People is honoring big-hearted people who improve the lives of others through acts of compassion and humanity, including five children who promote kindness in their communities.

Connor Wright is one of those children, and he founded a non-profit company that provides thoughtful, curated packages loaded with games and toys to children in hospitals and shelters around New England. He also founded a compassion club for primary school pupils, which he aims to promote throughout the country.

“Kindness has a ripple effect,” says Wright, 14. “There’s always something you can do.”

A group of 12-year-old girls in Kentucky discovered the same thing at their school. They established The Kind Line, a hotline where kids may call and receive an uplifting inspirational phrase, a joke, and a nice voice urging them to have a great day.

“We were really surprised to see people so interested and wanting to spread kindness,” says Campbell Goins, one of the Kind Line founders.

Wright volunteered with his family throughout his childhood. Connor and his grandma made a commitment to do something kind for someone else every month during the pandemic. They began by making and delivering toy care packages to children who were stranded at home during the epidemic lockdown. Conner’s Kindness Project evolved into a non-profit organization in August 2021.

“I feel good knowing I’m helping others when I do something nice for someone else,” says Wright, a high school freshman from Lynnfield, Massachusetts.

He staged lemonade stands and garage sales to fund the first 250 Kindness Kits, which included pop-its, Legos, card games, putty, a folding telescope, crayons, coloring books, and other toys. Each package includes a card that reads, “We hope this makes you smile and brings you hours of fun.” The inscription on the back said, “You are loved.”

He has given over 5,000 toys to youngsters in New Hampshire hospitals and shelters. “We continuously get emails from parents saying, ‘Thank you for this; this really made our kids day!'” he said.

Wright and his grandma even started a kindness club at local elementary schools last year. Members agree to be nice and are pushed to perform 20 acts of kindness, ranging from sending a thank-you letter to changing their bed without being asked.

“Even if you only do something small,” Wright explains. “Even if you’re not doing that much, it still helps.”

During the previous school year, 4,000 students participated and performed 80,000 acts of kindness.

Connor intends to expand his non-profit and “spread kindness throughout the country.”

“We want everyone to wake up every day thinking, ‘What can I do today to be kind?” adds his grandma, Sharon Marrama, 66.

Because middle school is typically a place where people can be nasty, four 12-year-olds at Bondurant Middle School in Frankfurt, Kentucky, established a hotline for students to call when they need to speak with a nice voice.

Collingsworth and three companions, Eleanor Bishop, Avery Bishop, and Campbell Goins, observed several children who appeared lonely, sitting alone, and not communicating with others. The Kind Line was founded by friends with the assistance of their school guidance counselor in order to “spread kindness,” according to Goins.

Children can dial 502-661-3001 to hear a pre-recorded message that includes an encouraging statement and a joke. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the buddies record fresh messages.

“Our most recent quote is to always walk toward the sunshine so that the shadows will fall behind you,” she goes on to add. “It’s very inspiring and positive.”

The district’s superintendent was so delighted with the initiative that stickers with The Kind Line’s phone number were created to be put on school-issued laptops.

“A lot of great things are growing out of what they’ve started,” says Enoch Welch, principal of Bondurant Middle School.

The Kind Line has encouraged other kids to promote kindness, with one starting a peer-tutoring program as an example.

“The ray of sunshine that they breathe into these kids,” said Welch, “has really inspired others to do the same.”