OUR LEGACY

Families gathered in New Hyde Park to share some love and appreciation for our local veterans by creating Valentine cards for them. Thank you, Assemblyman Edward Ra for distributing these cards to our local heroes. After getting crafty, we enjoyed some playtime and puppy kisses from Fritz and Verney, two Canine Companion Dogs-In-Training. We love learning about how these remarkable dogs help our veterans lead a life of independence following their years of service for our country.

Self compassion and being kind to yourself should be a priority. Girl Scouts gathered together to practice mindfulness through deep breathing and grounding techniques. Scouts then created colorful mandala window clings that they decided to keep for themselves to use or share with someone they care about.

We wrapped up the year by giving back to children in need. We were happy to help support the Birthday Wishes of Long Island organization by wrapping boxes for their Birthday-in-a-Box program. We were happy to join forces to help children living in LI shelters celebrate their birthdays with joy and excitement in the new year!

A group of 45 volunteers from our community boarded a coach bus and travelled around Nassau County to deliver gifts and bring the joy of the holiday season to children facing cancer, life threatening illness and other challenging life circumstances. Dressed in costume, we visited 13 families...we danced, we sang and we completed silly scavenger hunt challenges with them. It was what the holiday season is all about...joy, laughter, love and kindness. It is a moment none of us will ever forget.
Following the event, our team was recognized with two awards from Kids Need More, Inc. We are so proud to have received the Innovation Award for our hot cocoa fundraisers that helped raise over 10K for their organization. We were equally excited to be recognized as their Rookie of the Year team...the top team out of 30 new Cheer Bus teams that participated this year. Out of a group of over 50+ teams, our team was ranked as one of the Top 6 for our outstanding participation, enthusiasm and fundraising efforts. We couldn't have done this without our incredible sponsors... thank you Allied AsbestosServices and Highmark Building Efficiency!

This is what community is all about. We decided to host one more hot cocoa stand to see if we could reach our ultimate goal...and we did! Thanks to our volunteers for working in the cold, baking homemade goods and for all those who stopped by and donated to our cause, our third hot cocoa stand raised $2,348 in just 4 hours...bringing us to a grand total of over $10,000 for Kids Need More, Inc! We are so proud of everyone's hard work and we can't wait to see the joy on our families faces when we visit them next week!

We were thrilled to work with Madison, one of our youth volunteers, in her quest to help families in need this holiday season. Madison led our volunteers in making handmade gifts for the children and families we will visiting during the Kids Need More Holiday Cheer Bus event. Over two days, our volunteers made personalized post cards, ornaments and reindeer food. As an extra special act of kindness, each volunteer also donated a gift for a child on our Nice List.

We set up shop again to help raise money for Kids Need More, Inc. With an incredible group of volunteers and a supportive community, this time we raised $3,855.50 to help children in Long Island who are facing cancer, life-threatening illnesses, and challenging life circumstances.

Landon, one of our youth volunteers is passionate about helping the homeless and asked if we could help him host an event of his own. Landon inspired others to lend a hand and together, we packaged 120 blessing bags filled with personal care items and snacks for the homeless living in Nassau County. Thank you to everyone who donated items off of our wish list! We also created 40 greeting cards and 50 Thanksgiving placemats to help spread love this Thanksgiving holiday for those visiting The Inn in Hempstead, NY.

We organized a community celebration with Girl Scout Troop 1422 and Vida Coffee Shop on World Kindness Day. Families gathered for the unveiling of our Little Box of Kindness that will now travel around Franklin Square to help kindness grow in our community! We also distributed kindness make and take activity bags for people to continue to sprinkle kindness throughout our community.

Our organization decided to participate in Kids Need More's Holiday Cheer Bus Event to help make the holidays magical for children facing cancer, life threatening illnesses and other hardships. We decided to run a hot cocoa stand to help fundraise and it was a HUGE success. Together we raised $3,845.41!

We met with local girl scouts and taught them how they can be kind to themselves when under stress. The girl scouts created a variety of stress relief tools for themselves and their peers at H. Frank Carey High School.

At this event, we worked together to support our active military personnel. Volunteers created cards, decorated pillowcases and made slap bracelets to be distributed by Operation Gratitude. We also spent time with Joffre, a Canine Companion Dog-in-Training, and learned about the important work Canine Companions do to help Veterans with PTSD when they return home from their tour.

Volunteers helped to spread kindness in our community this Halloween and "chalked the walk" with fun messages of kindness and friendship in our community for young trick-or-treaters.

No tricks...just treating people with kindness on Halloween! Volunteers created adorable ghost lollipops and we created a kindness trunk for NYC children with special needs. Children were able to enjoy a safe holiday celebration with their family and participated in a kindness activity together, while stopping by our trunk display.

This event was designed to help spread kindness to our neighbors in need. Volunteers donated a total of 206 pairs of new socks for homeless men, women and children in LI. We also created handmade pumpkins for Franklin Square library patrons. Attached to each pumpkin was an encouraging message to help offer inspiration and motivation. It feels good to be a good neighbor!

The Great Give Back event with the Franklin Square Library was a day of creativity, compassion, teamwork and giving. Teens created colorful canvas paintings and assembled 100 treat bags for children and teens living in the Ronald McDonald Houses in NYC and Long Island.

Volunteers gathered to connect with senior citizens across the country who are feeling lonely and isolated. In partnership with non-profit organization, Love For Our Elders, teens and adults created cheerful cards filled with friendly, inspiring messages.

Teens explored the impact color has on people's mood and outlook and created mini canvas affirmation paintings, glass bead sun-catchers and colorful bookmarks for chronically ill children and teens living in the Ronald McDonald House in NYC. These handmade gifts were combined with other colorful treats and packaged in beautiful gift bags, to help residents celebrate National Color Day.

Children ages 4 to 8 and their families joined us for an inclusive community service celebration that included a canned food drive, simple hands-on service activities, sensory play and Music & Movement with Jesse Jams! Participants sorted canned food donations for Island Harvest, assembled boxes for The Hance Family Foundation's "Beautiful Me" program and created colorful Color-A-Smile drawings for those in need of support and encouragement. It was a beautiful day of community giving!

Howie's Heart partnered with GLOW4KIDS for a fun Glow Party that consisted of bracelet making & kindness karaoke! Participants created uplifting drawings for hospitalized children and created bracelets that will be donated to children undergoing cancer treatment.

Inspired by our veterans and those we lost on 9/11, we organized a handmade greeting card class for our community to help pay it forward for our U.S. Servicemen & women. Our troops are separated from the ones they love while protecting our freedom. As a sign of gratitude and support, we designed 100 cards that they could send home to those they love most, while they are deployed. Our cards were distributed to troops by Operation Gratitude.

In partnership with the West Hempstead/Franklin Square Association of Girl Scouts, we hosted not one, but two family tea party events for the youngest members in our community! Children brought their favorite stuffed animal with them for tea and donated a teddy bear for a child in need. We collected 36 teddy bears for Gleaning For The World and ended our event with a kindness craft. Children created wooden teddy bears that included kind messages to help brighten someone else's day.

This creative, summer challenge was inspired by the Love & Kindness Project Foundation. Children, teens and families created colorful, kind and inspiring message for their community on their sidewalk or driveway.

At our Pajama Palooza event, we collected pajamas and books for The Pajama Program of Long Island to support their mission for all children to have equitable access to healthy sleep so all children can thrive. We also decorated uplifting cards & pillowcases for active duty servicemen & women that will be distributed by Operation Gratitude. In keeping with a good night's sleep, participants also created a basket of essential oil pillow sprays for the patrons of the Franklin Square Library.

In honor of Dad's birthday, we hosted Howie's Birthday Bash to help children experiencing the trauma of homelessness have the opportunity to joyfully celebrate their birthday. Together, we wrapped boxes for Birthday Wishes of Long Island's Birthday-In-A-Box program. We also held a toy drive, collecting dozens of gifts for children in need.

This Summer, we hosted a Kindness Camp for children interested in giving back and spreading kindness.
Thanks to a micro-grant we received from The Love & Kindness Project Foundation, campers enjoyed four sessions of kindness games, activities and service opportunities.
Week 1: Campers designed giving plates to start a circle of kindness in our community.
Week 2: Campers created glass bead sun catchers for The Plattduetsche Home Society and sent cheerful cards for a senior in need, identified by The Love For Our Elders organization.
Week 3: Campers made 60 handmade seasonal greeting cards for Operation Gratitude to be distributed to active duty service men and women..
Week 4: Campers learned about the importance of being kind to themselves and packaged 720 Beautiful Me necklace kits for The Hance Family Foundation.

Dad cared deeply for our veterans and respected the sacrifice they made for us. When we heard that the Borden Avenue Veterans Residence needed supplies to help care for their homeless veteran residents, we sprung into action and started a donation drive. Children and teens created handmade greeting cards for the residents and our amazing community donated 219 bars of soap, 161 razors, 19 bottles of shaving cream, 48 rolls of toilet paper, 26 rolls of paper towels, 87 pairs of socks, 61 toothbrushes, 40 dental travel kits, 68 tubes of toothpaste, 9 dental floss containers, 2 bottles of mouthwash, 1 container of powder and 4 insulated travel mugs.

Following a magic show at the Franklin Square Library, we gathered to create some magic together. Abracadabra! We turned crafting into kindness by making kindness keychains with inspiring messages and cheerful Color-A-Smile messages to add a little magic to someone else's day.

We encourage our volunteers to come to us with their ideas to help others. Inspired by her favorite singer, Taylor Swift, Elizabeth asked if we could help her host a kindness event to make friendship bracelets for others and collect cat essentials for cats in need. Donations were given to The Meowtsiders, an organization which rescues, spays/neuters, fosters, adopts and provides colony care to cats. Elizabeth's event was a day of friendship, kindness and compassion and a beautiful reminder that one small act of kindness can have a positive impact on so many!

On July 3rd, International Drop A Rock Day, teens gathered to share inspiring messages of hope and unity with others, by creating and dropping kindness rocks throughout our community. Participants created over 40 colorfully unique kindness rocks which cast a wave of kindness across our community.

We organized a Teddy Bear Tea Party family service event for young children. Each child invited their favorite stuffed animal to join them and donated a teddy bear for a child in need living in disaster areas, orphanages and hospitals around the world. These donations will be distributed by non-profit organization, Gleaning For The World, Inc. We ended our event with a kindness craft where families created wooden teddy bears, accompanied by kind messages to help brighten someone else's day.

Families signed up to work a shift at our community lemonade stand or run a pop up stand of their own to help raise money for pediatric cancer research. We worked as a team making and serving lemonade, flagging down passers by and spreading the word that we were trying to put a squeeze on pediatric cancer one cup at a time. Together, with the support of our very generous community, family and friends, we raised over $2,500 for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. This money will help fund one full week of cancer research!

With final exams and the end of the school year upon us, teens gathered to de-stress and create stress reducing tools for themselves and others to use. Teens worked together to assemble a basket filed with DIY stress-balls, fidgets and inspiring, colorful cards with positive affirmations for the patrons of the Elmont
Public Library.

Franklin Square community members gathered together to create signs and decorations for our first Community Lemonade Stand to help raise funds to fight Pediatric Cancer. These signs helped line the streets leading to our Lemonade Stand and successfully captured the attention of passers by to help us raise funds for Alex's lemonade Stand Foundation.

Service Dogs are an integral part of our community and we were proud to organize an event for adults to help the Canine Companion organization. Participants gathered at the Hicksville library and met Canine Companion puppy in training, Joffrey, and his training family. We all enjoyed spending time with this beautiful pup and creating DIY Tennis ball tug toys for the Canine Companion graduates to enjoy as they begin their service journeys. In addition, we created uplifting dog themed greeting cards which will be distributed to hospitalized children by the Cardz For Kidz organization.

In partnership with the Franklin Square Interschool SEPTA & We Play NYC, we planned an inclusive, patriotic service event for all students in the Franklin Square school district to enjoy. As a group, we planted over 100 flowers and beautified the grounds of Polk Street School & created flower planters for each of our elementary school buildings. This sensory friendly, outdoor event, with supports for students with special needs, helped foster an inclusive, welcoming experiences for all.

We invited teens to come to the library and take a "paws" from studying to cuddle with Cooper, a therapy dog, from the Long Island Golden Retriever Rescue Organization. Teens learned more about this incredible organization and how they continue to help save Golden Retrievers every day. Participants created DIY tennis ball tug toys that were then donated to the organization. In addition, we created uplifting dog themed greeting cards which will be distributed to hospitalized children by the Cardz For Kidz organization.

We planned a relaxing evening of sensory and crafting activities designed to help teens learn how to cope with stress and anxiety. Teens created stress reducing tools for themselves and in an effort to help others, they also created baskets of extra tools that were donated to to four local high school guidance counseling departments.

Howie's Heart believes in the power of families volunteering together. Our first Family Service Event was designed to help our youngest volunteers explore what it means to be kind. Children and their chosen family member listened to the story, Kindness Is My Superpower by Alicia Ortega and discuss ways we can show kindness during our daily life. Participants practiced being kind while playing a game together and then created encouraging cards for patients in local children's hospitals. Our cards will be distributed by the Letters of Love organization, whose mission is to provide emotional support for children admitted to children's hospitals around the world.

Ronald McDonald House NY Metro keeps families seeking medical treatment for their sick children near the care they need and the families they love. Together, our volunteers visited the house and baked special desserts for the families. Our loving volunteers created uplifting cards for the families, as well. After a long day at the hospital, we hope this small gesture helped the families feel supported and brought them some comfort and love.

Howie's Heart is proud to be part of The Kindness Rocks Project. Participants gathered for a creative workshop designed to promote self-compassion in our quest to help others. We created Kindness Rocks, adorned with positive, encouraging messages to help build connections with others. Participants will leave their rocks somewhere in their community, for someone else to discover. It is our hope that these unexpected messages of hope will help others feel supported and encouraged.

We organized a private event for the Tradition Blue 2032 Lacrosse team who was looking to participate in a community service event together. Players worked as a team to package over 100 treat bags for the families living at The Ronald McDonald House in NYC. Each of the bags were decorated by the players with positive affirmations and encouraging words. Together, this team helped to keep these families energized and nourished, as they set out on a long day at the hospital with their child.

Our volunteers wanted to change the direction of someone's day with a random act of kindness. We created kindness keychains & Car Window Poetry for unsuspecting people in our community. Car Window Poetry is a global movement where people write & place simple poems on people's car windows to make them smile.

We participated in Good Deeds Day by organizing a secret mission. Our Kindness Secret Agents gathered to select donated books and create thoughtful cards, which they secretly tucked inside each book. Then, they completed their mission by dropping off their books at their assigned Little Free Library location in and around our community.

We are always encouraging others to incorporate random acts of kindness into their day. In celebration of Spring, we travelled to local libraries and distributed Bunny Baskets filled with plastic eggs. Patrons were encouraged to make someBUNNY's day EGGstra special by surprising them with a kind message.

Teens gathered to practice mindfulness while creating colorful mandala window clings for seniors. The residents at the Plattduetsche Senior Living Center in Franklin Square were overjoyed and so thankful to receive them. This was a beautiful way to add some color to the lives of others.

Led by Nanci Catalanotto, The Traveling SmART Teacher, participants created uplifting canvas paintings for children and teens battling cancer. Our paintings were sent to Maxwell's Toybox, a non-profit organization spreading joy in Chicago.

On National Letter to An Elder Day. we hosted a letter writing event for senior citizens who have been identified by the Love For Our Elders organization, as needing some extra love and support. Participants created cheerful, personalized letters for seniors struggling with social isolation and loneliness.

Howie had a special way making his family and friends feel loved and appreciated. Every Valentine's Day, Howie would meet his granddaughter outside of her school with a huge bouquet of red heart balloons.
The Kindness Kick-Off paid tribute to Howie's annual tradition of love. Participants were given red heart balloons and notecards and were encouraged to spread kindness and love by sharing them with others.

It's never too early to teach children about kindness. We created festive, Valentine's Day baskets and donated them to several local libraries in Nassau county. The baskets were filled with cards, pencils and treats for children to package and give to their friends. This random act of kindness initiative was designed to help encourage children to be thoughtful and kind to others this Valentine's Day and beyond.

A child in need and the kindness of a community helped 14 inner-city children with special needs have a very special Christmas. Our Founder, Jennifer Camacho, took to social media to ask the community if they could help donate toys and clothes to a family in need, following a series of hardships. An Amazon gift list was created and over the course of one week we were able to expand our reach and collect enough gifts to help several families in need. Jennifer's family, including siblings Melissa & James, rallied together to shop, wrap and deliver these gifts to families for Christmas. This heartwarming experience helped to inspire the creation of our organization.