A project in downtown Brantford is hoping to inject a little more kindness into people’s lives. The Kindness Project has a simple aim; to ask you to be kind to your neighbour.
Dave Carrol is going door to door, campaigning for kindness.
“We’re in the neighbourhood today asking people if they would consider being kind to their neighbour… and that’s all. That’s literally all we want to do, is we want people to think about how they can be kind to their neighbours again,” Carrol explained.
During the recent election, they realized that campaigning would be a good way to spread the word about the Kindness Project.
“We have more signs out than in the last political election, and we do because people want to care.”
The project was started over ten years ago by the Freedom House church. Carrol and Brian Beattie from Freedom House have been knocking on doors, and putting up lawn signs to get a conversation going.
“It’s to get people thinking and talking again about what it would mean if our neighbours were intentionally in each other’s lives,” said Carrol
The project is currently focused on the downtown Brantford core, after a shooting on Market Street earlier this month.
“We find that kindness actually changes the culture of a neighbourhood,” said Beattie.
Barb Sarkany has one of the signs on her lawn.
“Everybody needs kind neighbours,” Sarkany said.
“It kind of reminded me of Block Parent when my son was young, so that’s why I decided to do it cause if somebody needs help then they know they can come here,” she explained.
The downtown campaign will wrap up with a barbecue on Market Street in August to give neighbours a chance to come together and talk.
Officials in Hamilton have expressed interest in setting up the Kindness Project there.
“We hope to be able to grow this and grow this and grow this,” said Carrol.
