The SEAKers
It began with a simple classroom assignment: Perform one random act of kindness every day for a month, and write it down. But by the end of December 2016, this group of sixth-graders weren’t ready to quit kindness. Once the month had ended, the students wanted to continue spreading kindness throughout the year. That first year, The SEAKers bought drinks for strangers at Starbucks, left kind notes on the desk of second-graders, taped candy and microwavable popcorn to a Redbox movie rental kiosk at the grocery store, and handed out water to joggers at a nearby lake. They also wrote thank-you letters to troops, gave balloons to kids in the park, and started documenting it all on social media.
The program continued on the next year, with the new class finding unique ways to spread kindness, as well as expanding our reach through new social media accounts. In the summer of 2018, the SEAKers decided to branch out and create weekly kindness challenges for their peers. Though the video challenges were originally created for their own school, they created an online form for others to sign up to receive challenges. Within two weeks, they had more than 60 classes around the world participating. From kindergarten to high school, from California to Pennsylvania, the SEAKers now have nearly 300 classes participating... spreading kindness, one week at a time.
The goal is to show that kindness doesn’t have to take the form of a grand gesture to make a difference. With challenges including thanking a community employee, and holding the door open, the weekly challenges are often pretty simple tasks. The SEAKers really try to make sure every challenge can be done by anyone in any socioeconomic background, any kind of home life. The SEAKers want people to know that anyone can be kind.
During this time, we challenge you to participate in our weekly kindness challenge! The SEAKers have also vowed to pick up 1 piece of trash for every 5 miles of activity during the Texas Coast Challenge, so don't forget to log your miles!
