Coronavirus Madison: Kids Create Kindness Social Media Site

MADISON, CT — Bryce Leiberman and his dad were out walking their dog in late March as the new coronavirus pandemic had tightened its grip nationally and in Madison, too. They came across a sidewalk chalk drawing not unlike many seen these days; colorful messages of hope left mostly by children for passersby to remind them that this too shall pass. Bryce noticed one had a caption: ‘Brighter Days Ahead.’

“I was inspired at that moment,” he told Patch. “I thought about it and then had a big idea. I corralled my friends that night.”

And the group of Haddam Killingworth Middle School kids created Better Days For All, a social media sharing website where people can post videos or pictures with positive messages. But the idea was bigger than just a place to share pics.

This site, inspired by the gravity of the public health crisis we find ourselves in, is a place where one might post a “video of yourself calling a nursing home and speaking to one of the residents to comfort them.”

“On this website, users have the ability to create an account, post videos or images of their kindness and anonymously upvote other creators. There is also a comments section and a blog …”

Leiberman, 12, and classmates Mitchell Kelsey, 13, Sawyer DiMatteo, 13, Michael Perry, 13 and Chase Smalley, also 13, launched a site where they “hope to have people creating good content that will inspire others across the globe. We hope that you can view others' acts and post your own.”

A fledgling site created by a small group of boys, the goal is to inspire others to send messages of kindness. And they’re smart; people who register for Brighter Days For All to share content have their images and videos curated by the boys, who will moderate all content to “make sure that nothing but positivity is allowed into your feed. All video content is put through a similar filter.”

Here’s their current theme challenge: Supporting Health Care Workers.

“Today, we want everyone to send a message of kindness to all health care workers. This includes doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, and everybody on the front lines working to help our country during this international pandemic," the challenge reads.

Indeed, already shared to the site is a video of people in New York City cheering and clapping for health care workers.

There's a photo of a cookie cake with the heading, Make Others Happy: "My daughter and i made a cake today. We have 3 senior neighbors who live by themselves. We will deliver a piece of happiness to them!"

The websitefeatures a blog, a place to post comments and share ideas and of course, a forum to share photos and videos. The current theme devoted to health care workers is inspiring.

"On behalf of everyone that views this challenge, we thank you. We thank you because we can do nothing else than sit on the sidelines and let this pass. We thank you because you are the ones on the front lines, every single day, working to stop this virus from taking the innocent lives of the amazing people of this great nation, and this world. Some may think that this doesn't matter, that it won't make a difference. We are here to say it does. It doesn't matter if one person sees this post, or if a million do. If we at Brighter Days For All can change one person's day for the better, just one person, we are doing right by ourselves. It is important, because if we don't, we might never have done anything to help the world in this time of crisis. So today, experience the world. Be kind, support health care workers, and make your community a better place.”

Leiberman said that his job is messenger, the wordsmith. Sawyer is the idea man who brings “spice to their conversations.” Mitchell is the web designer. Chase is the coder. And Michael is the “brains.”

Leiberman, who’ll be 13 in May, sounds wise beyond his years as he explains the mission of the kindness website Better Days For All.

“I know life can sometimes seem a little bit grim but we’re here to show you that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark or how dimly lit that tunnel is.”