The Kindness Commission's Adopt a School Program

By Michelle Nelson

Doesn't everyone have a desire to feel seen and appreciated? Every day in the news, there is story after story of teacher shortages, frustrations over teaching in the time of covid, and the challenges in
general of teaching. The Kindness Commission in Salisbury started the Adopt-a-School program this year to encourage our teachers and staff in the Wicomico County public schools. The pandemic has brought much uncertainty into every facet of teaching but the one factor the commission wants to impress upon the staff is appreciation, according to Grace Murdock, head of KindSBY. The initiative is known as the Morale Boosting Program.

There are 27 public schools and programs in the county, from preschool to evening high school, and nearly 3,000 employees. Schools have been adopted by local businesses, organizations, city departments, churches and individuals. Even a Girl School troop adopted a school. The call went out last summer for schools to be adopted and shortly after the year started, all the schools had been spoken for and projects were underway. Once a school was chosen, the adopters received information with ready-to-go projects to fulfill and take to schools. Projects are purposefully easy to fulfill and creativity is welcome. Each school has a point person that communicates with the group to coordinate the delivery. The goal is for four expressions of kindness to happen during the year; the first was in October, with the others slated for January, March and May. Projects range from encouraging notes for the staff and treats, to lunches, wall posters, walkway signs, and almost anything to show gratitude.

The community connections that are being made through the program are showing how kindness spurs on kindness. Girl Scout Troop 86, for example, that adopted Pemberton Elementary, chose that school because that is where the troop used to meet a few years earlier. Local resident Donna Nefferdorf adopted Westside Intermediate School, enlisting the help of a family who used to attend there to make a 16' banner to display. Some of the other projects completed so far are donations of Rise Up Coffee and breakfast sandwiches from Restoration Project church to Northwestern Elementary, bags of frozen Perdue Chicken and handwritten notes from Perdue employees to Parkside High School, and a catered lunch from Coastal Comfort Heating and Air Conditioning to Delmar Elementary. Many of the deliveries have included handwritten notes of appreciation.

An unexpected benefit of the Adopt-a-School program has been the
business generated for local shops. Kindness benefits the giver and
the receiver, and now in this case, local businesses as well! It's been a win-win project for the community. Adoptees are asked to post on social media when they make a delivery, using the hashtag #kindSBY, to publicize the initiative and may post on the https://www.facebook.com/kindSBY4u page as well. Make sure to
follow kindSBY on Facebook to see the various projects highlighlighted.

Princess Anne Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. adopted Bennett High School and wrote notes "out of the blue!"