I love The Gow School. This all boys school is doing everything correctly. Students from grades 7-12 attend classes in a learning environment which encourages them to work through their learning disabilities. Kindness, Respect, Honesty and Hard work are the four pillars of this school. These students, from 24 countries and 22 states, embrace all four of these pillars as they believe in them fully. A “World Class” school is really the only way that describes this school correctly.
From the moment I pulled onto this campus, I knew I was somewhere very special. Luke Salerno, my contact person over the past two months, met me as I pulled in and gave me a guided tour, with 5 of his students and Bogart leading the way. What a welcome! It was as if the “Red Carpet” was rolled out as we walked along. Headmaster, Brad Rogers then waved his magic wand and directed that The Kindness Bus be parked at the nexus of the campus, for everyone to see on their way to assembly and lunch. I gave a 45 minute presentation with 10 minutes of Q&A and was met with so much genuine praise following that for a moment, I believed I could run for public office. (just kidding) The well-loved, Headmaster then asked for the keys to The Kindness Bus and took her for a spin across the campus. It is a sight I will soon not forget, nor will the students as he grinned from ear to ear while he gave us a well executed “parade wave.”
The students at this campus were the most polite, well-behaved as I have seen. All of them gentlemen. Some of these young men will take the message of kindness, home to their native countries, all 24 of them.
Thank you to everyone at The Gow School. From the kitchen staff, maintenance, faculty and students, it was, without a doubt, a “World Class” visit.
A big thanks as well, goes out to friends Lynn and Bob for making this visit possible.
Please help us spread our message of a Goal of Kindness to schoolchildren across the country. Your donations are crucial to making this a reality.
Mail donations to:
One Million Acts Of Kindness
PO Box 770054
Lakewood, OH 44107
You can also donate through PayPal:
Bogart is my travel companion on The Kindness Bus Tour for the next ten years. We will be on the road traveling to campuses across the country. Bogart is a eight year old Boston Terrier. He is a great people dog... he loves meeting new people. I am Bogart's fourth owner in his short 8 years of life... Not because of him but because his three previous owner's lifestyles changed after they took him in... Lucky for me!! Bogart is the luckiest, most spoiled dog on the face of the earth. He loves the bus and he loves to travel. Please come and visit him when we are on your campus.
The Blue Bird Corporation donated this amazing bus to One Million Acts of Kindness, allowing us the continue this initiative. It has been painted to closely resemble the original Kindness Bus. It will last well beyond the ten years of this mission. A very big thank you to Blue Bird from Bob Votruba and Bogart too!!
The original Kindness bus has been donated to a professor at Virginia Tech who will use it on campus and at schools in the Blacksburg area. The Kindness Bus will continue to inspire and comfort residents, students and visitors in that area for years to come.
One Million Acts Of Kindness is a goal. A goal for each person to individually perform One Million Acts Of Kindness in their life. Can you imagine a greater goal for one's life? It is a constant mind-set of kindness every day of your life for the next fifty-five years. Doing for others and kindness in your heart for everyone. It is my wish that you will dedicate your life to a charity... finding the passion in your heart for something or someone in need.
As a father of three college age kids I am concerned for the world in which all kids will live. A great way to create a safer, more caring world is for everyone to start their lifetime goal of One Million Acts Of Kindness. So I bought a bus, had about sixty family members, friends and neighbors help paint it and began a ten year journey with my Boston Terrier, Bogart, to college campuses across the country hoping to convince as many of you as possible about this much needed movement for this world. I love you guys too much to sit back and not do anything about this. Let's start a kindness movement in this country today to change the direction this world is headed!! You are the change that this world needs.