Bicycle Patrol Police Officer Brett Kaczmarczyk of the San Francisco Police Department has worked in the Haight/Ashbury neighborhood for 12 years. I’m sure he has seen just about everything. This haven of tourists and individuals, from every walk of life, are the very fabric of this bohemian enclave. Hats off to the men and women in blue who “keep the peace” here.
I have ridden The Kindness Bicycle down this street on a few occasions, talking with shopkeepers and locals. The consensus is, that it is all about the children. No matter who the individual may be, people want to see a safer world for children. Many of the homeless and transient souls who walk the streets here, have led difficult childhoods and are supportive of my ride, hoping that other children don’t have to endure such challenging upbringings.
Put an end to Bullying & Adolescent Suicide
In year 3 of this mission, I introduced a bicycle ride to my travels to raise
awareness about issues kids are having to deal with at far too young an age.
Bullying and Adolescent Suicide are two of these challenging burdens most kids
will unfairly have to overcome throughout the remainder of their lives. At rides
end we will have ridden enough miles to traveled the perimeter of the earth, twice.
Keeping the Peace in Haight
May 20th, 2013The Respect Institute
May 19th, 2013
Michael MacNeill, Vice Chairman of The Respect Institute, spoke proudly as he told me of the work being done by this organization. Their mission is to make respect the status quo, giving youth and their influencers the tools to redefine respect and build self-respect so they can break cycles of disrespect and thrive.- Practicing respectful and nonviolent communication, integrity and accountability. Being mindful of our impact and intentions as leaders, giving and receiving honest feedback, and staying true to our organizational outcomes in all our activities. We believe: How we get there matters. Developing self-respect and mutual respect skills for all individuals to foster their ability to thrive.
- Self-respecting individuals’ powerful ability to create more respectful relationships, homes, schools, communities and workplaces.
- Creating social change through partnerships with allies in communities nationwide.
- Including diverse voices, expertise and experiences in our work—all change is created through relationship.
- Walking our talk by constantly practicing The Respect Basics to improve our self-respect, relationships, self-efficacy, community and future, and supporting the self-care of those who work with us.
- Using resources thoughtfully to make the most wide-reaching, sustainable impact possible on the people and organizations we serve.
- Continuously learning and evaluating our work and behaviors to create an effective and nimble organization that makes a meaningful and measurable positive impact on the people and communities we serve.
California Dreamin’
May 18th, 2013
There is something about the California lifestyle that suits Bogart in a big way. Actually, he loves all the coastal waters of the United States. From Maine to Florida and all along the Pacific, Bogart loves the water. The slower pace seems to bring out the laid back side of Bogart as we go about our daily interactions with people.
One look on his face sums it up. It’s gonna be hard to break the news to him when we start heading east.
Promise Monsters
May 17th, 2013
A unique idea was presented to me for getting kids to perform kind acts. Michael Bogan, co-founder of Promise Monsters sent me the following information of their upcoming launch:
Promise Monsters is a line of plush monsters, manufactured in the USA (Indianapolis), that spread sneaky acts of kindness. Every Promise Monster comes with a Monster Mission – a fun and sneaky act of kindness for kids to complete. When the kid completes his kind mission, Promise Monsters mails him a reward! Promise Monsters are sold at independent retail locations and online atPromiseMonsters.com.
Through Kickstarter – the popular crowdfunding platform – Promise Monsters aims to create a new monster, Albert, and all new kind missions. Rewards for backers of the project include the monster himself, Albert; donations of monsters to Riley Hospital for Children; picking the kind acts to be included with the monsters; and even the chance to have a backer’s drawing made into a Promise Monster.
Santa Rosa, California
May 16th, 2013
See Something! Say Something! This is the rallying cry of students and teachers at Luther Burbank Elementary School when it comes to bullying. Principal Julian Szot invited me to visit some of his classrooms at this K-6 school. I stopped there to drop off information on the ROCK ride, I hadn’t been gone for more than 30 minutes, when the school called and asked me to come back for a visit. I love when this happens.
Talking with students, 30-40 at a time, in a classroom setting, is like having individual conversations with all of them. It has the highest degree of possible effectiveness. As one of the teachers put it, “Just keep showing kids positive messages, as often as we all can.”
Thank you to everyone for making this last minute visit take place.
Bee Kind
May 15th, 2013
The town of Sebastopol, California was mentioned to me a handful of times over the past few weeks. People highly recommended I come here, all of them were right.
This town is plain and simple, kind. Conversations come easy and people are as welcoming as can be. It’s as if something is in the water.
Visiting two local schools was a joy, talking with front office personnel and parents who happened to be visiting during my stay led to longer conversations about bullying. Two of the parents had seen me riding in Sebastopol yesterday. The students at Park Side Elementary School were working on a huge art project in the front hall, they loved seeing The Kindness Bicycle parked out front.
Thank you to CJ and Lisa for arranging such a beautiful place to park overnight, with a view of the mountains in the distance.
Community Matters
May 14th, 2013
The Kindness Bus Tour, like life, always unfolds just how it was meant to.In researching the town of Sebastopol, California for my visit here, I never realized that Community Matters makes their home here. I had to make sure it was my first stop today. This organization’s program is in over 1,000 schools nationwide and is having a huge impact in stopping bullying.
At its core, the Safe School Ambassadors program is an “inside-out” approach to improving school climate, one that relies on social norms change and the power of students to help stop bullying and violence. Student bystanders see, hear, and know things adults don’t, can intervene in ways adults can’t and are often on the scene of an incident before an adult. They are a critical and under-utilized resource for positively impacting the crisis of bullying in our schools.
The Safe School Ambassadors program engages and mobilizes these bystanders, but not just any bystanders. The program harnesses the power of the socially-influential leaders of a school’s diverse cliques, the ones who shape the social norms that govern other students’ behavior. These “Alpha” leaders are carefully identified through student and staff surveys. They are selected based upon specific criteria, such as: strong position and influence in their peer group, good communication skills, and a history of standing up for friends. They participate in a two-day interactive training along with several adults who serve as program mentors. The training gives student Ambassadors the motivation and skills to resolve conflicts, defuse incidents, and support isolated and excluded students. After the training, small group meetings of Ambassadors are held every few weeks. These meetings, led by the adult mentors, provide time for strengthening skills, support data collection and analysis of Ambassador interventions, and help sustain student and adult commitment to the program.
