As an educator, Kaitlin Johnstone realized quickly that the children she was teaching didn’t have adequate access to books.  She often spent her own money to provide them with books to have over school breaks.  She started a reading program once a month in which each book centered around kindness and inclusion.  At the end of the lesson, every child in the group could keep a copy of the book they had just read. 

In order to fund the purchase of more books, she enlisted her husband, who worked in custom apparel, to create a line of clothing that centered on messages of inclusion, empathy, love, and kindness.  Although her intention was to provide books for her own students, the idea mushroomed into a way to fund donations of over 124,000 books so far, and they’re just getting started.

Kaitlin and her husband believe that kindness is the most basic human right, but it needs to be more than just simple pleasantries. In order to make a difference and change the world,  kindness must be rooted in justice and action. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

• [00:07:00] How to put your ego aside and ask yourself what systems you might be upholding that are causing harm.

• [00:18:00] How to protect your peace in the face of negativity on social media and in your community.

• [00:26:00] Ways to be proactive about your mental health instead of reactive.

Kaitlin was nominated for the Uplifers by Christina Testut.

Learn more about Kaitlin at Kind Cotton