Kindness is ‘a way of being’ in Baldwin

Toy drive benefits Bethany House

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Baldwin High School freshman Lucas Allende said he felt happy knowing that by loading donated toys onto a school bus, he would help brighten the holidays for those less fortunate than he. “It feels nice knowing you’re helping out someone in need,” Lucas, 14, said.

Hundreds of board games, action figures and other toys — dropped off at Baldwin schools in recent weeks by residents — were packed into the bus on Dec. 14 and later delivered to Bethany House, a Roosevelt-based nonprofit that houses homeless women and children in Baldwin and other communities.

Lucas’s happiness on that day was what David Hamilton, a Scottish “kindness doctor” who helped Baldwin students pack the bus full of toys, called one of the side effects of kindness. “Psychologically, it actually has a positive effect on the brain and releases endorphins that help make you feel good,” said Hamilton, who has written numerous books and articles on kindness.

As he watched more than a dozen BHS students stuff the bus to capacity with toys while their classmates sang Christmas carols, he said he could tell Baldwin was a kind place.

“It’s absolutely great to see,” Hamilton said.

Baldwin Schools Superintendent Shari Camhi agreed with Hamilton’s assessment of the community. She said the toy drive was just one example of Baldwin’s benevolence. “We have been doing this kind of work, this effort toward kindness and giving and charity for a long time,” Camhi said, adding that blood drives and similar events have received widespread support. “This isn’t just an event for us; this is a way of being.”

Hundreds of clothes were also donated by the Born This Way Foundation, founded by pop singer Lady Gaga (whose real name is Stefani Germanotta) and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, as part of the organization’s #MultiplyYourGood challenge, in which the nonprofit matches an act of kindness done by a group of people.

According to the Born This Way Foundation’s website, the group’s mission is to empower young people to create a kinder world, which Baldwin students are actively working toward, Cynthia Germanotta said. “The foundation of any thriving school and any thriving community is kindness,” she said, “and Baldwin, you really exhibit that.”

Donna James, a Bethany House director, thanked Baldwin and the Born This Way Foundation for their generosity on behalf of the nonprofit and its founder and executive director, Sister Aimee Koonmen. “Thank you . . . [for helping to] make this Christmas a memorable one for the families of Bethany House,” James said.

Theresa Sparrow-Gill, Bethany House’s resident director, said that many of the toys matched the wish list of children at the houses. “What you guys have done today, I’m in awe,” she said.

Although Dec. 14 was Germanotta’s first time in Baldwin, she is no stranger to the generosity of the school district. She addressed Baldwin Middle School students in September via video message to thank them for participating in the Born This Way Foundation’s 21 Days of Kindness challenge, for which students performed a kind act for three consecutive weeks. The challenge was inspired by the idea that it takes 21 days to create a habit, such as being thoughtful of others.

“I’m enormously proud of the students,” Germanotta said. “They really know that there [are] a lot of children who are less fortunate than they are.” Germanotta had invited Hamilton — who was in New York to interview her for an article on kindness — to Baldwin to witness the toy drive’s conclusion. “I’m very impressed by what’s going on here,” Hamilton said.