At Seeds of Caring, we believe all children have the power to make our community a kinder, more connected place to live. Our Kindness Corps program invites 2nd-4th grade student groups to use their hearts, hands, and minds to reflect and take action on a variety of community needs.
Through highly interactive lessons aligned with Collaborative For Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the State of Ohio Social and Emotional Learning Standards, children develop a sense of purpose, grow in empathy, and experience increased self-efficacy as they work together on service projects benefiting local nonprofits. This program includes a step-by-step curriculum and all needed program supplies. Perfect for classrooms, after-school programs, and kindness clubs.
In the 2024 school year we offer the program in Columbus, OH with a limited invitation only pilot occurring in Indianapolis.
Yes! Each lesson is aligned with State of Ohio social emotional learning standards and with CASEL competencies for social emotional learning.
Each lesson has a video from Seeds of Caring introducing the community need, a game to practice social emotional skills, a book, and a hands-on project to either keep or donate to a local non-profit partner.
Approximately 60-90 minutes total, but the lessons can be broken into smaller components over several sessions if preferred.
The program is designed to complete one lesson each month for six months, though some groups choose to complete them in a shorter time span, and that’s fine too!
Yes. Contact our Operations Manager, Sarah Jorgenson, at sarah@seedsofcaring.org
The program begins in November each year. At this time, we do not have the capacity to start schools in the middle of the year.
We offer an online training session for educators in October to learn about the program.
Our curriculum is highly detailed and we believe educators benefit a great deal from the opportunity to work through the materials with our staff. For that reason, educator training is mandatory for schools that receive our program for free.
If a school purchases the program we will not require the educator training, but it is still highly recommended that educators take advantage of the training sessions.
Spring: Sites register for the program
August: Seeds of Caring begins preparing your supplies
October: Educator training and supply distribution
November: Program begins, with educators completing approximately one lesson per month with students
May/early June: All leftover supplies are delivered to Seeds of Caring and donations are transported to our non-profit partners
The Kindness Corps is student programming for kids from 2nd grade through 4th grade. These groups can be classrooms, after-school programs, Kindness Clubs led by school counselors or parents — anywhere groups of kids come together to learn with caring grown-ups. The Kindness Corps program works best when one grade level completes the program each year. As students progress through elementary school, they all get to participate in the program. We do not change the lessons drastically year after year, so if a student completes the program in 3rd grade and then does it again in 4th, it will be essentially the same material.
Our program is free for schools that are part of the Title I Schoolwide Program. Click here to see if your school is part of the Title I Schoolwide Program. You may need to check with your administration or district for this information.
For all other schools and groups, we have a per student fee of $20 for the program. Take a look at this page that shows the value of working with Seeds of Caring and this page that shares some ideas on how to cover that per student cost.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
ETSS and Community Refugee & Immigrant Services (CRIS): both local organizations that help new Americans
St. Stephens Community House
Senior living centers like Wesley Glen and National Church Residences
Registration is currently closed, but click on the button to fill out an interest form for 2025-26. Still have questions? Contact Sarah Jorgenson at sarah@seedsofcaring.org