ommitting to kindness

SevenDays committee members discuss 2023 Kindness Week

ava mcguire |publication editor

SevenDays is an organization dedicated to spreading kindness and remembering the lives lost in the tragic shooting at the Jewish Community Center in 2014.

For sophomore Abby Reeves, the themed week sponsored by SevenDays is not only a time of reflection and remembrance but a time to spread positivity and kindness into her community.

Becoming involved with SevenDays holds much personal significance for Reeves for various reasons, including her older brother’s extensive work in the organization during his high school years.

participating community to engage, learn and adjust mindsets in order to act on these kindness themes. The annual “mini walk” was also included in the week’s activities.

“Since the official Kindness Walk is inconvenient for high schoolers to attend, we bring it to BVHS on the track with music, balloons and an opportunity for people to write kind notes to their peers and teachers,” Reeves said.

Along with the Kindness walks that week, BV’s SevenDays committee, Tiger Pride and Connections classes will be hosting a food drive to benefit the newly opened Blue Valley School District food pantry.

10

“I’ve always had the organization on my radar — also, I’m Jewish and since the shooting was supposed to be an antisemitic attack, I remember how close to home and scary it was in the Jewish community,” Reeves said. “When I got to high school years later, I got to know Mrs. O’Bryan and she really encouraged me to get involved.”

During April 5-13, Reeves and other members of BV’s SevenDays committee planned activities for the school which will bring awareness to the tragic events of the Jewish Community Center shooting and “how to bring SevenDays to life within our school community.”

Advocating for the remembrance of Reat Underwood, a BV student whose life was taken during the shooting, continues to be one of Reeves’s top priorities.

“Now that so many years have gone by, it’s unlikely that very many kids personally knew Reat,” Reeves said. “We are going to make it a priority that people understand that he was a student here at BVHS just like we are.”

Additionally, SevenDays provides a kindness goal for each day of that week: love, discover, others, connect, you, go and onward. Each days’ goal allows for the

9

“I joined SevenDays because it’s important that we remember and recognize Reat, Bill and Terri. It’s important to always choose kindness and spread positivity.”

-leah martin, 11

“Our goal is to collect 700 cans — 100 cans for each of the seven days,” SevenDays sponsor Dianne O’Bryan said. “All of the items that we collect will go to the Blue Valley School District food pantry which serves employees and families in the Blue Valley community.”

The efforts of the SevenDays committee were dedicated to making this year’s SevenDays a positive experience by spreading joy and kindness.

“Our hope is that Blue Valley students honor Reat by giving back to our community through the food drive and making a genuine effort to be a person who spreads kindness to others.”

-dianne o’bryan

“It will always be important for our community to rally around those who need it most.”

-josh gordon, 11

“SevenDays is all about changing the world with one small act of kindness at a time,” Reeves said. “That is a valuable reminder everyone could use every once in a while.”

“SevenDays has been an outlet for me and others in the community to join together and make a positive impact in the world.”

-emma sandler, 12

“I’m helping plan the annual kindness walk the KansasMissouri Community puts on and I am so happy to help plan the Mini Walk at our school.”

-sami sandler, 9

“The Kindness walk is one of my favorite traditions at Blue Valley because it supports a wonderful cause that gets everyone involved.”

-aubrey hudkins, 11