All individuals have encountered ups and downs while facing the harsh effects of Covid-19 on their everyday lives. For some, more negatives than positives. A club at Ardsley High School took a stand to combat these negative feelings during the 2020 holiday season. Building Bridges is an admired club by many; saturated with progressive and current ideas from members. Building Bridges aims to promote inclusion and unity in our community. This is accomplished by hosting discussions, activities, all-school events and pre-covid dinners focused on the enduring discussion of race and diversity.
The brilliant minds of Building Bridges came together to form the “positivity project,” an initiative that granted all students, teachers, and parents/guardians of Ardsley the opportunity to spread optimism and holiday cheer. A google form was created for people who wished to submit a message to their selected community member. Thanks to this efficient system, it was possible to spread kindness quickly and without trouble. Donna Drake, the advisor of Building Bridges, adds that “This was entirely student-led and driven, with Caley Navins emerging as project leader encouraging everyone as they worked around the clock to send almost 900 messages! The feedback from students and staff alike has been overwhelmingly positive, and I suspect and hope that this will become an annual tradition for the club. Finally, this project would not have been successful without the enthusiastic participation of so many students and staff, so special thanks to all who sent and spread thoughtful words of kindness, gratitude, and love!”
One of the many teachers who displayed positive feedback from this project is Jaime Marcus, a beloved ninth-grade English and CWR teacher. Mr. Marcus expresses his gratitude by mentioning that "This project really buoyed my spirits these last two weeks. I am so grateful for what you, Caley, and the rest of Building Bridges have done. To go into break feeling good about what we do every day is such a gift to me and our colleagues.".
Furthermore, below is a video produced by Anisha Kumar containing a few of the heartfelt messages that were sent with this project. All in all, the positivity project gave all students and staff a needed reminder that spreading kindness is incredibly simple; The smallest message can make the biggest difference.