The Scoop On How Framingham Girl Scouts Created 'Kindness Day'

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Forget Iowa and New Hampshire and impeachment and all that. The biggest political story of the week is about how a local Girl Scouts troop got the Framingham City Council to make Valentine's Day into something much nicer.

At Tuesday's meeting, the scouts from Troop 69236 strode into City Hall, sang a song about kindness to the Councilors, and then got their new Feb. 14 holiday: Framingham Kindness Day.

It's all part of the Girl Scouts' quest to earn "Inside Government" badges, says troop leader Binita Patel. To get the badge, scouts have to complete a set of tasks, like getting involved in local government. The scouts have been exploring local and state government and meeting with elected officials like Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer and state Rep. Maria Robinson.

During a recent meeting, the scouts were having a casual conversation about how Valentine's Day focuses too much on love and romance. The troops wondered why there couldn't just be a day devoted to kindness — and that gave Patel an idea.

She reached out to her City Councilor in District 4, Mike Cannon, and asked if the troop could actually make Kindness Day happen. Cannon obliged, and invited the troop to Tuesday's meeting to watch the resolution get voted on by the Council.

"It was a nice opportunity because it showed them the steps of how to be heard and make change," Patel said. "If you do it right, people will listen."

Needless to say, the Framingham Council passed the troop's Kindness Day resolution unanimously.