In celebration of World Kindness Day, Plainfield schools are highlighting their remarkable kindness initiatives that impact students, staff, and the wider community. Each school has a unique approach to promoting kindness, community engagement, and support for local causes.
At Plainfield High School, student-driven activities like the blood drive, Riley Dance Marathon, and food drives support charities and local organizations, including Riley Children’s Hospital and Sheltering Wings. Student-athletes also use sports events as a platform to gather donations, and clubs like the Interact Club and Jr. Optimist foster community service through projects like food bag assembly and yard cleanup.
Plainfield Community Middle School is similarly committed, with regular food and shoe donation drives and a recycling initiative for Christmas lights, ensuring that kindness extends to both people and the planet.
Van Buren Elementary’s Raise Craze Kindness Campaign encourages students to perform Acts of Kindness (AOKs) while raising funds, with the top classes donating to local charities. The school also unites students with a “light the world with kindness” theme, symbolized by student-decorated paper lanterns displayed throughout the building.
Central Elementary’s fundraiser also centers around AOKs, with students logging nearly 3,000 acts in 2024. The school’s Family Service Night offers students and families a chance to engage in service projects for local organizations, deepening connections within the community.
Guilford Elementary showcases kindness throughout the year, with donation drives happening every quarter, from shoes to winter gear, food for Gift Kindness, and more. Students also donate time and energy to help be kind to the Earth, with groups dedicated to finding and figuring out solutions to problems that our planet currently faces.
Brentwood Elementary cultivates kindness through initiatives like food drives, Valentine’s Day cards for senior citizens, and thank-you notes for staff. December sees a special focus on kindness, with students celebrating acts that make their school a welcoming space.
Clarks Creek Elementary celebrates "Random Acts of Kindness Week," in February each year (kids are encouraged to be "RAKtivists by spreading random acts of kindness). They also have a "Kindness Crew" that cheers everyone into the building on Friday with dancing and music!
Even our smallest friends are working on kindness--at Little Quakers Academy, the preschoolers are helping with donations for the food collection for Gift Kindness. Additionally, one of the assistants at LQA is helping put together sacks for homeless people for the holiday season.
This list, while long, still doesn't cover all of the ways that our students and staff work to show kindness in various ways throughout the school year. These initiatives, supported by district-wide programs like United Way donations and the Special Olympics Polar Plunge, showcase Plainfield’s commitment to fostering kindness in every building, creating a community where generosity and compassion are at the heart of education.