(Elje ^Jortlaxtb O b se rv e r
M artin L uther K ing Jr. S pecial Edition
Jan. 13, 1999
(J 12
The Virtues Project
gist and researcher o f sa
verywhere our youth
are k illin g th e m cred texts, and John Kavelin,
her brother, a Disney art d i
se lv e s and each
other. They don’t know rector,
why all met in the P rin
cess
Hotel one rainy a fte r
they are here and what they
noon. Her brother agreed to
can be doing. When children
who murder other children are quit his jo b , sell his house
asked; why? They say, “ I and move to S altspring Is
don’t know. Why not? I ’m land, B ritish Colum bia with
Dan and Linda. This project
bored.” This means that they
began with D an’s search in
have no meaning in their lives.
Their lives are not carved out the w orld ’s sacred text. It
soon became evident that the
with a passion, a commitment
virtues were the thread o f
to create something good here.
unity throughout all re li
The Virtues Project was
gions. They began com pil
born out of a desire to do
ing all the virtues and re
something about the rising
violence in and around fami lated inform ation and came
up with over three hundred.
lies. Three people Linda
They decided to start with
Popov, a psychotherapist and
fifty-tw
o that were clearly
spiritual director for hospice,
universal
to all religions.
Dan Popov, a child psycholo
E
Each o f these was then care
fully and simply defined be
ginning with a quote from
one o f the sacred texts and
ending with an affirm ation.
This became the basis for
the book called The Family
Virtues Guide. Simple Ways
to Brine Out the Best in C hil
dren. They then took the best
strategies from psychology
re g a rd in g p a re n tin g and
co m m u n icatio n com bined
this with the virtues to c re
ate a sim ple, straight fo r
ward, dynamic training.
T he V irtu e s are g ifts
w ithin, the content o f our
ch aracter, they are the stu ff
from which self-esteem is
created. When we are re
sponsible, loving, honest,
The Do Something
Kindness and Justice
Challenge
B y M artin L uther K ing
III
performing Acts of Kind
n behalf of the ness and Justice in the real
King family, I world.
Last year, students from
want to invite
more
teachers and stu d en ts that 14,000 schools in
across the nation to par all fifty states performed
ticipate in the 1999 Do more than 500,000 acts of
Something Kindness & k in d n ess and ju s tic e .
Justice Challenge, an in Kariel, age 9, stopped a fight
novative school-based between two of her class
leadership program that en mates. Carla, age 10, vis
courages students to per ited a senior citizens center
form Acts of Kindness and sang songs to the resi
(helping others) and Jus den ts who live there.
tice (standing up for what Khadijah, age 12, stood up
is right) for the two weeks for a friend who was being
fo llo w in g the M artin teased by others.
Every school in the na
Luther King, Jr. National
H oliday (Jan u ary 18- tion - kindergarten through
high school - can partici
29,1999).
The Kindness & Justice pate in the Do Something
Challenge is being spon Kindness & Justice Chal
sored by the national non lenge. Students simply write
profit organization Do down the Acts of Kindness
Something, which has de- and Justice they perform and
v elo p ed an en g ag in g each school will post their
classroom curriculum to acts on the Internet. After
teach young people the im the challenge, students and
portant values of respon schools that have done the
sibility, compassion, gen most Acts in each state and
erosity, respect, to le r in the nation will receive
ance, honesty and moral recognition.
Teachers can register for
courage while encourag
ing students to put these the 1999 Kindness & Jus
lessons into practice by tic e C h allen g e on the
O
persistent, jo y fu l, etc., we
have a solid foundation for
self-esteem . T his unique
Project has become so suc
cessful that people are ap
plying it to all m atter situ a
tio n s. The P o p o v ’s have
tra v e le d th ro u g h o u t th e
world bringing awareness of
the power o f the virtues to
people o f many cu ltu res,
from a m ulti-faith, m u lti
cultural perspective. They
have seen transform ation in
the lives of individuals, cor
porations, families and com
munities.
T he V irtu e s P ro je c t
trainings are packed with in
spirational knowledge and
skill practice. Participants
learn to remind them selves
to continually honor one an
o th e r by g iv in g v ir tu e ’s
a c k n o w le d g e m e n t; th ey
come away with a new un
derstanding o f boundaries
and the skill o f using virtues
to establish good boundaries.
And best o f all they learn to
“ Education in
oup
encourage moral decision
making by using deep listen
ing, asking “cup em ptying”
questions and acknow ledg
ing virtues helping others find
their own truth in the context
o f virtues.
The next training will be
given by Barbara Waldron
LCSW, Virtues Project Fa
cilitator, on Saturday, Janu
ary 30 and Sunday, January
3, from 9-4 at the Teacher’s
Space. Call Barbara at 503/
285-4663.
time should aim at
nothing less than the renewal of wisdom,
th G
PG
hipth of gratitude, and the recovepg
of a sense o f heautg large enough to
emhpace Loth esthetics and justice.
- D avid C pp
In te rn e t
at
www.dosomething.org or
by writing or calling Do
Something at 423 West
55th Street, 8th Floor, New
York, New York 10019
(Attention; Kindness &
Justice Challenge) 212/
523-1175. Each teacher
who registers will receive
a free Educator Guide with
an age-appropriate cur
riculum, instructions for
keeping track of students’
Acts of Kindness and Jus
tice and incentives to en
courage student participa
tion.
If students can commit
to one day of kindness and
justice, they can commit
to a week a kindness and
justice - a week becomes
a year, a year a lifetime.
Like my father, I believe
in the power o f young
people to change the world.
Through the Do Something
Kindness & Justice Chal
lenge, young people can put
into practice the ideals to
which my father devoted
his life. Together, we will
keep his dream of equality
and justice alive.
\ \ h e n e v i l men snout
ugly words of hatred, good men
* must commit themselves to the
<t lories ot love. Where evil men
would seek to perpetuate an
unjust status quo, good men
must seek to bring into being
a real order of ju stice.”
Martin Luther king. Jr.
(ìregory P. Oliveros
Attorney At Law
2161 NE Broadway
Portland, Oregon 97232
282-7285
® llc
^ a r t la n b
O beeruer
H o n o r*
T h i*
S p e c ia l
1>ay o f
Th e y e a r!
H appy
-pirthbay T>r.
JAartin
leather RinG
He had the power o f a vision.
W e honor the legacy o f Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The dreams o f courageous people have endured
through generations.
N o w it is our turn to make a difference
for the future o f our community.
Experience your power in the new millennium.
S
a
o
o
-
-T H E
POW ER
OF
KATU P O R T L A N D
4