In February 2025, eight Venture Together Day Program participants from five different programs came together to form the Kindness Club, a new initiative grounded in compassion, community service, and leadership. Since its launch, the club has become a powerful example of how kindness can build connection, confidence, and change.
To kick off their journey, the Kindness Club participated in a series of leadership workshops hosted by Volunteer New York’s RISE Program, in collaboration with Mercy College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program. In the workshops, our participants learned what it means to be a volunteer, how to identify local needs, and how to develop the skills to plan and lead outreach projects.
Throughout the workshops, club members explored creative ways to make a positive impact on the community and the world around them, including making reusable shopping bags out of old t-shirts to donate to local food pantries, creating heart-shaped paper affirmations with OTA students to be delivered to patients at White Plains Hospital, and more.
Last month, the club’s kindness reached even further into the community. At the Hudson Valley Regional Food Bank, members sorted 10 pallets of frozen food and helped to clean up the volunteer station, learning how to sort food and check expiration dates during the process. Later that month on Earth Day, they painted and donated insect-themed rocks to Bear Mountain’s Trailside Zoo, where they were met by environmental educator Chris O’Sullivan, who explained how the rocks would be used in teaching zoo guests about local insects.
The Kindness Club exemplifies how our participants can be both learners and leaders, using their talents to enrich our community. We look forward to seeing what this inspiring group does next, as it continues to fill its “kindness bucket” and inspire our community, one good deed at a time.
