Bolingbrook Celebrates Pioneer Elementary School Kindness Day

Pioneer Elementary School Kindness Day was first introduced by Bolingbrook’s Mayor Roger Claar on May 18, 2018 in recognition for the overwhelming kindness Samantha Yelenosky, a resident of Bolingbrook and then student at Pioneer Elementary School, received from classmates, teachers, staff and her community when she returned to school after facing tremendous health challenges. Her parents wanted to share their gratitude for the kindness she received and express how simple acts of kindness were critical to their daughter's recovery.

This year we continue to honor and celebrate Pioneer Elementary School Kindness Day with many kindness activities the week of May 12 culminating with a school ceremony on Friday, May 17, 2019 and a community celebration on Saturday, May 18, 2019 (Details - Click Here).

Throughout the week “Cards of Kindness” will be prepared by students and teachers for patients at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital (www.luriechildrens.org) and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (www.sralab.org/give). “Coins of Kindness” will also be collected for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana (https://rmhccni.org). Samantha and her family received services from these different organizations and many others including Make-A-Wish Illinois (https://illinois.wish.org/) and expressed how critical they were to Samantha’s recovery.

“We are forever grateful for the overwhelming Kindness we received and continue to receive during our daughter’s difficult journey,” Marissa and Mitch Yelenosky both expressed. “Together, we can share the impact that kindness has on a person’s life and inspire others—especially our youth—to be kind to each other.”

On Friday, May 17th, the Kindness Day ceremony at Pioneer Elementary School, 1470 Raven Drive, Bolingbrook, begins at 1:30pm. Kindness Day Ambassadors (former Pioneer Elementary School students) will be present as well as representatives from the organizations the school is helping and the Village of Bolingbrook. Homerun Inn Pizza, www.homerunninnpizza.com, located on 1280 W Boughton Rd, Bolingbrook, will be providing pizza for all of the staff that day and giving the more than 500 students a coupon for a free 6 inch pizza to use at the Bolingbrook restaurant. Pioneer Elementary School staff and Kindness Day Ambassadors will be wearing Kindness Day T-shirts, which were donated by Marco Promos (www.marcopromos.com) after recently recognizing the Pioneer community as “Difference Makers.”

Dog Dayze, a doggie daycare and boarding company, will introduce their mascot Dayzee and share information about their Dog Kindness workshop being held the next day.

The Fountaindale Library’s Studio 300 professional video crew, which also helped to design the Kindness Day logo, will also be there to capture highlights from that day.

“We are excited to celebrate Pioneer Kindness Day 2019 with the entire Bolingbrook community. We practice kindness each day and understand the importance of supporting each other as we learn, work and grow together,” said Carmen Killingsworth, Principal of Pioneer Elementary School. “Our school wide theme, ‘You are Never Alone in the Pioneer Zone’, is a message of support, encouragement and strength to every stakeholder in our community.”

On Saturday, May 18, 2019, the celebration continues and the community is invited to record FREE Kindness video messages about someone they know or to thank someone that was kind to them from 1:30pm-4:00pm at the Fountaindale Public Library’s Studio 300, located at 300 W. Briarcliff Rd. (Details - Click Here) These messages will be shared on their YouTube and social media pages. For those that can’t make it to the studio, they can record their own Kindness message and submit it online at fountaindale.org/kindness.

Additional Saturday, May 18th activities include:

• Taco Dale, www.tacodale.com, located at Two Rivers Plaza, 1196 W Boughton Rd, will be giving away, with each entree purchased, one free ice cream cone or specialty popsicle from their Ilda’s Ice Cream and Pastries shop.
• Dog Dayze, a Boarding and Doggie Daycare, https://www.dogdayze.com/, 570 W Boughton Rd, will be hosting a “Dog Kindness” workshop from 11am-1p for children, where they will learn how to be kind to, how to care for and stay safe around dogs. Child must be accompanied by an adult.
• Ashbury’s at Boughton Ridge, https://boughtonridgegolf.com/bar_grill/, 335 E. Boughton Rd, will be celebrating with Kindness messages and offering a free kid’s meal with every adult entrée purchased.
• Chicago Billboards, www.chicagobillboards.com, will be sharing Kindness messages on their Bolingbrook Digital Boards inviting the community to the Fountaindale Library’s Studio 300 Kindness Day recordings.
• Simply Yoga Studio, https://.mysimplyyoga.com/, 479 N. Bolingbrook Drive, Yoga instructors will give students a complimentary pass that day to share with someone else.
• Tim Wallace Landscaping & Supplies, https://www.timwallacelandscapesupply.com, 1481 W Boughton Rd, will be sharing Kindness messages.
• St. Francis of Assisi Church, https://www.stfrancisbb.org/ , 1501 W Boughton Rd, will be inviting the community to the Fountaindale Library’s Studio 300 Kindness Day recordings.

Article Submitted By Michael Carpanzano, Volunteer Bolingbrook Patch Mayor