Sunday’s Kindness Walk proclaims anti-bullying message
“One thing I want people to take away from this day is that your voice Is powerful and your actions do matter, so stick up for yourself and others because you never know what impact you could have on a person’s life.”
— Prospect Park resident Hanna Maier
PROSPECT PARK >> Kind people will have a chance to join hundreds of other likeminded kind individuals at the 7th Annual Kindness Walk, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Held in observance of Bullying Awareness Month and Kids Kindness Day, the walk will kick off at Interboro High School on Amosland Road and proceed through the streets of the borough, ending at Park Square Park, located between 9th and 10th Avenues. Children do not have to attend schools in the Interboro School District in order to participate. Everyone is welcome.
Once at Park Square Park, children can enjoy moon bounces, a photo booth, crafts, face painting, spin art, emergency vehicles, informational booths, live music, food, drinks and much more.
Special guest speaker will be Katie Fehlinger, the popular meteorologist who voluntarily ended an eight year career at CBS3 on Sept. 17 to have more family time. Fehlinger will share an important message about bullying. Other special guests planning to attend are Melissa Rice, speaker and author of “The People You Meet in Real Life,” Christy Sanborn, the motivational speaker who is known for her inflatable “free advice” couch in New York City’s Times Square, Nick Kupsey, the author of “The Seven People You Meet in Wawa,” and more.
This is a free event for children, thanks to the generosity of sponsors. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Children who registered in advance will receive a free T-shirt. Adults pay just $5 in advance which includes a T-shirt, food and drink ticket.
A limited number of shirts will be available for purchase at Park Square Park at the conclusion of the walk.
Parking will be available at Interboro High School where transportation to and from Park Square will be provided.
The 2019 walk is made possible through the joint efforts of the Interboro School District, A Community for Change and Prospect Park Borough. This year’s sponsors include Wawa, Herr’s, Planet Fitness, Marty Magee’s Irish Pub, Dave White, Community YMCA of Eastern Delaware County, A-1 Sanitation Services, Heroes Alliance, Delaware County FOP Lodge 27, Power Crunch Kids Protein Snack, and Bette’s Bounce Center.
In 2013, after dealing with bullying from peers in and out of school, Prospect Park resident Hanna Maier, who was then 10-years-old, decided to turn a negative into a positive by holding a Kindness Walk and Bullying Awareness Day. Aided by her mother Tray Maier, Hanna created the event with the intention of bringing people together to work towards the common goal of ending bullying and promoting kindness and inclusion.
“One thing I want people to take away from this day is that your voice Is powerful and your actions do matter, so stick up for yourself and others because you never know what impact you could have on a person’s life,” Hanna, who is now a senior at The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, stated.
Due to Hanna’s efforts, the walk became an annual event in the borough, growing larger every year. Additionally, her grassroots campaign prompted five schools in the Interboro School District to install Friendship Benches. Her efforts also inspired Prospect Park Borough to adopt a bully-free resolution and kindness charter at Hanna’s request. Prospect Park was the first municipality in Pennsylvania to pass a resolution of this kind, and soon other towns, including Norwood and Tinicum, followed its lead.
“The importance of this event should not be understated,” Prospect Park Police Chief David Madonna said. “If we are able to demonstrate, to even just a few people, that they have a community’s support and that their lives hold value, it’s a huge win. This is more than just another march or demonstration. This is a neighborhood telling victims ‘we are with you. You do not have to go through hardships alone.’”