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'Kindness Color Walk' along Greenway Trail Aug. 8

'Kindness Color Walk' along Greenway Trail Aug. 8
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By West Kentucky Star Staff
Jun. 19, 2015 | PADUCAH, KY
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 19, 2015 | 07:50 AM | PADUCAH, KY
The Guess Anti-Bullying Foundation is hosting the first annual Paducah Kindness Color Walk at 9 am on Saturday, August 8, at Noble Park. Participants will walk a route through the Greenway Trail.

 

"The goal is to bring the entire community - students, parents, teachers, and community members - together for a fun event to start the school year off with a focus on kindness," said 12 year old co-founder Morgan Guess. "We intentionally planned a walk versus a run, as we wanted it to be fun and not competitive. It is about building friendships and opening a discussion about how kindness can lead the way to a better school culture."

Morgan and her mother, Susan Guess, founded the Guess Anti-Bullying Foundation in 2011 as a result of Morgan's personal experiences with bullying. Since then, the duo has raised over $50,000 for anti-bullying programs in local schools and brought several notable guest speakers to our area. It is their goal to raise awareness of the bullying crisis in our country and to work towards creating attitudes and behaviors of kindness in our schools.

"A new study was just released saying that bullying has decreased in our country," Guess said. "We are happy to hear that news, but statistics still show that one out of every five students experience bullying. We believe that kindness needs to be practiced and talked about by all of us. We cannot expect our students to be kind if they aren't seeing it mirrored by their teachers, their parents, their coaches, or at church."

Organizers are asking for participants to bring school supplies which will be donated to the United Way "Stuff the Truck" project and shared with various shelters in the area where students go for help.

"Many students lack basic supplies such as paper and pencils during the school year. These donations will hopefully reassure students in need that their community cares about them and their education," said Morgan. "It's one more way that we can spread some kindness in our schools."

Registration is $10 and includes a t-shirt for all participants who register by July 15. Shirts will be available for walk-up registrations on August 8 while supplies last. The registration form can be found at www.guessantibullying.com.  

Questions can be sent to Susan Guess at susan@paducahbank.com.

The foundation has already secured support from McCracken County Schools, Paducah Public Schools, Murray State University, Folsom Puppets/Bob Dog, Computer Services Inc. (CSI), Paducah Bank, the McCracken County Library, the Mayor's Youth Anti-Bullying Task Force, Global Wine and Spirits, Emerging Media Productions, and Bristol Broadcasting. Proceeds from the event will be used to provide anti-bullying resources and speakers to our area schools.

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