We’re taught about kindness from a young age. At least, we should be, but how many take time to truly internalize the concept and practice the principle on a daily basis?
Not everyone, however, gets a chance to experience kindness as a child. John Magee, the founder of Kindness Matters, was raised in one of Britain’s most socially deprived areas. Born into a cycle of domestic violence and alcoholism, he became a product of a dysfunctional childhood.
As he grew older, he turned his back back on both family and education. Through choices that he now describes as “foolish,” John found himself in a world of anti-social behavior, drug dealing, organized crime, violence, and gangland fighting.
This is the story of a man who overcame all odds to turn kindness into an international movement called “Kindness Matters.” The purpose behind the movement is simple: to spread a little more kindness in the world, and especially in this day and age where the media is saturated with stories of racism and mass shootings, we could all use a kinder world.
Sania: Hi John, how did “Kindness Matters” begin?
John: I wrote a lesson plan called RAOK, which stands for Random Acts of Kindness, for a social enterprise called Streets that I am a co-founder of. The idea was to inspire young people. We got families and communities from five different areas from the North West of England to do a 30 day challenge to look for more opportunities to spread kindness in the world. This gave birth to “Kindness Matters,” the book and the global movement.
Sania: What has “Kindness Matters” achieved so far?
John: My hometown of Blackburn has been officially recognized as the first Kindness community in the UK, and 4 times World Super bike champion Carl Fogarty became the first “Kindness Matters” celebrity. We are looking for other towns and cities to nominate a celebrity for their community to become a kindness ambassador and follow our lead.
We’ve also formed a partnership with the largest breast cancer awareness charity in the UK “CoppaFeel,” and we donate 5% rom all products purchased to support their message, which is to encourage men and women to get checked.
Sania: So how can people get started with the “Kindness Matters” challenge?
John: Purchase the "Kindness Matters" book, and take the 30 day challenge. Then, you can join the “Kindness Matters” Facebook group, and join over 4500 global kindness ambassadors who wake up each day to spread a little more kindness into the world.
Visit www.kindnessmatters.co.uk to get started with the challenge today!