An effort to to encourage kindness is underway in Salina this week.

Leadership Salina, a project of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce and Greater Salina Community Foundation, is a program to develop leaders who will have the skills and capacities to move our community forward. As a part of the class, members have the opportunity to use their leadership skills for the direct betterment of the community through a group project. One group project, called Salina SHINES, is going to be presented to the community during this week of November 17th through the 21st. This group project is focused on bringing a sense of community to Salina by letting them individually decide who is making Salina a great place to be and live.

The idea for Salina SHINES, thought up by group members James Curtis, Alan Landes, Mark Millard, Amber Renfro and Amy Zeigler, was to find a way to acknowledge any and all good people or good deeds that make Salina a wonderful place. It stemmed from a desire to focus on the positive things that happen in our community that may go unnoticed. The SHINES is capitalized to signify that we want to Simply Help Inspire Neighbors to Enjoy Salina.

This project could not have been implemented without the help of the Salina Area United Way. They were integral in assisting with the facilitation of the project. With their help, we’ve distributed flyers and stickers to various businesses around town, you can see where in a list below. We ask that anyone who wants to, go ahead and pick up a sticker and flyer or two to hand out to someone you know who’s great. Or you can also give it to a stranger who you would like to show your gratitude to. We want the people of Salina to tell each other that they are great. We want YOU to make sure that the people you live and work with know that they are appreciated.

Some examples of simple good deeds you can do this week include:
• Hold the door open for someone
• Invite a neighbor in for coffee
• Surprise co-workers with a bowl of candy
• Pay for someone else’s coffee

In order to facilitate this project, we worked with the Salina Area United Way, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce and the Salina Media Group. We would not have been able to do this without their help. Specifically, we would like to thank Amanda Michaelis from the United Way, Don Weiser from the Chamber of Commerce and Susan Trafton from the Salina Media Group. We would also like to thank the management of all of our distribution points listed below. You help make Salina shine!

You can find stickers and flyers at the following locations in Salina!
• Bank of Tescott – Santa Fe Branch
• Martinelli’s
• Coldwell Banker
• Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Fresh Look Dry Cleaners on Iron, Crawford & S. Ohio
• All area McDonald’s restaurants
• Mokas restaurant
• The Salina Area United Way