I may have mentioned Ben's Bells before but a place this special surely deserves its own post. Ben's Bells is a non profit organization started by a family in honor of their two year old son Ben who passed away suddenly. Read more about it here. The project started in 2002 as a way for the family to cope with their loss and spread kindness. It continues to grow year after year within the Tucson community and beyond.
Ceramic pieces are made and painted by volunteers then strung together to create bells. Several times a year these bells are distributed throughout Tucson for people to find and take home. The mission of the project is to inspire the people who discover the bells to pass the kindness on to others. In recent years the bells have been distributed in places that have suffered tragedies such as New Orleans and the campus of Virginia Tech. People involved with the project even travelled as far as New York City to leave them around Ground Zero on the anniversary of Sept. 11th.
My girls and I love to go paint the bells. This morning we went with a group of women. It is a wonderful activity for people of all ages to participate in together.
The girls not only get to be creative but is also a wonderful way to learn about compassion and practice kindness. A recent addition to the project are "Kindness Coins" created for schools to give to children who demonstrate acts of kinds (they look like the green flower I painted below).
The bells themselves cannot be bought but smaller versions and accessories such as necklaces and key chains can be purchased to help fund the project. In addition to the mass distributions there is a weekly "Belling" to an individual who shows exceptional kindness and contributes to our community.
I love everything about this project and have really enjoyed watching it grow. To learn more visit their site at http://www.bensbells.org/.
No comments:
Post a Comment