Promoting Kindness across the Community
Fire Safety games, clothing and shoe donations and exchange, CPR demonstrations, and community and social services programs mixed in with a bake sale, potluck supper, and abundance of newborn goats and two friendly llamas in a petting zoo, combined on Wednesday afternoon for the First Annual Kindness Fest held at the Mountain Iron Community Building.
The idea of Kindness Fest was brought about by Laura Thro, founder of Thro Kindness, who said it was a way to spread kindness in the community. To encourage people to help each other and work with each other to make their neighborhoods welcoming and accepting for everyone.
Katheryn Hamm with Memorial Blood Centers spent the afternoon helping visitors learn their blood type and talking about the work the blood center does and the need for life-saving donations. While the event wasn’t set up for people to donate blood, the interactions go a long way toward having people think about the gift of giving.
The Kindness Fest partnered with Lutheran Social Services after learning that the group was hosting its annual Family Summer Sizzle event on the same day, and the two events were combined to create a family-friendly day for all to enjoy.
In keeping with the neighborhood feel of the day, families were encouraged to take part in a potluck dinner and to bring in no longer needed clothes and shoes to be used for a clothing exchange, with anything left over after the day to be donated to area shelters.
Local government and service groups jumped on board to spread their messages of community support, with the City of Mountain Iron, Community Steps, Iron Range Restorative Practice Hub, NSLC-RPAC, Lutheran Social Services, Mountain Iron Fire Department, Project Care, The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, Memorial Blood Centers, St. Louis County Public Health, and Thro Kindness taking part.
Thro expects the festival to grow next year with more groups and surrounding cities jumping on board to expand the idea of community kindness throughout their neighborhoods.
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