Ten years ago, Kansas City experienced a deeply saddening event that rocked our city. Three individuals became victims of an unexpected hate crime at the hands of a White Supremacist, but what was born out of this tragic incident was a more promising future to inspire our youth to be kind. “Love, not hate” became the legacy of this day, along with the conviction to “Make a ripple, change the world.”
SevenDays® is a non-profit organization that facilitates annual community events, curriculums and grants for schools across the metro to empower us to teach our kids how to overcome hate by promoting kindness and understanding. It’s the foundation for engaging in seven different ways on seven different days of action, creating a roadmap of generating kindness all year long.
It challenges students to think, “What can I do today to inspire kindness and carry that forward?” Through membership in Kindness Youth Leadership Teams, high school students apply to get involved and then meet monthly during the school year to work on various aspects of SevenDays®, including the planning of annual events and activities. With an intentional focus on youth in schools, SevenDays.org provides free lesson plans for K-12 faculty to take a role in cultivating a world focused on teaching kindness. Students receive mentorship from adults involved with SevenDays® and go out into the community to perform community service. The group is diverse and intentionally all-inclusive throughout its area-wide schools, grades, ethnicity, race and faiths.
It also provides a variety of opportunities for adults and youth alike to get involved, including two public events to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the April 2014 crime, beginning Wednesday, April 10 with the ‘Kindness Breakfast’ that takes place at the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood. Additionally, on Sunday, April 14, SevenDays® will host its first Community Kindness Festival. This free event will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the grounds of the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park and will be a fun, family-friendly afternoon of music, food trucks and interactive kindness activities.
Kansas City’s own Kate Cosentino, who appeared on NBC’s “The Voice" in 2023, is the festival’s headliner. Cosentino was a cousin of Terri LaManno whose life was taken during this tragic 2014 occurrence. Coincidentally, Kate was previously involved in a former SevenDays® songwriting competition and was one of its winners. In a full circle moment, she will bring her renewed stage presence and inspiring words to this year’s commemoration event. At the breakfast, the committee will honor individuals from two competitions they facilitate: The first is a button design. High school students can enter and submit designs for all seven themes, and one student’s design will be chosen for each theme. The second competition is a kindness action scholarship for seniors. Students can create a kindness project and write an essay about their vision and the impact.
Additionally, a Ripple of Kindness award will be given to an extraordinary individual in Kansas City for doing work that goes above and beyond. Previous winners include former Chiefs quarterback, Trent Green, for his work with Children’s Mercy Hospital and Ronald McDonald House, former Royals General Manager, Dayton Moore, for his C You in the Major Leagues foundation, as well as CEO of Community America, Lisa Ginter for her community impact.
SevenDays’ Co-founder, Mindy Corporon, will be the event’s featured speaker. Mindy lost her 14-year-old son Reat and her father Dr. William Corporon in 2014’s fateful crime, and she has since committed her life to “gathering people to shine the light on peace.” Her impactful accomplishments include starting the Faith Always Wins Foundation - now SevenDays®, - to engage communities with kindness activities and initiatives. She authored Healing a Shattered Soul to reflect on her personal journey of navigating anguish and offering kindness, along with winning a multitude of awards for her powerful thought leadership.
SevenDays® is all about accepting and understanding those around us, and considering them as our neighbors. When one person understands the power of kindness and acts on it, they make a ripple. A ripple can change the world.