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Tragedy Turns into Thousands of Acts of Kindness

Ben’s Bells is all about kindness. Kindness is the key to peace on Earth in our opinion. We believe kindness is about connecting with people,” explains Jeanette Maré, executive director of Ben’s Bells Project.

She and her then husband Dean Packard founded Ben’s Bells after a family tragedy. Their son, Ben Maré Packard, was almost 3 when he suddenly died in 2002 from croup, a common virus.

Ben’s unexpected death was really hard to take. But the kindness and generosity that people in the community shared with the family SUSTAINED Jeannette, Dean and their oldest son, Matthew, who was almost 6 when Ben passed away. Grateful, the family founded Ben’s Bells, a fast-growing arts movement that’s all about brightening the world through kindness.

Two times a year, beautifully handmade bells are hung all over communities for people to find and keep. “We started working on them and hung out the first 400 of them on the first anniversary of Ben’s death on March 29,” Maré shares.

The bells have a cord that connects brightly painted ceramic pieces (two fun smaller pieces on either end of an inspiring centerpiece) with a rustic bell at the end. A note on the bell instructs the lucky person who finds it to take it home and hang it up as a reminder to pass along the kindness!

A small army of volunteers, from kids to grandparents, creates the bells. The volunteers create fun ceramic shapes and fire them in a kiln to create the “bisque” pieces that other volunteers glaze using paintbrushes. The dull-looking glaze turns into dazzling bright colors when the pieces are fired. From there, all the pieces go to final assembly to make a bell. About 10 different volunteers help to create each bell.

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Brielle Kalish- LeBarge and her dad, Marc, sat down in the courtyard of Ben’s Bells to paint on the glaze. “This is my second time,” Brielle says. “When you do Ben’s Bells, it makes you feel good (because) you know that it will go to somebody who will appreciate it.” Her favorite creations are a hamburger and a hamster. She hopes to convince her friends to pitch in, too. In fact, anyone can show up at the studio to help from Tuesday through Sunday. Volunteers also are asked to “Bring a buck for Ben’s Bells,” when they come.

Sisters Kapri and Kristian Uriarte found a Ben’s Bell while they were out and about with their family. “I saw a colorful thing, and my sister and I ran up to it. My sister read it, and our mom told us the story about it. I was so excited because it’s rare to find,” Kapri shares.

Their aunt, Karina Hernandez, volunteers as part of a university program. After finding a bell, the girls were thrilled to lend a hand. “When I see it (our bell), it just reminds me of happiness,” Kristian explains. “So I thought I’d come and help make a Ben’s Bell. We’re making many of them!”

Kapri also wants to pass along the feeling. “Other people get to find more, and it will make them feel happy and special like I felt, so the tradition can keep on going. That’s what Ben’s mom wants to happen,” she says.

Last month, 2,200 people volunteered for the project. Young kids, high school and university students, and adults of all ages help out. “It’s a very, very diverse group of people,” Maré points out. Ben’s Bells even offers a “to go box program,” which includes all the ceramics and supplies for groups large or small. More than 17,000 Ben’s Bells have been hung in places like Tucson, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco and Portland. Individual bells are awarded to inspiring people each week. These “Bellees” live here in Arizona and all over the world in places like South Africa, Australia and Afghanistan.

For schools, Ben’s Bells offers its “Kind Kids” program, which teaches students the importance of kindness and gives them the tools to spread kindness in the community. Ben’s Bells also has “Kindness Corridor,” a program that creates kindness murals at schools and around town.

To handle its fast growth, Ben’s Bells hopes to add a second location and more full-time staffers, and offer programming for kids!

Maré points out that the big picture of world peace starts with commitment to kindness right where you are. “In order to get peace on Earth, we have to start with our own relationships, our own families, our own communities and our own schools,” she points out. Visit BensBells.org to find out what you can do.

EAGLE Elementary Plays Up Its Diversity

In August, Phoenix Magazine named EAGLE College Prep Elementary one of the best schools in Phoenix in 2010. And while this charter school is great at getting kids ready academically (math, science, English and stuff), it also teaches students how to be good, caring people.

EAGLE stands for Expecting Academic Greatness with a Loving Emphasis. The students (461 of ’em) come from all corners of the world. In fact, about a quarter of the kids speak a language other than English at home. “We have families from Nepal, from the Philippines, from Vietnam, Nigeria, Somalia. Over 20 different languages in our small school alone are spoken at home by our students,” says Principal Wendy Noble.

“We focus a lot on character development as well (as academics). To us, it goes hand-in-hand,” Dr. Noble explains. “We want students who are intelligent and prepared to be good decision makers out in the world. We want them to go to college and finish college, but we also want people who care about other people and who take care of each other.” The EAGLE staff teaches its students to respect others and to be responsible, good citizens. “We want them to be not just really smart people, but really good people, too—people with a heart,” she adds.

Having a great mix of kids helps. “We start with celebration. We start by recognizing what is UNIQUE about each of us,” Dr. Noble explains. EAGLE’s third grade is a good example. Each year, the third-graders study how their families immigrated to the United States, and give presentations and write papers about what they learned. It all leads up to an immigration dinner, at which the students dress up in their traditional cultural clothing and bring a traditional dish to share. “It’s just a wonderful way for them to see two different things, to try different foods and kind of open that dialogue to learn about one another,” Dr. Noble says. Guest speakers from different cultures also help inspire students.

The staff also celebrates and recognizes students who show good character. “We really make an effort to take that positive stance as opposed to pointing out when people aren’t doing the right thing,” Dr. Noble says. EAGLE students learn what bullying is, what it looks like, and what are appropriate ways to stand up for themselves and help others.

Dr. Noble says adults could learn a lot from kids. “Too often, adults already have their biases—they already have their minds made up about other people. Kids are more moldable. They’re able to be worked with to help them develop empathy and compassion toward others, and to learn how to get along,” she explains. She adds that she already sees the kids rubbing off on their parents, which is breaking down barriers. “If adults could learn from children, I think they could be more accepting toward each other, which in turn creates peace.”

His Small Talk Tackles a BIG Problem!

If you keep up with the news, then you know that bullying and cyberbullying are serious problems for kids and teens in our SOCIETY.

Bullying used to be considered a normal part of growing up.Teachers and developmental experts now know that bullying—whether you’re being bullied or are doing the bullying—can have lasting, terrible effects.

The stories and images in the news are frightening. “They really hit home, because it’s a critical part of how kids feel about themselves. Kids who are bullied have more depression, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, bad grades and may end up dropping out of school,” says Mark Trombino, a little person who does motivational talks for schools to help combat bullying in our state and wherever he’s needed.

Trombino, who’s 3 feet, 3 inches tall, grew up in the Valley. He got into acting when he was a kid and still does commercial and promotional work. He got his degree in communications from the University of Arizona. About four years ago, he started Motivational Small Talk with his business partner Gail Blackburn. Blackburn’s daughter is also a little person. She suffered bullying at her school in Gilbert.

Growing up, Trombino was bullied a bit. “I remember a couple of times when I was really bullied, but I was fortunate—a lot of my little people friends were bullied a lot.”

In his talks, he uses his shortness to get kids’ attention. His delivery is dynamic and inspiring, promoting bully prevention, diversity and tolerance. He likes to surprise his audience when he suddenly takes the stage. “Because I’m so visually different, I really use my size to capture and to hold their attention. I want them to open their eyes—we’re all different, and it’s important to embrace those differences and not make fun of them. It’s a really uplifting message,” Trombino explains.

About 30 percent of elementary school kids are involved in bullying. Trombino adds that the statistics seem to go higher for middle and high schoolers. “Kids are bullied every seven minutes out on the playground, but 85 percent of the time (when it happens), nobody helps them,” he shares. “It’s discouraging. So what I try to teach is to empower kids. They have an obligation to get involved and help that person. They have to empower themselves to do the right thing. They can stop the bullying!”

With kids on laptops and mobile devices, cyberbullying is a growing issue. “Cyberbullying can hurt just as much. Through Facebook and MySpace, kids can spread rumors very quickly,” Trombino explains. “They are very text savvy, but their mind hasn’t caught up. They don’t realize they have so much power. When I talk to kids, I want them to realize that. It’s broadcast and can literally go to millions. And the pictures can literally last forever.”

Trombino’s website is MotivationalSmalltalk.com. Also visit BullyPolice.org, CDC.gov or SafeYouth.gov.

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What Peace Looks Like!

Is peace helping your neighbors or others in need? Working together? Celebrating our differences? Respecting and not hurting others? Use words and/or pictures to show what peace looks like, and figure out a way you can increase the peace!

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