Calaveras County Celebrates Kindness Week
San Andreas, CA – This week, in addition to celebrating Kindness Week, the Calaveras supervisors have issued a proclamation declaring the county a Random Acts of Kindness Zone this week through 2016.
Calaveras resident Jim Bergantz, whose family through its Seeds of Kindness project began the tradition of formally promoting Kindness Week, back in 1995 initially convinced the City of Angels Camp to declare its jurisdiction a Kindness Zone. Now, 21 years later, Bergantz remains just as enthusiastic about what has become an annual effort involving volunteers, schools and businesses.
For the uninitiated, Bergantz explains, “The idea is to get a lot of folks involved…make people stop and think about kind acts, making kindness a topic of conversation and a part of your family and community and school.”
As in years past, volunteers from organizations and businesses have helped disperse 8,000 blue “Pass It On” kindness ribbons and other support materials throughout the county. Those with a ribbon or ribbons in their possession are encouraged to, when they see an act of kindness, pass the ribbon on after first signing the back. Several schools will be doing this as well as otherwise incorporating a focus on kindness into their curriculum.
“We in Calaveras County are so blessed in so many ways…we live in a small community…our neighbors do care and we certainly felt that during the Butte Fire. We are just calling attention to it and, as a vehicle, we just use the blue ribbons to get folks to check it out,” Bergantz states. “I hope it continues on, year after year, and that we will be able to continue to plant seeds of kindness through our community,” he adds. He also shares a fond desire to see efforts rippling into neighboring Tuolumne and Amador counties in the years to come.
This is the seventh year the Calaveras supervisors have supported Kindness Week with an official proclamation. Bergantz says this year they also plan to install a Kindness Zone sign on the premises of the county government center. He adds that he is still hoping to get signs planted on various highway roads providing entrance into the county, next to the ore cart and “Welcome” sign displays.
For more on Kindness Week in Calaveras County and ways to take part, click here.
