In Kennewick, a new campaign to shine the light on acts of kindness

Tyshawn Brooks had a classmate who rode his bike to and from school everyday.

Then, one day, the bike was gone and the classmate was on foot.

Tyshawn, an eighth-grader at Highlands Middle School in Kennewick, wondered what was up. He reached out.

He learned that the bike was broken and his classmate didn’t have a way to replace it. He was stuck.

That touched Tyshawn. He wanted to do something.

So, using money he’d earned by doing odd jobs with his cousin, Tyshawn bought his classmate a new bike.

It was a sweet and selfless act of kindness that inspired students and staff at Highlands, as well as people across the community and beyond.

“You are an inspiration and an indication that there is good in this world,” one person wrote on Facebook.

“So refreshing to read this,” wrote another. “With all the hate in the world, this was right on time. I applaud you, sir — your empathy, kindness and generosity will go a long way.”

Tyshawn’s story was shared through a new campaign aimed at highlighting acts of kindness in the community.

It’s called Kennewick Acts of Kindness, and it launched Nov. 13, which was World Kindness Day.

Several stories already have been shared — and more are to come.

“We live in an amazing community. It’s growing, but it hasn’t lost that small-town kindness,” said Robyn Chastain, director of communications and public relations for the Kennewick School District.

The school district started the campaign. Chastain and her team got the idea after a school district post last year about a caring school bus driver went viral.

The driver gave his gloves to a boy on his route who didn’t have any, and then made sure that the boy — and others at his school — had warm hats and gloves to see them through winter.

The post has been liked more than 15,000 times and shared more than 3,300 times by people around the world.

It shows that there’s a desire — a yearning — for positive and inspiring stories, Chastain said.

Kennewick Acts of Kindness shares tales of caring from within the district and the greater community.

One particularly touching story came from a local grocery cashier.

“... After I finished helping a very friendly younger couple through my line, they paid their total of about $75 with a gift card. They turned around to a woman with her daughter and said, ‘Here, this should help a little for your dinner,’ handed her the card and walked away,” the cashier wrote.

The remainder of the gift card covered the woman’s groceries — a welcome help.

“She said, ‘Oh my gosh’ with tears in her eyes, and said she had to go find them and thank them,” the cashier wrote. “I am sure they were already gone, but the act of kindness I saw right then warmed my heart and made me smile. People like that young couple are a real inspiration. I don’t think they will ever know how much that woman appreciated their kindness.”

Ty Beaver, social media and web content coordinator for the school district, noted that there are other sites that share tales of kindness and inspiration. But Kennewick Acts of Kindness highlights local stories.

“This is something for our community,” he said. “If people see a story on our feed, they’ll know it’s about our community or connected to us. It’s their neighbors, co-workers, community members.”

Kelsey McMahon, visual media and communications coordinator for the school district, said she loves working on the campaign.

It’s a rewarding project, she said. Tyshawn’s story, for example, particularly struck her.

“I thought it was amazing that he went out of his way to buy another kid a bike. That wouldn’t even go through my mind as a middle schooler,” she said. “I thought that was amazing.”

At last count, Tyshawn’s story had more than 930 likes and 240-plus shares on Facebook. It also had generated dozens of positive and encouraging comments.

Chastain and her team said they look forward to sharing many more stories to come.

They’re inviting submissions from agencies, groups and community members.

The campaign has no end date — they’ll keep highlighting acts of kindness as long as submissions come in.

“We have the energy (to keep it going),” Beaver said. “We just need people to contribute.”

To submit a story, go to kennewickkindness.org. To follow along with the stories, go to the website or find the group on Facebook at facebook.com/KennewickKindness.

This story was originally published November 19, 2017 at 5:35 PM with the headline "In Kennewick, a new campaign to shine the light on acts of kindness."