Mayors from South Florida spread message of kindness
Leaders across Florida have joined a grassroots movement to inspire kindness on social media.
The Be Kind movement, which began when artist Gini Bonnell handpainted a sign for her front yard in Richmond, Virginia, has spread across the country.
The mayor of Bonita Springs, Peter Simmons, got involved through a mutual friend who knew Bonnell.
“The mayor of Richmond, Virginia, and some other mayors in Virginia were posting the sign online to be kind, and she asked if I would be interested to help spread a nice message in a bad time when we’re watching the news and there’s a lot of things going on in the world that aren’t real positive,” he said.
Simmons reached out to other mayors in Lee County, and even got Matt Surrency, president of the Florida League of Mayors, to include the Be Kind sign in his Facebook profile picture.
“We have spread this message statewide now, with the Florida League of Mayors,” he said.
The mayors of Cape Coral, Fort Myers Beach, Estero, Sanibel, and Bonita Springs posed together with their signs at a mayor’s meeting on Dec. 19.
Cape Coral Mayor Joe Coviello said he feels the political climate has become contentious, and he sees a need for this kind of reminder on social media.
“Most times I see more nastiness than I see kindness. That’s one of the reasons why the Be Kind movement was exceptional, and something that we all should be looking at, not only during the holiday season, but throughout the whole year,” he said.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Tracey Gore said the message is important to her because the island is constantly receiving visitors and new residents, and she wants to inspire everyone to be a little kinder.
“I’m so happy that Peter got us involved in this,” she said.
“Sometimes one gesture of kindness can change somebody’s whole day.”