Teacher Honors Her Late Sister with Student Kindness Challenge.

Kristina, a teacher, saved the $100 until four years later when inspiration hit. She decided to distribute the money evenly among the students in her 9th grade English class. She issued each student a challenge: Use the money to perform an act of kindness. The idea became a lesson and legacy of kindness.

Katie had recently completed her EMT training and had been looking for a job in that field when she experienced a fatal car crash, one month before her 30th birthday. Among the belongings officers found in the car was a wallet containing $100 Katie had saved from her earnings as a waitress. 

Kristina had kept her sister's wallet until a class reading assignment gave her an idea on how to pay it forward. Her students had been reading dystopian tale about a bleak future where people lacked empathy, and the story made Kristina reflect on her late sister’s kind ways. She considered that teaching young people the value of kindness might be the best way to prevent such a dystopian future from becoming reality. She created the “$20 Kindness Challenge” as the way to teach that lesson.

Kristina then took her sister’s bundle of cash, added some of her own money to it, and cashed it in for $20 bills, which she then distributed to each student in her class. The one instruction: Use the cash for good.

The students rose to the challenge in a variety of unique ways. One student spent her money crafting colorful bracelets for elementary school students. Another donated his cash to a Parkinson’s disease research organization in honor of his father who suffered with the disease. Other students pooled their cash together to support local animal and homeless shelters. Still others sent cards to local veteran and senior homes. 

Students eagerly started creating videos showcasing their good deeds. They spoke of the lessons they learned from participating in the challenge. Students commented that the good deeds made them feel a sense of purpose and that they felt empowered to make a difference in their own way.

The kindness challenge created another notable benefit: Students who teamed up felt more connected to their classmates. They noted how the classroom became a warmer place.

After that first year, word spread within the community and donors began funding the project in subsequent years. To date, her students have used their $20 to commit 350 acts of kindness. Other teachers have reached out to Kristina for advice on how to start their own kindness challenge programs as well.

For Kristina, the kindness challenge helped ease some of the pain she feels from the loss of her sister. The acts of kindness by her students, and their positive ripple effects, have become a part of her sister’s legacy.

“She’s been gone 10 years now, but her spirit has lived on through all the things people are doing in her honor,” Kristina shared. 

The Foundation for a Better Life and PassItOn believe Kristina is a hero. Her act is a great example of the value of Kindness. Please help us celebrate her by sharing her inspiring story. 

Watch video here:  https://youtu.be/s7TjaDCYdD8