outlet to learn from each other, grow in kindness, and strengthen them. I created a three-year rotation plan that will continue for many years to come. Yes, this is another learning year for me, but it will be so rewarding to see the changes I have made in so many lives. I will do my best to bring this wonderful program/club into as many schools as possible. My journey in kindness will not stop there; I am hoping to start a new chapter at my college while maintaining the growth at this level. We all have struggles and we all can learn from each other. Why not discuss this and create ways we can help. Compassion and kindness are God’s teachings and together we can be the difference the world needs now. Kindness is my life; it is my passion.