‘Kindness is sometimes forgotten,’ but Stony Brook student pushes for change

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WESTFORD — A middle school student is hoping to make a difference in the lives of the international community. 

Rachel Newman, a sixth grade student at Stony Brook School joined the youth board of International Expressions of Kindness, an organization dedicated to promoting kindness around the world. Members work to organize their community for projects to promote kindness for others. 

Students organize behind Ukraine 

“We were still trying to figure out what kind of project we wanted to do,” Rachel told WestfordCAT. “When the Ukraine war started, I wanted to help the children in Ukraine.

She continued, “we had this idea of making bracelets for displaced children.” 

Rachel organized both Stony Brook School and Abbot Elementary School to create 512 bracelets to be sent abroad. Bracelets created by Stony Brook students were sent to The University of Warsaw in Poland.

The hundreds of bracelets each have their own unique design, with students adding their own unique flair to their project. 

“They’re all very unique,” Rachel said. “About half rainbow loom bracelets and some made from twine and wire but the other half of them are made from string.” 

Students spread messages of hope, love 

Most bracelets, however, were created to connect with different themes of kindness, like hope and love. 

“A lot of people wrote kind messages and messages of support toward the kids in Ukraine,” she said. 

She hopes her project will make an impact, and touch the lives of those affected by the conflict. 

“I wanted to show them that there’s people in the United States that care about them,” she said. “[I wanted to show] that they are not forgotten.”

She continued, “I hope they find the bracelets as a message that people care about them.”

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