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Kindness Walls scattered around campus urged employees to take a positive note and leave one in its place.
Image by Bryan Clifton
Kindness Week Spreads Thanks to Departmental Champions
| There is a kindness in the air at UAMS this week as the campus celebrates National Random Acts of Kindness Week with giveaways and other special recognitions.
Members of Team UAMS greeted each other with smiles and hellos, left sticky notes with thankful messages, held open the door a little longer and stopped to give lost guests directions — all in the name of kindness.
Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, forms the “I” in Kind at a photo wall set up near Doc Java for Kindness Week.
“One of the best things about kindness is it is absolutely free,” said Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA. “It doesn’t cost a cent to smile at someone or wish them a good day, but the impact of those little actions can be absolutely enormous. I want people to associate UAMS with kindness just as much as they associate us with topnotch health care.”
“So many of our employees are already kind,” said Annabeth Collier, special events and employee appreciation coordinator who is in charge of planning the week of activities. “Kindness Week is a way of encouraging and celebrating that behavior so that it becomes second nature to all of us, every day of the year.”
This week’s celebration differed from the first Kindness Week in September, Collier said.
Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D. (second from right) and other employees take an action card from the Kindness Wall in the College of Health Professions.
“I planned fewer campuswide activities,” she said. “Instead, a team of about 40 Kindness Champions planned celebrations for their colleges or departments. Dr. Patterson and I really want to encourage individual areas to lead the charge on kindness and employee engagement.”
Kindness Walls popped up around campus, encouraging employees and students to take an inspirational message and leave one in its place. The College of Health Professions (CHP) started their own wall, urging people to pick a card, read it and perform the act of kindness listed. Information Technology and the Dennis Developmental Center created walls that urged employees to “Throw Kindness Like Confetti.” Occupational Health & Safety urged people to take a smile or positive note of affirmation from their board.
The Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion made snack bags, which they distributed to their neighbors in Admin West and the Student Center buildings. Translational Research Institute also made candy goodie bags, complete with cards of appreciation, and delivered them to Campus Environmental Services. The Northwest Employee Engagement Committee distributed bags of kettle corn.
Sharon Flynn, Suzanna Carlisle, Priscilla Newman and Shuk-mei Ho, Ph.D., vice chancellor of research & innovation, distributed drink cards in the BioMed buildings on Wednesday as part of Kindness Week.
“I am so impressed with the creativity our Kindness Champions displayed,” said Collier. “It was so much fun going around campus and just seeing what everyone did to celebrate kindness.”
On Wednesday, some lucky employees on their way in to work received coffee or drink cards and were encouraged to do something kind for someone else.
A Kindness Bingo challenged rounded out the week’s activities. More than 120 Team UAMS members blacked out the card, including dozens of employees at Regional Campuses and clinics.