Never in a million years did I think that I would be sitting on the South Lawn of the White House, surrounded by the hundreds of people working towards creating positive social change in our country, listening to the President of the United States talking with Leonardo DiCaprio. However, that is exactly where I found myself on Monday October 3rd, when I was fortunate enough to represent Born This Way Foundation at the South X South Lawn festival.

Along with great music, dance parties, temporary tattoo artists, and not to mention a great view, there were inspiring speakers and panels. From CEOs to nonprofit leaders, everyone was focused on how we can all work together to use our knowledge and resources to ensure a bright future for both ourselves and the generations after us. With the incredible group of people that were gathered it was no surprise that each person we talked to asked the same question “How can we help support your work?” Our team could not have been more excited to tell them about Channel Kindness. We were blown away by the response. Everyone we told wanted to apply themselves, nominate a young person in their lives, or were offering up a tool or resource to help us grow the program.

It is days that this, where I leave an event excited to go back to work despite how tired I am, that remind me how important the work we are doing really is.

The beauty of the work we are doing is that you do not have to travel anywhere to make a difference. You can recognize and amplify every day acts of kindness in your own schools and communities. Your actions can create a ripple effect and we hope that, eventually we can drown out the negativity that we have become so numb to.

On behalf of Born This Way Foundation, I would like to thank the White House for including us in this amazing event. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet and share our work with so many wonderful people!

And to all the amazing innovators and change-makers we met, thank you for all the work you do. Thank you for making the world a better place. And thank you for joining us in our mission to amplify kindness.

Even if you weren’t at SXSL, you can still be a part of Channel Kindness! Apply to be a reporter here. Or do you know someone who would be a great voice for compassion in your community? Nominate them to be a Channel Kindness reporter!