The one million acts of kindness took place as an organized effort under the City of Kindness umbrella, and it had a hugely positive effect on our city. However, I believe an even greater impact comes from the countless individual acts of kindness done quietly throughout our city every day, done when no one is watching.
Engaging in a conversation with someone who is experiencing homelessness, driving a neighbor to the hospital to get her chemotherapy treatment, simply asking someone in need the question, “How can I help?”—it is those actions that will truly make Anaheim a City of Kindness. And it is all those contagious acts of kindness that will ultimately lead to Natasha’s dream of a kinder world becoming a reality.
CONTINUING ON
My daughter tells us just to be kind. “The act itself is free, and it’s priceless.” I couldn’t agree more and it’s so real in these pages.
Ever since my daughter was young, she has been kind, loving, and accepting. As she told you, despite these wonderful qualities, she experienced unkind acts that led to many struggles growing up and further fueled her passion for helping others. She envisioned a world where youth would feel accepted, heard, and better equipped to deal with life’s challenges, a reality she referred to as a kinder, braver world. She made a brave decision early in her career to channel her kindness and share her own personal story with her fans around the world. At first, I didn’t understand, but soon came to realize the power of storytelling. I saw that as she was healing, others were healing, and in this process, she was inspiring and empowering youth to learn how she was overcoming obstacles and challenges. As a result, they began to open up and share their own stories.
Channel Kindness grew out of this authentic and beautiful connection between my daughter and her fans. Because of her courage and the courage of youth around the world to share their stories with us, we created Born This Way Foundation and eventually Channel Kindness. From the very beginning, our goal was to inspire and empower young people to find, recognize, and share the heroic acts of kindness that fill our daily lives and shape our communities.
One of the kindest and most generous acts we can perform is to share a very personal story. It is difficult and painful, but it can also help us heal and show others that there is hope.
After reading these beautiful stories, I am so proud of the young people and all of the writers who selflessly shared stories of kindness and the many ways it impacts lives.
Each and every one of the authors in this book should be commended for their vulnerability, bravery, and kindness, and I’m so appreciative of their willingness to share a part of themselves with me and with the world. To every author, I hear you and I see your journey. And I am eternally grateful that you shared your story, as this book wouldn’t be possible without it. What I have learned is that when we do share our story, we give other people permission to do the same, and slowly but surely, we learn we are never really alone in our struggles.
We are reminded as we read that kindness presents itself to us in many ways: from simply saying hello and acknowledging another person who we sensed was not having the best day; to being kind to ourselves; to standing up for those who aren’t included; to engaging in our communities and providing food and shelter to those experiencing homelessness; and to the most devastating of all, losing a loved one and channeling that grief into positive change. The different ways in which kindness is presented in this book reinforce what I’ve believed all along—
we all have the ability to do good; we all have the ability to be brave; and we all have the ability to be kind.
I’ve never been more sure about our desire to have a platform led and informed by the perspective of the youth. There is no better time than the present to have your voice heard, and there is no more important or urgent time than now to be kind to one another. A great place to find inspiration is within the pages of this book. I am so inspired and motivated by these individual stories and believe even more strongly that kindness is the key that unlocks the door to a kinder, braver world.
As soon as you put this book down, or before, take note of what inspires you, check out the organizations, nonprofits, and digital resources within these pages that are also doing good, and join us on this journey. It’s a brave step, and your opportunity to Channel Kindness.
RESOURCES
1 Trust Kindness
#BeKind21 campaign • bornthisway .foundation/current-programs/bekind21 Random Acts of Kindness Foundation • randomactsofkindness.org
2 The Courage to Be Kind to Yourself
It Gets Better Project • itgetsbetter.org The Trevor Project • thetrevorproject.org
3 The Gift of Being Seen and Heard Youth Service America • ysa.org
4 Score A Friend Score A Friend • scoreafriend.org Best Buddies • bestbuddies.org
5 The Kindness of Offering Access
Period • period.org/get-involved
6 Having Cake and Sharing It, Too. Idealist • idealist.org/en Volunteer Match • volunteermatch.org
7 The Art of Kindness The Dreaming Zebra Foundation • dreamingzebra.org Feed Art • artfeeds.org
8 Kindness in Sports Good Sport Club • goodsportclub.org Playworks • playworks.org
9 Kindness Creates Cool
National Alliance to End Homelessness • endhomelessness.org National Coalition for the Homeless • nationalhomeless.org
10 Bicycle Journeys of Hope
The Ability Experience • abilityexperience.org Youth Service America • ysa.org
11 Kindness at The Cat House
The Cat House on the Kings • cathouseonthekings.com The Humane Society • humanesociety.org Best Friends Animal Society • bestfriends.org
12 The Choose Love Movement
Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement • jesselewischooselove.org
13 The Nine-Year-Old Hero
Channel Kindness • ChannelKindness.org
14 Learning to Heal a Broken Heart
Stomp Out Bullying • stompoutbullying.org The Cybersmile Foundation • cybersmile.org
15 The Gift of Asking for Help
To Write Love on Her Arms • twloha.com Project Semicolon • projectsemicolon.com
16 Memories Can Sometimes Be the Best Medicine
The Dougy Center • dougy.org The National Alliance for Grieving Children • childrengrieve.org
17 Poetic Forms of Engagement Power Poetry • powerpoetry.org
18 Helping Transgender Youth Trans Lifeline • translifeline.org Human Rights Campaign • hrc.org Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund • lambdalegal.org
19 It Takes a While to Learn to Be Human
StoryCorps • storycorps.org The Moth • themoth.org
20 From New York Bystander to Brave Ally
The Accompany Project • arabamericanny.org/accompany Hate Has No Home Here • hatehasnohomehere.org
21 Only with Consent
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network • rainn.org It’s On Us • itsonus.org
22 A Wake-Up Call to Action
Climigrate • climigrate.org Greenpeace • greenpeace.org/usa 350 • 350.org
23 International Day of Self-Love Love Your Natural Self Foundation • loveyournaturalself.org
24 Learning to Live Life as Is
Seize the Awkward • seizetheawkward.org The Jed Foundation • jedfoundation.org
25 The Helping Hands of Yoga
Yoga 4 Youths • yoga4youths.wordpress.com Mindful • mindful.org National Suicide Prevention Lifeline • suicidepreventionlifeline.org
26 Canines for Community Disaster Distress Helpline • samhsa.gov /find-help/disaster-distress-helpline Brady United Against Gun Violence • bradyunited.org Everytown for Gun Safety • everytown.org
27 Changing the Game on Bullying HeartMob • iheartmob.org Kind Mind Collective • kindmindcollective.org
28 The Golden Rule
Kelly Brush Foundation • kellybrushfoundation.org
29 Kindness Costs Nothing
Cri
sis Text Line • crisistextline.org American Foundation for Suicide Prevention • afsp.org
30 Planting Seeds of Change in South Texas
Coastal Bend Wellness Foundation • cbwellness.org Elton John Aids Foundation • ejaf.org The Trevor Lifeline • thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now
31 Evidence-Based Kindness in Indiana
LGBT National Help Center • glbthotline.org Indiana Youth Group • indianayouthgroup.org
32 Tim Shriver and Special Olympics
Special Olympics • specialolympics.org Special Olympics Inclusion Pledge • play.specialolympics.org/page/s /jointherevolution
33 Hollaback at Harassment
Hollaback! • ihollaback.org
34 Ugly Food Needs Love Hungry Harvest • hungryharvest.net Feeding America • feedingamerica.org
35 LupusChick
Lupus Chick • lupuschick.com Lupus Research Alliance • lupusresearch.org
36 GoGirlGo! Women’s Sports Foundation • womenssportsfoundation.org
37 Starkville Proud
GSA • gsanetwork.org CenterLink • lgbtcenters.org GLSEN • glsen.org
38 Woodland’s Historic Push
Human Rights Campaign • hrc.org/pride
39 Loving Better in New York Love Is Respect • loveisrespect.org One Love Foundation • joinonelove.org
40 Beyond the Pages Writers of Color • WritersOfColor.org, @WritersofColor People of Color in Publishing • Pocinpublishing.com, @PocPub
41 More Than Just a Blanket Annie’s Kindness Blankets • annieskindnessblankets.org
42 Parties with Purpose Party In Kindness • partyin-kindness.org Mindful Littles • mindfullittles.org
43 Finding the Spark Big Brothers Big Sisters • bbbs.org iMentor • iMentor.org
44 Kind Words Change Minds, Hearts, and, Sometimes, Society The Arc • thearc.org
45 A Front-Row Seat to Kindness Born This Way Foundation • bornthiswayfoundation.com BTWF Twitter @BTWFoundation BTWF Facebook @Bornthiswayfoundation BTWF Instagram @BTWFoundation
46 The Courage to Be Different and Kind YouthCare • youthcare.org Ali Forney Center • aliforneycenter.org
47 The Power of Investing in Our Youth Zoe’s Dolls • zoesdolls.com
48 From Chaos to Caring Childhelp • childhelp.org
49 Creating a Community Through Music Hungry for Music • hungryformusic.org VH1 Save The Music Foundation • savethemusic.org
50 The Magic of Kindness Buddy Project • buddy-project.org/signup
51 How Kindness Can Heal Our Cities City of Kindness • cityofkindness.org
Cover credits:
H, O, P, E, K, D, G, G, A- Born This Way Foundation; I, V Alyssa Smith; N Staples; L Active Minds; HEART Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images; E United for Global Mental Health; A Special Olympics
Images from Born This Way Foundation:
here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here
here The Value of Negative Space image courtesy of Lady Gaga; here Jasmine Maree; here Dylan Gabriel Hofmann; here, here Jonathan Hahn; here, here, here Tim Atkinson; here, here, here Jasdeep Nijjer here, here, Chun Fung Kevin Chiu; here, here, here Allison Haught; here, here Claire Pittmann; here Nicholas Doorlay; here Owen Tseng; here, here Yvonne Mok; here The Cat House on the Kings; here Christina Kan; here A.J. Frey; here courtesy of Scarlett Lewis; here Alinah Horne; here Dakota Williams; here, here Rose Nguyen; here Lisa Nguyen; here Dalia Elsaid; here, here Elizabeth Mongiardo; here SocialSEO; here Corey Rives; here Michael Carlo; here, here Ann Goldman; here, here-here Ava Goldman; here Svannah Nguyen; here Jake Erney; here Veronica Zhang; here-here Marni Bellavia Photography; here Abbey Perl; here Scott McRobie; here Amanda West; here Erin Garza-Granados; here, here Special Olympics; here Sofia Sears; here Katie O’Gorman; here Hungry Harvest; here Walter Lyle; here Lavona Gelardi; here Scott Ryan; here Keith Cross; here Annie’s Kindness Blankets; here Andy Arrangoiz; here Yihong Tong; here, here Amy Sun; here, here Brian Long; here Chloe Smith; here Janette Casolary; here, here Nick Albritton; here Josh Hollin; here Joseph Powers; here Maria Ponce; here Mallory Kolodziej; here Laura Carroll; here Tom Tait/City of Anaheim; here courtesy of Tom Tait
History of the
CHANNEL KINDNESS PROGRAM
Channel Kindness is a digital platform launched by Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation with the purpose of empowering young people to create a kinder and braver world. Through the power of storytelling, we hope to inspire our audience to spread kindness, encourage acceptance, and elevate the stories of good that happen in our communities every day.
Since launching in 2017, Born This Way has enlisted and trained one hundred Channel Kindness reporters to use their ears, eyes, and hearts to find, recognize, and share the everyday and heroic acts of kindness that fill our daily lives and shape our communities. By amplifying these stories on ChannelKindness.org, we hope to inspire everyone to put compassion into action in their own lives through community engagement and storytelling. Channel Kindness reporters have produced hundreds of stories of kindness, counterbalancing the negative narratives that dominate the media about young people, and instead highlight how today’s young people are a wonderfully passionate, collaborative, and diverse generation.
channelkindness.org
THANK YOU
for reading this Feiwel & Friends book.
The friends who made Channel Kindness possible are:
Jean Feiwel, Publisher
Liz Szabla, Associate Publisher
Rich Deas, Senior Creative Director
Holly West, Senior Editor
Anna Roberto, Senior Editor
Kat Brzozowski, Senior Editor
Dawn Ryan, Senior Managing Editor
Kim Waymer, Senior Production Manager
Erin Siu, Assistant Editor
Emily Settle, Associate Editor
Rachel Diebel, Assistant Editor
Foyinsi Adegbonmire, Editorial Assistant
Mallory Grigg, Art Director
Trisha Previte, Associate Designer
A special thank you to Miriam Eichler-Rivas.
Follow us on Facebook or visit us online at mackids.com.
Our books are friends for life.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
from Cynthia Germanotta
My daughter and I are so grateful and full of love for the world and the stories that have been shared with us and have inspired us to spread kindness. I say this on behalf of our team at Born This Way Foundation: our Executive Director, Maya Enista Smith; Alex Aide; Shadille Estepan; Mitu Yilma; Susan Horrell; Risa Vierra; Josh Meredith; Jasmine Moniz; and Aysha Mahmood, whose efforts and amazing relationships with our Channel Kindness reporters helped shape these stories into such powerful and influential works of kindness. Thank you to Emma Carroll for naming this project Channel Kindness. What beautiful words you chose.
To each and every young person who has contributed to Born This Way Foundation’s Channel Kindness Program, we love and appreciate all of you. Your voice is needed and valued in this world, and we can’t wait to see who joins you in sharing more stories of kindness and bravery.
* * *
In this book, we've begun to fill all the negative space with kind things. If you want, use your own pen to write on the pages and fill all the spaces you can think of. We even made a spot for you here to share your story. I hope to read all your notes as you mark up our book. It is in these moments I know both you and I will be channeling kindness.
* * *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lady Gaga is an Academy Award winner, a two-time Golden Globe winner, and an eleven-time Grammy Award winner. She has amassed an outstanding 35 million global album sales, 32 billion streams, and 275 million in song consumption, making her one of the bestselling musicians of all time. She has also been a trailblazer in fashion, beauty, and philanthropy. In 2012, Lady Gaga launched Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit organizatio
n dedicated to empowering youth, embracing differences, and inspiring kindness and bravery. She is also an outspoken activist, philanthropist, and supporter of many important issues including mental health issues, LGBTQ+ rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, and body image issues. You can sign up for email updates here.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Beginning
The Value of Negative Space
1. Trust Kindness
2. The Courage to Be Kind to Yourself
3. The Gift of Being Seen and Heard
4. Score A Friend
5. The Kindness of Offering Access
6. Having Cake and Sharing It, Too
7. The Art of Kindness
8. Kindness in Sports
9. Kindness Creates Cool
10. Bicycle Journeys of Hope
11. Kindness at The Cat House
12. The Choose Love Movement
13. The Nine-Year-Old Hero
14. Learning to Heal a Broken Heart
15. The Gift of Asking for Help
Channel Kindness Page 20