Kindness Project aims to spread cheer

Cheryl Bowdenhamer and her granddaughter, Nicole Landwehr, direct the people putting up the "Be the 'I' in 'kind'" banner Thursday from the other side of the glass to make sure it hangs straight in the window of the old JCPenney's building on High Street. Members of In a Flash, a suicide prevention organization in Jefferson City, put up the banner to remind people to be kind to one another.
Cheryl Bowdenhamer and her granddaughter, Nicole Landwehr, direct the people putting up the "Be the 'I' in 'kind'" banner Thursday from the other side of the glass to make sure it hangs straight in the window of the old JCPenney's building on High Street. Members of In a Flash, a suicide prevention organization in Jefferson City, put up the banner to remind people to be kind to one another.

Recognizing the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has people under stress, organizers of In a Flash created a project to remind people to spread kindness.

Through its Kindness Project, In a Flash hopes to raise spirits within the community.

The nonprofit is focused on bringing awareness to mental health issues and suicide prevention. It supports people who have lost loved ones to suicide and sponsors suicide prevention training within the community.

Over the past few months, small businesses have lost a lot of money and people have lost jobs, said Laura Landwehr, a founder of In a Flash. On top of that, the community is still recovering from the May 2019 tornado and this spring's hailstorm.

She and other members of the group pinned up a banner in a window of the old JCPenney building in the 200 block of East High Street in downtown Jefferson City early Thursday afternoon.

In large letters, the banner says "K ND," leaving room for someone to stand in front and use their own image to be the "I" in "kind."

Passersby are asked to photograph themselves in front of the banner and share on social media at #inaflashkindnessproject or on Facebook and Instagram @inaflashjcmo.

A hope is people will share simple ideas for how they can spread kindness to a neighbor or coworker.

"We thought, 'What can we do to support our community and spread kindness and love?'" Landwehr said. "We hope to spread kindness, not only by the banner, but within the schools."

Landwehr said project organizers want to expand to other ways of encouraging kindness, such as an essay contest that explains why people should be kind or supporting a scholarship involved with kindness. On an elementary level, In a Flash would like possibly to work with students and paint rocks with kindness messages that they can disperse in spring.

Alongside the banner, volunteers stuck quotes concerning kindness in the window. They may say things like "Be kind to yourself" or "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about."

Joy Sweeney, executive director of the Jefferson City-based Council for Drug Free Youth, watched as volunteers placed the banner in the window.

In a Flash's work goes well with Council for Drug Free Youth, she said, because the council provides suicide prevention in its programs for children.

"There are a few organizations doing this in our community," Sweeney said.

So she shares what In a Flash is doing with other nonprofits to let them know they have this resource in the community.