#SomethingGood: Fifth Grader Starts Kindness Club at McKinney School

The McKinney ISD adopted the mission of "MISD Lives Kind" last fall.

This year, a fifth grader named Maddie White has embraced it with a big idea for her school, Naomi Press Elementary.

"This kid took it among herself this week to email her principal, lay out her ideas to start a student 'Live Kind' committee at her school, scheduled a meeting, and was officially approved to start her campaign for others to join today! I love her heart and her passion for others," her mom Misty Young wrote in an email to NBC 5.

"She's a world changer," said Rachel Constantinescu, the principal at Press Elementary. "There were probably 30 ideas. So I said, let's start with number one. That was the most important to her."

Number one on Maddie's list was a change at recess.

"On Friday, we did this switch it up recess where we got to play with someone we didn't know," she said. "I actually played with a few new people, and I'm excited that they now know me."

What excites Maddie more is the new club at her school. She's the president and two friends jumped in as vice-president and secretary.

"It makes me joyful that other people are joining the kindness committee already," Maddie, 10, smiled.

Posters in the lunchroom, books in the library and sticky notes on lockers all reinforce the message to be kind.

The principal and even the superintendent, Dr. Rick McDaniel signed up to join Maddie's kindness committee.

"This young lady is a fine example of what we hope all of our students will do, and that is to go out and promote kindness throughout our district," McDaniel said.

Yet Maddie also believes creating a culture of kindness comes from within and experience has taught her it can happen.

"There were a few bullies in third grade 'cause I actually had one. I had a bully," she told us. "And, I helped him be kind."

Maddie's kind gesture to ask the bully to be her study partner turned things around.

And, it convinced this observant, sensitive, big-hearted child that the change she wishes to see in others starts with her.

"If I see someone not being kind, I ask them. 'How can I help you live kind today?'" she said.

That eight-word question came to my mind as Maddie talked to her mom. She gives her parents, Misty Young and Dale White, full credit for the example they set.

"Like my dad over there, he's kind to everybody. And it makes me very happy. And I got that spirit from my dad and my mom," she said.

Maddie believes if others make her question part of their day, she'd see the change she hopes for. Here's how it would like in her mind.

"If we see someone being mean, we could say, 'How can I help you live kind today?' and they'd just stand there and think. And they'll say something or if they don't say anything, I'll say, 'How 'bout you write a nice note to your teacher and they'll feel great!"

"If I say, 'How can I help you live kind today, they would live kind every day. And it could change McKinney ISD. And it could change my school. It would change everything around me," she continued. "It just makes me feel great when people are kind to others."

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