Kitchener school creates kindness award in memory of mother killed in impaired driving crash

Every morning, when Karli Chomick would drop her children Savanna and Ryder off at St. Timothy Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener, she would do the same thing.

“She would give them a hug and a kiss and tell them ‘be kind today,’ every single day,” says Kyla MacDonald, who taught Chomick’s son in junior kindergarten.

Chomick died in May 2020 in a car crash involving an impaired driver.

Her simple yet powerful daily message to her children inspired their teachers to establish a student award in her memory.

“We were looking for ways to support the family and the children of course, it’s really tough for them to lose their mom,” says MacDonald.

FIRST AWARD HANDED OUT

The first Karli Kind award was presented at St. Timothy’s on Tuesday, with members of her family present.

“It’s a happy day. A happy, proud, proud moment,” says Chomick’s mother Dani Hughes.

(Submitted/Dani Hughes)

The first recipient is Grade 1 student Julia Lenghel, one of Ryder’s former classmates.

Lenghel says she shows kindness by helping people.

“I play with them when they don’t have anyone to play with, and I help them up,” she describes.

The school will hand out the recognition annually.

“Our plan is to choose a student every year in May from our St. Timothy’s community,” says Erin Bebenek, a Grade 1 and Grade 2 teacher at the school. “Someone who is kind like Karli. Someone who demonstrates kindness to others on a daily basis.”

Chomick’s mother calls it a gift.

“Just the fact that she’ll always be remembered is huge to me, and that all the kids will know of her and know of her kindness and they’ll carry it along through the generations,” says Hughes.

(Submitted/Dani Hughes)

“Our plan is to keep her memory alive, let Savanna and Ryder know how special they are, how special their mommy is, and we’ll continue that for the years to come,” says Bebenek.

Savanna, 10, and Ryder, 6, attend a different school now, but remain close with their St. Timothy’s teachers.

“The teachers – they come and they visit the kids, they take them out, they take them to parks, they take them to dinner, they are part of our lives now,” describes Hughes. “It’s amazing to me how great they’ve been.”

'WHEN KINDNESS HAPPENS, LEARNING HAPPENS'

Savanna’s Grade 2 teacher Alicia Ferraccioli says kindness is one of the most important lessons to pass on to students.

“When kindness happens, learning happens. It’s a place you want to come, a place you want to be, and that’s a feeling that’s important to our St. Timothy community.”

Ferraccioli describes Chomick as someone who exuded kindness.

“We want to spread that feeling of joy and kindness and carry it in these hallways like she did, every day,” Ferraccioli says.

(Submitted/Dani Hughes)