(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 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