You may have seen the Kindness Knights appear on the pages of the Minot Public Library, on their calendar, or even the Macaroni KID Minot Calendar. Maybe you've seen posts about the Kindness Knights on your Social Media News Feed or maybe you've heard a few families talking about it around town, made the mental note to look into it but haven't had the chance yet.
Hopefully, you've opened this article to learn more about what exactly the Kindness Knights program is and what they are all about.
This amazing program was spearheaded by Randi Monley. If you are a library patron you are probably very familiar with the fantastic Miss Randi! For those of you who may be new to the area or are just starting out to use the library as a resource in the community, Randi Monley is the Children’s Librarian at the Minot Public Library. She is passionate about helping the community and wants to help foster that passion for the next generations to come. She is also the current President of the Minot Area Council of the Arts, as well as, the North Dakota representative to the Mountain Plains Library Association.
See? Even the word fantastic is an understatement to describe Miss Randi!
I asked Miss Randi to share more about the Kindness Knights Program with Macaroni Kid Minot for parents and children who may be interested in volunteering.
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Developing a love of volunteering in children has endless benefits. It's not only a great service to the community, but has several developmental benefits that impact children's growth as well.
Volunteering within the community helps children to understand the needs of those around them, but not necessarily those they interact with daily. It broadens their understanding of how they fit into their community. For most children, their world mostly consists of home and school. Helping to fulfill the needs of others helps children to see that there are so many different aspects to their community and the world. It helps them connect directly to their community and see how they can help make a difference.
Helping others can also teach appreciation about the luxuries that children have in their lives. I am sure that parents who are fortunate enough to provide their children with basic needs and more have had to talk to their kids about how lucky they are to have their needs meets, as well as the extras that many people don't have. As my boys have grown, we had this discussion a few times to help them understand and teach them about appreciation. We donate their toys that still have years worth of play in them, collect up our gently used clothes to donate, and will often make meals together to help families who may be going through a challenging season.
I've seen the excitement and joy in their faces when they are able to be a part of helping serve those around them. It's often led to more discussions about things they can do to help others, inspired more opportunities to donate items, and helped them to see how their actions can have an impactful and beneficial purpose.
The next Kindness Knights meeting will be on March 12th at 1:00 PM at the Souris River Valley Animal Shelter.
If you are a part of an organization that would like to have the Kindness Knights help with a project, please contact Randi Monley at (701) 838 - 0606.
