KINDNESS CHALLENGE

Diocesan campaign, continuing with wristbands and buttons, inspires everyone to make a difference

The Kindness Challenge is a call to action by the Diocese of Albany, asking parishes, schools, Catholics and non-Catholics to incorporate acts of kindness into their day. It is a continuation of the inspirational Kindness Matters campaign. (Photo provided)

There is a challenge going out to Catholics in the Albany Diocese: a challenge to be kind. 

The Kindness Challenge is a call to action by the Diocese of Albany, asking parishes, schools, Catholics and non-Catholics to incorporate acts of kindness into their day. Do-gooders are encouraged to send their stories of kindness to the Diocese so that their actions can be shared on social media and inspire others to do the same.

The Diocese is also distributing white buttons and blue wristbands with the words “Kindness Matters” and the hashtag #RCDAkind to anyone looking to participate in the challenge. 

Kathy Barrans, Director of Communications for the Albany Diocese, delivered a cluster of buttons and wristbands to various Catholic schools where students are encouraged to earn the tokens by performing acts of kindness. 

“I’m so charged up about the possibilities here,” Barrans said. St. Kateri Tekakwitha’s seventh-grade youth ministry class has already taken up the Kindness Challenge, making a list of the ways students show kindness to each other which they sent to the Diocese.

The challenge is a part of the Diocese’s ongoing Kindness Matters campaign, a large-scale evangelization initiative that kicked off this summer. The campaign hopes to inspire parishioners, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, to step up and be better neighbors to one another. 

The main catalyst for the campaign was through the 4,000 lawn signs the Diocese purchased with a grant and distributed to the 126 parishes. Signs can still be spotted around town, each one displaying the words “Kindness Matters” arched around a heart and a link to the Kindness Matters’ website (https://www.rcda.org/kind).

As the winter weather looms, the Diocese is encouraging people to store their signs away until the spring. But Barrans didn’t want to lose the momentum that they created over the summer.

“I want to build on (the momentum),” Barrans said. “I think people are thirsting for some kindness right now. There’s so much negativity everywhere, and (kindness) should be coming from the church, shouldn’t it?”

To find kindness opportunities, visit rcda.org/kind. The website lists various acts of kindness, ways to give back to the community, quotes on kindness to inspire action, and questions to reflect on how kindness helps to shape the people around us. 

“I want the buttons and the wristbands, and even the lawn signs, to be a call to action,” Barrans said. “To not just wear them or display them but be kind. I think we need more of that.”

Participants can send their stories/actions of kindness, as well as requests for buttons and wristbands, to [email protected]. Participants can also share their stories on social media with the hashtag #RCDAkind. Stories and photos can also be sent to [email protected] and will be published in The Evangelist.