The hood of The Kindness Bus has a new paint job. No need to say more.

Heading south to Philadelphia for the 10th annual Alex’s Lemonade benefit for childhood cancer research, gave me the time to reflect on a question which has been on my mind since November. Why have I had an unusual amount of childhood cancer patients and their parents enter my life since August 2009? There has to be something to it, what it is, I do not know. Time will tell.
The Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, ALSF for short, has become a major supporter of cancer research in children for several years. Run by a talented, dedicated staff, this charity should be on every donor’s short list. What started as one stand in Alex Scott’s front yard has grown into a thirty million dollar charity with lemonade stands across the US. Many research facilities are being given much needed revenue to fund cutting-edge experiments because of this foundation. A cure always seems to be right around the corner, because of ALSF, maybe it is.

Kids of all ages love to meet Bogart. He is friend to all, everywhere we travel. Seeing North Side School in my rear view mirror was hard to take. We did a recap of all we came to accomplish and believe our objective was reached. Bogart certainly played a major role in keeping kids focused on the message of kindness. He was and is, always ready to make new friends; these past few days he made hundreds. Dogs have a way of making one forget any worries they may have. It’s no wonder dog owners have longer, happier, healthier lives. “Bogart, keep me young, it’s up to you”.

When kindness and enthusiasm collide…look out world.
I have had the rare privilege of being part of the most special learning environment one could possibly imagine; North Side School. Kids focused on something which will give them the foundation for something very powerful, a kindness movement which they want to happen in their lives, their school, their country and most importantly, across the world in which they live.
Kindness is simple, kindness is a “natural”, especially at a very young age.
Why do I do this? One only need to look in the eyes of one of these children, when they look back at you with the hope of a future in which they know they can make a difference, if we only took the time to show them how.
To everyone at North Side School; Carry a message of kindness in your heart, to others, throughout your entire life…And don’t ever forget to…”Have a kind day”

Inspire Kindness is the theme at North Side School and the students live up to that challenge as it is an ever-present thought in their daily activities. Walking the halls, one can see the projects of” kindness from the heart” which hang on the walls, everything from helping the people of Haiti to getting involved with those in need in the community. The student body, at this early stage in their lives, is receiving the tools they need to grow into caring individuals because of the dedicated staff and parental involvement; a mix of nurturing, every child should have on a continual basis.
Today’s presentations to five more classes was met with great enthusiasm and hundreds of questions posed by inquiring minds, one student even asked me if I could do a head-stand under water; that in itself was worth the price of admission. Nearly every question or comment from the students showed how deeply committed they are to being caring individuals. One first-grader told me that since the Inspire Kindness campaign has started at the beginning of the school year, he has been tracking his kind acts on a poster board in his bedroom, to date he has performed 9,323 kind acts. I’m convinced that this generation is going to do great things to change things for the good in this world.
Tonight was Family Fun Night at North Side School. We were treated to grilled delicacies by “chef” Bloomgarden and “grill maestro” Foster. Thank you guys for treating Bogart and me to dinner. Talking with parents and children, I was afforded the opportunity to see first-hand the connect families have, as most every parent already knew about One Million Acts Of Kindness. This pleases me beyond words. Thanks to everyone.
Bogart played his usual role as diplomat, as hundreds of parents and children came to greet him at his unannounced locale.
** Special thanks go out to Diane, who provided Bogart with needed exercise during the course of the day.

It is days like this one, which makes what I am trying to accomplish all worth while. Talented educators, Jeanne Rose and Karen Homer have been teaching their students the importance of kindness, all year long. My invite to this school has been in the works for nearly five months. Jeanne has been a one woman PR spokesperson while arranging One Million Acts Of Kindness’ visit to this campus.
Today was the first of three days of kindness programs, for kids in Kindergarten through grade 4. The school’s  enrichment program has introduced all of today’s attendees, to the importance of living a life of kindness. I was pleased that many of these same students, have a One Million Acts Of Kindness certificate hung in a prominent place in their homes. I was pleased as well when I realized that all of the educators and administrators had one of these same certificates hanging in their offices. To me, that speaks volumes on the role model relationship these educators choose to effectively lead their lives by, while under the watchful eye of hundreds of impressionable children.

Strawberry Fields was the perfect place for The Kindness Bus to land for a few hours this very hot Sunday afternoon. What a sight we must have been for the Upper West Side. We creatively parked on W72nd just feet from Central Park West. One of the most photographed buildings in Manhattan, The Dakota, had serious competition from The Kindness Bus, as avid shutterbugs snapped as many pictures as I have ever seen taken. I must have been asked several times if we had any affiliations with the building. I guess kindness and The Dakota’s most famous tenant had a few things in common, the bus even has the saying “All we are saying, is give kindness a chance” written on it’s side.
I must have talked with people from twenty different countries during my brief stay near Central Park this afternoon. It’s places like this, that One Million Acts Of Kindness has a great chance of spreading across the globe. This short stay in the city proves one thing, New York City is ready to embrace this kindness movement with open arms. We will be back in NYC, in about ten days, for an extended stay.
It’s off to Long Island for the next three days, with the hopes of inspiring kids in a lower school with a big interest in kindness.