Light Up Georgia With Kindness Launching in December

SUWANEE, Ga. (Nov. 30, 2018) -- Light Up Georgia With Kindness is being launched this December to strengthen and bring together communities with a new annual tradition. Through the Light Up initiative, every individual, family, local neighborhood, business and organizations are being encouraged to be more intentional in performing acts of kindness from Dec. 1 -24, culminating with the Building Together the Pathway Lit by Kindness luminary display on Dec 24.

Founder Cindi Pickett was inspired by the video song on YouTube, Wishes and Candles, and its message about lives being interwoven together and the role kindness can play for everyone, no matter a person’s background. She wanted to create a symbolic, inspiring visual to represent people’s Light Up efforts and support. Having grown up in Georgia, one favorite childhood tradition was driving around on Dec. 24 to see neighborhoods’ lit white bag pathway for Santa’s sleigh. Pickett wants to recreate that same magic she felt in her youth but this time, create a pathway of Light Up bags to symbolize the thousands of acts of kindness being performed during the 24-day period.

By 5 p.m. on Dec. 24 and into the morning, each participant is being asked to help create a special luminary pathway with white paper lunch bags, lit with two electric tea candles and weighted with sand. Bags can easily be ordered online for as little as $8 per 500. Bags should be placed two feet apart near the street and across driveways, lawns and businesses. Neighbors traveling should ask another to facilitate bags so the luminated pathway remains unbroken. She is encouraging residents to stroll or slowly drive through neighborhoods, with lights dimmed, to see the beautiful Building Together the Pathway Lit by Kindness that connects neighbor-to-neighbor along with other organizations. Supplies can then be packed up and reused the following year.

To inspire others, Pickett is asking people to post their experiences and ideas of kindness on social sites and on the Light Up Georgia With Kindness Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Community-Service/Light-Up-Georgia-With-Kindness-184198562501976/. Also, the www.LightUpGeorgiaWithKindness.com site provides info on how to become a neighborhood/group Light Up Leader and ideas around the initiative. Her goal is for those kindness efforts to continue well into the new year.

Pickett has felt great support and excitement already such as Manager Timothy Anderson of the Suwanee Lowe’s store at 3260 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road offering free sand and white bags, while supplies last. Bags also will be given away at the free community concert performed by the Sugar Hill Choir of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 4833 Suwanee Dam Road at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8 and 9.

She is hoping to grow support each year for her new annual community tradition. Pickett’s ultimate hope on Dec. 24 is to see one complete chain from the Building Together the Pathway Lit by Kindness that connects neighbor-to-neighbor, city-to-city and county-to-county throughout the state of Georgia.