At VolunteerSquare, we choose to take a moment on the 14th of every month to remember the victims of Sandy Hook by sharing a story of individuals or groups giving back to the community. This month, we had the chance to meet an extraordinary group of volunteers who stepped up after the shooting to bring a message of love and positivity to Newtown -- and far beyond.
Meet Aaron Carlson. Carlson is the Founder and Chairman of nonprofit organization Newtown Kindness. Carlson, who lives in Newtown with his family, was particularly affected by the December 14th tragedy. His young daughter was close friends with Charlotte Bacon, one of the victims of the shooting.
Carlson said it was the memory of the victims and the overwhelming kindness of others that prompted him to take action.
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“In the midst of all the negativity and tough times we had in the early stages of dealing with what happened, we just tried to focus our energy on something positive,” said Carlson. “So much goodwill and love came to Newtown and that really inspired us.”
Carlson, in a lighter moment, told us he couldn’t even buy his own coffee for weeks after the shooting because so many people from all over the country were calling and donating to local shops. Carlson said everything clicked into place on Christmas Eve when he took his family to the memorial in town. There, he met a man, a school principal, who had driven up from Arkansas to personally deliver ornaments his students made to Newtown town hall and to the police and fire departments.
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“We had to get involved,” said Carlson. “That was the moment we decided it was our job to respond with kindness and pay it forward.”
Now, Newtown Kindness, a registered 501 c 3, is a one hundred percent volunteer-run organization that Carlson says operates like a family. In fact, Charlotte’s parents are both very involved in the running of Newtown Kindness and have launched the Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Award in their daughter’s honor.
On February 22nd, Charlotte’s birthday, the awards recognized winners from across the country who were nominated for extraordinary acts of kindness.
Carlson says winners came from all parts of the U.S. – including winners from Wisconsin and Ohio who even flew to Newtown with their families to receive the award.
“Our ultimate goal is to get kids to participate in the program and we feel like recognizing them for their good deeds is the best thing we can do,” said Carlson. “This kindness feeds off itself and grows larger and larger. We’re seeing a real ripple effect of kindness that we couldn’t even have imagined when we first started.”
Looking ahead, Newtown Kindness is working on expanding its programs to include not only the Act of Kindness Awards but kindness curriculum for schools, a program revolving around comfort dogs and awards for kindness in teaching.
Carlson says they are always looking for volunteers for a variety of tasks. Like right now, they’re looking for Kindness Ambassadors – folks who are willing to step up and inspire others in the community to pay love forward. How cool is that?
We’re thrilled to share this great story and wish Newtown Kindness the best in fulfilling its awesome mission. Be sure to check out this amazing video and this song “Nothing More” by local band Alternate Routes. All proceeds from the song are going back to Newtown Kindness!
If you know an individual or group giving back to the community please be sure to let us know so we can share their story next month.
