Coin-spiracy Highlights
Reach & Success of the Coin-spiracy
Between November 2002 and June 2007, 207 UNI Coins have been invested in kind action, resulting in an estimated 282,383 hours invested in service and over $270,143 raised for communities in need locally as well as in over 45 countries around the globe.
"What is really important for us is the whole idea of kindness to self, kindness to others and kindness to the environment - it's great. It gets the students to look beyond our own school walls, our own borders and start to look at how we can be kind to others outside of our own borders... and to know that we are part of a global project that is going on around the world is fantastic."
- Principal Dan Cavanagh, Anne Fitzgerald School, Edmonton
Examples of Kind Acts to Self:
- School officials at Lemonweir school in Tomah, Wisconsin USA (UNI #088) reported that bullying incidents and school bus suspensions have dropped nearly 40 per cent since they joined the Coin-spiracy campaign and incorporated kindness activities into their school's culture and daily routine.
- Southridge Elementary (UNI #076) students and staff sent books to Maylands Peninsula School in Australia with an exchange teacher who was returning to Australia. As their kind act to self, students "walked" the distance their coin would have to travel to get from their school in Prince George, Canada to Perth, Australia. They achieved this by walking every day during their PE classes and tracking the kilometres on their journey. They walked 800 km to Vancouver, then traveled 4,356km to Honolulu and finally 16,034km to Perth.
- Students at Barrowtown Elementary (UNI #195) held a JUMP ROPE for HEART event focused on student health. For several weeks students practiced skipping in gym class, at recess, and during lunch break in preparation for 60 minutes of skipping on our Jump Rope for Heart Day. Students built an understanding of what they need to do to keep their own hearts healthy and strong, and also learned that they could help others by sending off pledges they'd collected to heart and stroke research programs.
- Students at Woodland Park Elementary (UNI #167) participated in a school-wide Read-A-Thon because reading is so good for oneself.
- Students from the Leadership Class at Moody Middle School (UNI #200) organized a talent show involving the entire school. The talent show is a way for students in the school to share their gifts with others, and for school to celebrate the wide diversity of talent within the school community.
- During Christmas Break, students at Maquinna School Annex (UNI # 147) did something good for themselves instead of watching TV. Students did things like reading a book, went shopping, and enjoyed ice skating with their parents.
Examples of Kind Acts to the Environment:
- Douglas Road Elementary staff and students (UNI# 089) in Burnaby, BC turned off lights in unused rooms and saved their school $430 on energy costs in just three months. The Director of Facilities for Burnaby said that if every school did this, the district would save $70,000 each year.
- Auguston Traditional Elementary students and staff in Abbotsford, BC (UNI # 104) held a 'Litterless Lunch' week and reduced their garbage from 6 to 2 bags per day.
- To honour Remembrance Day and complete a kind act for the environment, students at Harry Sayers Elementary (UNI #152) planted a Peace Garden in November. Now as each tulip and daffodil emerges from the earth with a beautiful blossom they are "peacefully" reminded to go forth and touch another soul with kindness.
- Students at Sandy Hill Elementary (UNI #196) decorated paper bags for Earth Day. These bags were given to a local Save on Foods so they could pass on the message about being kind to our earth to their customers.
- Students at Trafalgar Elementary (UNI #169) hosted a Climate Change Awareness Fair for the whole school.
Examples of Kind Acts to Others:
- Mt Slesse Middle School in Abbotsford, BC raised $7,170 for the Room to Read program that enabled them to build 4 libraries in Vietnam, Nepal, Cambodia and India. The leadership class also 'conspired' with the Room to Read and KindActs teams to pass their UNI Coin (#087) to the Dalai Lama during his visit to Vancouver, BC in April 2004.
- The Westshore Centre for Learning and Training in Victoria, BC joined forces with two other schools, their Rotary Club and the local Fire Department in the "Building Futures through Education: Afghan Project". Together they raised enough money and in-kind donations to send 6,000 textbooks, 4, 000 hygiene and school supplies kits and 15 large boxes of fire fighting equipment to Afghanistan.
- Preschool children at St. James Daycare (UNI #146) made sandwiches for a homeless shower program.
- In December, Sunnybrook School students (UNI #149) learned about how the Meals on Wheels organization delivered meals to the elderly. Sunnybrook students made candy-cane reindeer to decorate meal trays at Christmas time. For some of the elderly recipients, the candy-cane reindeer was the only Christmas treat they received because they are isolated from friends, family and community.
- The students at Trafalgar Elementary (UNI #169) gave a music concert for a neighborhood seniors’ home.
These incredible stories are just the beginning...
In September 2006, a Coin-spiracy "How To" Kit was launched to accommodate expanding interest in the program, as well as various school/youth groups' budgets. The kit contains all the tools necessary for registered participants to launch the program.
As more schools/youth groups join the Coin-spiracy and UNI Coins pass hands, the ripples of kindness will continue to spread. If 45 countries can be reached with 207 UNI Coins in ciculation, the likelihood of the Coin-spiracy touching lives in all parts of the world seems within the realm of possibility. Imagine... Register your school/youth group now!
"One of the things that is really important about kindness is that it can keep on repeating, building and growing...Imagine when you consider how many people have been touched by this coin that started last year - a large, large number of people. Ultimately when a movement becomes larger and larger, it has a huge effect."
- Principal Murray Stephenson, Champlain Heights Community School, Vancouver
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