At Giva we search for organizations, large and small, that are doing a great job of changing the world around them for the better; and we are pleased to salute them here!
In an earlier blog post we discussed how online platform ServiceSpace encourages people to dedicate themselves to service. KindSpring.org, a service project founded by ServiceSpace in 2003, is another community for selfless and generous people. Through its "gift-economy" mission, KindSpring hopes people will perform selfless acts for others, and ask those individuals to pay the kindness forward.
In 2003, a college student advocated for the end of hazing and bullying. Nipun, the founder of ServiceSpace, worked avidly with this student to create a sanctuary for magnanimity and selflessness. Today, this community of approximately 70,000 members write and send SmileCards, create "21-Day Challenges," and share uplifting stories among each other.
More than 80,000 "kindness stories" have been written and shared through KindSpring. A story may be about a small act of kindness, such as witnessing somebody share an umbrella, or as personal and touching as mending broken family ties. Whatever the content is, each story is a celebration of human kindness.
The impressive amount of stories on KindSpring is only triumphed by the number of SmileCards shipped out worldwide. SmileCards, which are business-size cards that kindly ask someone to pay an act forward, come in a variety of languages. Over 1.5 million SmileCards have been sent out to more than 90 countries. Perhaps even more incredibly, KindSpring ships these cards for free. All of KindSpring's services are free, thanks to a wealth of generosity from donors.
Finally, KindSpring also introduced a series of 21-Day Challenges. These challenges are rooted in kindness, mindfulness, patience, and other traits that encourage participants to find their own personal happiness. Through these challenges, participants commit to performing selfless actions for 21 days.
KindSpring embodies ServiceSpace's dedication to inner transformation for outer change. This hub for kindness, operating entirely from volunteer power, always encourages people to join. Volunteers interested in KindSpring can help ship SmileCards, edit newsletters and stories, build its social media presence, or find other ways to make a difference for others.