MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN) – At Sandy Knoll Elementary School, you’ll see positive messages throughout the halls of the entire building. But, in a world where actions speak louder than words, fifth graders Amira Perrier and Eero Rutz are setting an example for their fellow peers.
“Well, I really like helping people out and kind of like being a leader to show other people like what you can do,” said Perrier.
The two are both youth ambassadors for Spread Goodness Day this year and are spreading the message of what this day is all about to their school community and beyond.
“Especially being in fifth grade, there are almost the rest of the whole school is looking up to you as being older and knowing more and so they look up to you and I think if they’re looking up to you and you’re helping other people, I think that they might want to do it in the future,” said Rutz.
“So, an ambassador is just somebody who wants to take the message of Spread Goodness Day and bring it to their community or their part of the community,” said Anna Dravland, Founder, Spread Goodness Day. “So for students at Sandy Knoll for example, they’re sharing it with their friends and their classmates at the school. But, we also have people set up all over the country and all over the state this year where we just send them the information and some sunglasses and let them bring Spread Goodness Day to their world.”
Rutz and Perrier told Local 3 News how they are spreading goodness this year.
“Right now, I just posted like some videos about Spread Goodness Day on my YouTube channel,” said Perrier. “And I passed out some sunglasses and stickers to my class.”
“On Spread Goodness Day, me and my mom I know we’re probably going to go out in the community and pay for someone’s ice cream or something and just make sure if we see someone having a bad day, give them sunglasses or something and just try and help out,” said Rutz.
“To me, it is 100% about empowering them to understand that they’re not growing up to be powerful,” said Dravland. “They’re very, very powerful right now and they can make decisions that are life changing and change the community and change the whole world. So, both of these students have been involved all five years and have expressed exceptional enthusiasm every single year. When we talked about, ‘Do you want to be a little ambassador?’ And their eyes just lit up and they were like, ‘Yes.’ So, the power in that. They felt like they can make change and they can be leaders to make change is really the message for me and I love their enthusiasm that they think spreading goodness is cool.”
These students say they plan on spreading goodness for years to come.
“I think it’s important to be kind like because kindness sometimes brings it to love,” said Perrier.
“Don’t forget the future’s so bright you’ll need shades,” said Rutz.
Spread Goodness Day 2022 is Friday, March 11. This is the fifth year of the holiday that started in Marquette and is spreading across the world. No matter how big or how small, you can participate any way you’d like as long as you’re spreading goodness!
To help keep track of good deeds being done in honor of the holiday, post a picture on social media with #spreadgoodnessday. For more information on Spread Goodness Day, click here.
