The Hearts of Kindness project was started in Uxbridge in 2012 and was spread to Franklin in 2016. It has been growing ever since, with more and more schools, clubs and organizations taking part. Children in Franklin from ages 3 to 18 are involved in the project, either by creating the hearts, sharing the purpose/message within their school communities, contributing to the kindness messages, collecting the hearts and/or by hanging them for display on the Town Common. Random Acts of Kindness Day was February 17th, and the creation of these hearts and the messages of kindness they contain serves as a “Valentine to the Community” of sorts. Visitors to the Common can pull out the messages and read them, with the hope that this display will bring Kindness to the forefront of our minds and encourage others to consider how they can spread kindness themselves.
In the past, groups such as the Community Service Club, student leaders and art clubs have contributed to the project. We expanded it to the High School this year, by involving the 40% Club in collecting hearts and messages at FHS. The creation of these hearts and messages tie directly to our SEL curriculum (Social Emotional Learning) which has been a strong focus in Franklin this year. We launched an SEL website, which focusses on the areas of Self- awareness, Self - Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision Making. Each of these areas will be highlighted as a “Focus of the Month” and the site provides resources for teachers to use int their classrooms as well as ways parents and families can encourage these skills at home. Franklin Public Schools SEL website: https://sites.google.com/franklinps.net/sel/home
This project also provides opportunities for students to earn community service hours, which is a requirement at Franklin High School. The Community Service Club at FHS, as well as sports teams, and other groups are invited to help with hanging the display on the Common for our community to enjoy.
Photos courtesy of
Franklin Public Schools.