HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Schools nationwide and in the Tampa Bay area are participating in an important initiative this week to promote kindness and help kids feel included.
Students at Martinez Middle School in Hillsborough County are taking part in Start With Hello week.
7th grader Stella Paban has already noticed a difference in her peers.
“I saw some kids that are like really quiet, but then like they would see other quiet kids, and then they would talk to them, and they would kind of like pair up and buddy together,” said Paban.
The initiative is sponsored by the Sandy Hook Promise and is a national call to action week with a mission to make new social connections, create a sense of belonging among kids, and help with social isolation.
“I was just delighted yesterday when we did the hello-grams, and we had to keep going back and make extra copies because we ran out at every lunch,” said school counselor Betsy Dillon.
Martinez Middle students have participated in various activities all week, such as wearing green to promote unity, saying hello to someone new, filling out "hello-grams," and wearing shirts that represent something important to them.
Dillon shared why that sense of belonging and inclusivity is so important.
“It just makes them want to come to school, and if they're in school, then they're experiencing relationships with other people, both kids and adults and positive relationships with kids and adults,” Dillon said.
The initiative is an effort to help kids connect one-on-one, with the hope that the message of kindness spreads year-round.
“I've made a lot of new friends just from Hello week, and I want to, like, keep going and interacting with people,” said Paban.
