Students with Special Needs Boost Culture of Kindness

Birds of a Feather are Healing Together at Green Chimneys

June 17, 2022

May 29, 2018

A colorful and kind mural was recently installed at Green Chimneys thanks to our inspired students, supportive staff and a keen collaboration with fellow nonprofit Ben’s Bells.

Click on the image above to view more photos.

The latest Green Chimneys School initiative adopted one core theme: Be Kind. Students embraced every facet of the month-long mosaic project, from molding tiles to painting them and ultimately installation. During each phase, Green Chimneys social workers and education staff, along with representatives from Ben’s Bells, fostered open dialogues with students about kindness. Throughout the process, Green Chimneys students showed compassion and dedication to contributing to our school culture. Once the mosaic was installed, students could see the outcome of their efforts in the form of a permanent fixture in the school lobby.

Many Green Chimneys School students struggle with social, emotional and behavioral challenges. Opportunities to connect and develop life skills are essential to their success. As a part of our curriculum, ongoing programming introduces topics and activities to spark discussion and create understanding. Collaborations such as the one with Ben’s Bells support anti-bullying efforts. Green Chimneys students learn to identify unacceptable behaviors. They become empowered to express feelings appropriately and support others in positive ways.

Ben’s Bells is a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire, educate, and motivate people to realize the impact of intentional kindness. For three years, Green Chimneys has worked with the organization on a range of programs. We have partnered on a Be Kind project in our dorms and organized group trips to Ben’s Bells’ studio in Connecticut. In 2017, Ben’s Bells Founder Jeannette Maré led a conversation on kindness with students. The organization designated Green Chimneys a “Kind Campus”. Now, Green Chimneys is officially 1 of 211 schools in the country with a Be Kind mosaic.

Brook Lyn the Sheep

Found abandoned in a box with her brother in Brooklyn, NY, this sheep was rescued as a newborn. After she was stabilized by a wildlife rehabilitator, she was driven up to Green Chimneys Farm where the children hand fed her with bottles of warm milk. The responsibility of becoming a caretaker for a little animal like Brook Lyn gives students a chance to recognize their own ability to make a contribution. Many of the children have been “taken care” of all of their lives by caring parents, concerned teachers and mental health staff, but stepping up and holding a bottle for this little orphan lamb transforms them from service receivers to service providers.