Be Kind Maroondah - thank you for sharing your stories with us!

As our Be Kind Maroondah campaign enters its fourth week, we have been inspired and touched by the many people, businesses, clubs and organisations who have jumped on board and shared their positive stories with us.

Our kindness campaign is amplifying positive moments happening in neighbourhoods right across our city. We are proud of you Maroondah!

Did you know that one act of kindness each day can reduce stress, anxiety and depression?

While sport has taken a back seat during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many of us sports-starved, members of the Croydon Ranges Football Club are instead turning their attention to raising awareness of depression, anxiety, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and suicide prevention.

The group is supporting the Push-Up Challenge (25 days, 25 push-ups), which aims to raise awareness of mental health in Australia and encourage positive mental health through physical activity.

More than 50 club members are using the challenge as a way to promote fitness, mental health and community spirit with teammates while raising funds for headspace, an organisation working to strengthen the mental health and wellbeing of young Australians.

Teammates will be challenged to complete 625 push-ups in total over 25 days. Each day, the target of push-ups reflects a different statistic to do with mental health in Australia. In this case, the club is drawing attention to the 75 per cent of common mental health problems that emerge before the age of 25.

“We thought if we could all encourage the concept of ‘it is okay not to be okay’, then collectively we can reduce the stigma surrounding mental health,” wrote Gary Seaye.

Meanwhile, Pooh Bear’s House Early Learning Centre are showing kindness to others by providing care packages for the elderly and families in need.

‘Food relief’ packages containing non-perishable items are being placed outside the centre’s front gate as a way of supporting those who may be struggling financially or unable to do their shopping.

Rainbow drawings created by children from the centre have also been sent to residents of Park Lane Aged Care facility as a way of bringing a little colour to their rooms to brighten their day.

“The children spoke of how excited residents would be when they saw those colourful pieces, and placed a lot of love into creating them,” the centre wrote.

Over the past few months at The Learning Sanctuary Park Orchards, youngsters have been helping to spread cheer and positivity around the centre and in the community by undertaking a #projectkindness.

Lauren Ward wrote: “Educators have been teaching toddlers ways we can be kind to others, through writing letters to loved ones, the local aged care home and to other centres within Australia.”

In addition, children have been creating ‘kindness rocks’ to place around the centre and have decorated the centre’s doors with a rainbow trail as a way of bringing joy, colour and hope to families.

Another organisation showing kindness has been the Melbourne Autism Lions Club in Bayswater North. Members have made up care hampers that have been delivered to healthcare workers at Knox Private Hospital.

There are also many residents, like Nick, who wrote about how he is helping his grandparents through this difficult period.

“Mowing their lawns, doing their weekly grocery shop – and each was incredibly rewarding. It helped to know I was making their lives a little bit easier during this time, while also keeping them safe,” he said.

By showing kindness and compassion, even in some small way, can make a world of difference to someone, and make us feel good too!

To share your kindness stories and see what others are doing, visit Be Kind Maroondah. The page also provides plenty of helpful ideas and resources on how you can be kind to yourself, be kind to others and be kind to business.