Meet Laura Reiss | Founder & Chief Kindness Officer for the Kindness Matters 365 Foundation

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Reiss and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, how does your business help the community or world?
In 2008 I started an after-school Kindness Club at my children’s elementary school in South Florida. Today, we are a 501(c)(3) that encompasses over 100 programs in 12 states nationwide, educating thousands of children each month in our after-school Kindness Clubs and our Kindness-in-Schools classroom programs. Our programming has always been essential, taking care of ourselves and each other has never been more important than it is right now. Self-awareness, self-regulation, a growth mindset, and service-learning are some of the life skills our kids learn through our programs – these skills help cope with the present, and they are also key influences that will determine our children’s’ future well-being and what they can accomplish in their lifetime. It is up to us to equip our young generation with the tools they need to create safer environments and resilient communities.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Absolutely – thank you! So, there is something truly magical that happens when you realize your purpose in life, follow your dreams and dedicate yourself to the betterment of the world. Taking that a step further, it’s even more magical when you empower and support others to find their true potential and follow their own dreams. This magic occurred for me back in 2008 when I saw a need in our schools…although they were learning science, reading and math, there was something really important missing in their education. That was a turning point in my life – when I decided to launch my “career” as the Founder of KM365, my true calling, to create a program that helps kids transform from feeling worthless to worthy, isolated to included, fearful to empowered, intolerant to kind. I just knew that, through teaching every child to be grateful, compassionate, and kind, our future would be a better world.

I started simple in 2008 – with one after-school Kindness Club at my children’s elementary school in South Florida.  Roll forward a decade…we are a 501(c)(3) that encompasses over 100 programs in 12 states nationwide, educating thousands of children each month in our after-school Kindness Clubs, our Kindness-in-Schools classroom programs, and our new online Kindness Anywhere clubs. We have developed and implemented an effective and engaging program that equips kids and teens with the knowledge and skills for their social and emotional well-being, and an experiential service-learning model that empowers their exploration and discovery in caring for themselves and each other. We see the results of our programs when the kids have heathy attitudes, more self-confidence, strong relationships, improved focus and academic achievement, and respect for all. The kids then practice and internalize what they learned and create or participate in service projects in collaboration with their communities. For example, we have collected and distributed over $1,600,00 in goods, supported over 45,900 individuals, raised $3.5+ million in disaster relief, reported over 650,000 community service hours and impacted the lives of tens of thousands of people of all ages, and backgrounds.

Today, I am the Chief Kindness Officer of the Kindness Matters 365 Foundation, and we are committed to achieving global kindness, to the social and emotional wellbeing of every child and to having every child on the planet be truly kind. My commitment is that our children, their children and their children’s children are raising their children in a better world. Our programming has always been essential and taking care of ourselves and each other has never been more important than it is right now. Self-awareness, self-regulation, a growth mindset, and service-learning are some of the life skills our kids learn through our programs – these skills help cope with the present, and they are also key influences that will determine our children’s’ future well-being and what they can accomplish in their lifetime. It is up to us to equip our young generation with the tools they need to create safer environments, resilient communities, a better world.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Yes! Together, we are more powerful than we are as individuals; our success is collaborative and a result of our entire Kindness Matters 365 Family. We are so grateful for our hundreds of volunteers, Ambassador leaders, community partners, contributors, and participants. Leading the charge are: Karin Gellen, Executive Director; Julie Rios, Director of Programming; Shari Kline, Director of Technology and Implementation;  Angela Samay, Director of Finance; Liz Wein, Office Manager, Ellen Van Olden, Volunteer Coordinator; Piper Fults, Merchandise Coordinator; Mia Paolini, Professional Photographer; and our Executive Board: Andrew Reiss, Sandy Gerstein, Summer Faerman, Mara Stern, Jill Siegel, Allyson Harman, Melissa Cohen, and Laurie Riopelle.

Website: www.kindnessmatters365.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindnessmatters365/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kindness-matters-365/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kmatters365
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kindnessmatters365org/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7kxe9K8wJyE8AcLpwkrzQ

Image Credits
Mia Lynn Photography and Nilaya Sabnis Photography