Youth Service America and Hasbro Call on Young People to Keep Kindness Rising

WASHINGTON, September 27, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Today, Youth Service America (YSA) kicks off its second annual Kindness Rising campaign encouraging youth to make a difference in their communities through kind acts and service projects. A variety of project ideas and resources are featured on the Kindness Rising website to help youth plan and implement projects to address community issues and spread kindness. 

Powered by YSA, Kindness Rising is once again sponsored by BE FEARLESS BE KIND, a signature philanthropic initiative of global play and entertainment company Hasbro Inc. For everyone who takes the pledge through Dec. 20, Hasbro will donate a toy or game to Toys for Tots for up to 50,000 children in need this holiday season who have been impacted by disasters such as Hurricane Florence.

Empathy may be the single most critical ingredient to a young person's development. And if empathy is at the heart of what it means to be human, then service is at the heart of what it means to have empathy.

Steven A. Culbertson, President & CEO of Youth Service America

“At YSA, we believe that service supports youth in developing the skills necessary to make a difference in their community and succeed in school, work and life. While there is no single pathway to success, empathy is a must-have skill,” said Steve Culbertson, president and CEO of Youth Service America. “We believe that young people can be fearless and kind by putting their empathy, passion and creativity into action as they make the world a better place.”

Young people, educators, parents and caring adults everywhere can join the Kindness Rising campaign by visiting www.YSA.org/KindnessRising and taking the BE FEARLESS BE KIND pledge “to stand up for others, be inclusive and make a difference in the world.” Hundreds of project ideas and resources are featured on the Kindness Rising website to help youth plan and implement projects to address community issues, spread kindness and put their pledge into action.

“Through our BE FEARLESS BE KIND initiative, Hasbro is passionate about helping young people develop empathy, create a more inclusive world and make a difference,” said Karen Davis, senior vice president of global philanthropy and social impact at Hasbro. “We are proud to once again support YSA and the Kindness Rising campaign, which has helped to activate empathy in thousands of youth to spread kindness and make a meaningful impact in their communities.”

BE FEARLESS BE KIND is Hasbro’s philanthropic initiative designed to inspire and empower kids to have the compassion, empathy and courage to stand up for others and be inclusive throughout their lives and know that they have the ability to make a difference in the world. Learn more by going to http://BEFEARLESSBEKIND.com.

YSA plans to build upon the success it saw last year, as more than 475,000 young people pledged to be fearless and kind and put their pledge into action across all 50 states and 85 countries around the world. Community projects included helping people affected by disasters, teaching children with special needs, standing up for children being bullied, collecting food for veterans and weekend backpack programs and providing birthday celebration kits for children in shelters.

To learn more about the Kindness Rising Campaign, please visit YSA.org/KindnessRising. Follow both YSA (@YouthService) and Hasbro (@Hasbro) on Twitter and search #KindnessRising to join the conversation online.

About Youth Service America

Founded in 1986, YSA is a nonprofit organization that supports youth to learn the skills they need to find their voice, take action and have impact on critical challenges facing their communities. To measure its global impact in more than 100 countries, YSA aligns its outcomes with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the 21st Century Skills. YSA’s program model activates youth through campaigns like Global Youth Service Day and ServiceVote, funds youth-led projects with YSA Grants, trains them to become powerful leaders in their community and recognizes their accomplishments through awards, storytelling and visibility campaigns. To learn more, visit www.YSA.org.

Source: Youth Service America