Kindness Creates Community: #choose2Bkind
Perhaps you have seen the green Choose Civility car magnets around town, or maybe your vehicle sports one. Choose Civility is so much more than a bumper sticker! This community initiative, led by Howard County Library System (HCLS), includes more than 100 community groups and organizations, including Columbia Association (CA).
This year’s theme — Kindness Creates Community — kicked off in October. It emphasizes the little things we can do to make our community stronger, inspiring others to pay those kindnesses forward. Share your Random Act of Civility via email at kindness@choosecivility.org and/or by using #choose2Bkind on social media.
One way to get started is to pass the inspiration for Howard County’s Choose Civility campaign — P.M. Forni’s book, Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct — around the county. Pick up your copy at HCLS branches, CA fitness clubs, Little Free Libraries, and other locations, register it at ChooseCivility.org, read it, then leave it for someone else. It’s random and it’s kind!
Students, from middle school through college age, are invited to participate in a Coding for Community Hackathon on November 5. Working with mentors from the tech community, teams will have five hours to develop ideas and generate solutions for challenges proposed by local organizations. All skill levels are welcome at this collaborative computer programming event.
Finally, don’t miss the October episode of HCLS’ new HiJinx podcast. This month’s guests include Tom Coale from the Ellicott City Partnership, who talks about the community’s generous response to the July flood, and Daniel Buccino from Johns Hopkins, who discusses how kindness physically affects our brains.
For more details about these and other Civility events, visit ChooseCivility.org.
Choose Civility is successful because of support from partners like CA that have embraced Choose Civility at every level. From the Board of Directors who adopted civility principles to guide their discussions, to President & CEO Milton Matthews who serves on the Choose Civility Board of Advisors, and the CA Art Center which partners with HCLS and the school system to host the annual Choose Civility poster and video contest, CA ensures that Choose Civility remains an engaging and vibrant part of our Howard County community. Thank you!
Christie Lassen
Director of Public Relations
Howard County Library System