Teacher inspires kindness among students after personal tragedy

Following a idiosyncratic tragedy, a Philadelphia country teacher is inspiring her students and beyond to dispersed kindness.

In 2014, Kristina Ulmer's sister died successful a car accident. When she and her parents went to the country of the accident, they wanted thing of hers to hold. 

"In her wallet, she had a stack of currency due to the fact that connected the broadside … arsenic like, conscionable similar a broadside job, my sister was a waitress, truthful she had each of her tips and I wanted to bash thing with the money, but I didn't cognize what to bash with it then," Ulmer said.

Her sister's currency sat successful a drawer for 4 years – until precocious 2018. Ulmer was teaching ninth people English astatine Hatboro-Horsham High School and the people was speechmaking "Fahrenheit 451." 

"It's a dystopian caller that takes spot successful the future," Ulmer explained.  "I was trying to thatch my students however the publication is simply a informing of however we don't privation to go similar this society."

Then she decided to usage her sister's wealth to assistance thatch the acquisition "because my sister was always, ever acrophobic with different people."

With the money, Ulmer started a task she calls the "$20 Kindness Challenge." Now, each semester she gives her students each $20 to enactment toward a bully deed of their choice. 

Giving back

Students often propulsion successful immoderate of their ain wealth oregon adjacent excavation their twenties with classmates.

"I made bracelets for each simple schooler! Each of them are grouped by grade," said 9th grader Ellie Goldsman.

Another 9th people student, Victoria Kanoff, said she donated to the nonprofit Glad Dogs Nation.

Afterwards, the students person to marque a video astir what they learned.

"It made america consciousness similar we had a bigger interaction than conscionable our budget," said 10th grader Peter Linn.

For immoderate students, similar 10th grader Charlie Boyd, the task was idiosyncratic – conscionable similar it was for Ulmer.

Boyd donated to Parkinson's research, explaining his dada has "been suffering from Parkinson's for astir 10 years. The effect that it has connected him truly inspired maine to find thing to bash with that."

As connection has gotten out, donations person poured successful – helping hundreds of students bash bully deeds implicit the years.

"Being capable to beryllium a portion of similar this assemblage and this people that performed similar specified a bully happening for the satellite was just, it made her people a truly welcoming abstraction for me," said 10th grader Myah Morales Jones.

It's adjacent inspired teachers crossed the state to scope retired and spot however they tin commencement their ain kindness projects.

"One of the champion takeaways for maine was the mode that the students described however they felt… it made them airy up," said Amy Smith, a teacher successful Delaware.

But the astir grateful beneficiary is Ulmer – the idiosyncratic who started it all.

"Every clip the kids are doing something, I spot her being like, 'yeah, that's awesome,'" Ulmer said, reasoning of her sister who inspired the project. "I felt amended similar for the archetypal clip ... I was like, 'oh … that felt good.' And each clip the kids would stock with maine what they did, I felt a small better. This adjacent generation, I don't know, to maine they're gonna prevention the world."