Children Honored at Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Awards in Newtown

Pictured above: Connecticut-based band Alternate Routes perform at the Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Awards to the packed auditorium at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, Conn. on Feb. 21, 2015

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Newtown Kindness honored 45 children ages 5-18 from 17 states and Canada and an entire school in Iowa at the Third Annual Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Awards. Honorees were recognized in a ceremony at Edmond Town Hall on Saturday for embodying Newtown Kindness’ mission to “think kindly and act boldly” through outstanding acts of kindness.

The five hundred attendees- most of whom wore Charlotte’s favorite color, pink- included Newtown First Responders, community members, and therapy/comfort dogs and their handlers from Newtown Kindness’ therapy dog program, Charlotte’s Litter. Honorees presented their kindness projects that ranged from selling “kindness rocks” to providing thousands of fun bandages to children in hospitals. All of the ceremony attendees were asked to join in the “Nice Bucket Challenge” which encourages participants to conduct one act of kindness this month and challenge three others to do the same.

To commemorate the special day, Charlotte’s parents, Joel and JoAnn Bacon, with author Renata Bowers, and illustrator Michael Chesworth held a limited-edition book signing of Good Dogs, Great Listeners, an endearing children’s book that captures Charlotte’s bold sense of adventure and her love of dogs, weaving a captivating tale of love and kindness.

“We recognize all types of kindness, big and small,” Newtown Kindness Founder Aaron Carlson said in a press release. “Our goal is to make the Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Awards the Oscars of kindness.”

The Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Awards started in February 2013, two months after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, when Newtown Kindness members wanted to do something special to honor Charlotte’s birthday. The organization started the Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Awards and began accepting submissions from kids around the country describing their various acts of kindness.

The honorees received gifts ranging from tickets to see a Broadway musical to attending a major sports game and a chance to meet their favorite player, along with a donation to a charity of the recipient’s choice, which empowers these kids to further support benevolent efforts they believe in.

“People always tell me that they’ve never experienced anything like this before,” Carolyn Walker, Newtown Kindness Board Member said in a press release. “We want to continue to inspire people and reinforce that kindness truly matters.”

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