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Month of kindness kicks off at OV Mall

T-L Photos/JOSIE BURKHART Belmont County Chief Deputy James Zusack, from left, Trinity Health System Community Outreach Specialist Jessica Kelley and Sheriff Dave Lucas pose with children at the Ohio Valley Mall as they pledge kindness.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Ohio Valley Mall kicked off a month of kindness by signing seeds and planting them on a kindness sign.

The Ohio Valley Mall, Belmont County Sheriff’s Office and Trinity Health System celebrated Bullying Prevention Month in October on Thursday morning at the mall by relaying the Kindness Pledge and signing seeds to pledge that kindness. The mall has had a program to promote kindness for more than 13 years, according to Marketing Director Candi Noble-Greathouse.

Noble-Greathouse said each week’s event aims to emphasize being kind with a Halloween theme for the month of October.

“It’s to reemphasize being kind,” she said. “It’s great that we can add, each week, something to talk about, about how to be kind, but it’s normally a Halloween theme.”

Week two will be Camp EERIE, where children 12 and under can enjoy making Halloween crafts and learning science at 11 a.m. Oct. 12 at the mall. For week three, Oct. 14-20, shoppers and children can find kindness rocks hidden throughout the mall and redeem them at Customer Service for a prize. The last week on Oct. 26 will be a Halloween Fall Festival & Costume Party from noon to 2:30 p.m. at center court at the mall, with the Kindness Costume Walk at 2 p.m.

Schools around the Ohio Valley can also participate in the Blue Pumpkin Story Book contest, which is an exercise teachers can do with students. The blue pumpkin is different from all of the other pumpkins because it is blue, and teachers can teach healthy concepts such as thinking of others, the importance of belonging and inclusion. The classroom can then develop a story for the pumpkin, and the winning teacher and classroom will win a pizza party. Teachers may win a $100 mall-wide gift card as well. Teachers can pick up the registration in the mall or reach out to Noble-Greathouse at 740-695-4526, ext. 102, to receive the registration form. The form will also be posted online at the mall’s website.

Trinity Health System sponsors the kid’s zone at the mall, and Jessica Kelley with Trinity’s community outreach attended the kindness kickoff.

Kelley said at Trinity Health System, the staff believes somebody’s health and wellness also encompasses their social well-being, and kindness plays a huge part in that.

“As a community outreach specialist, I see kindness as key to building connections and bringing joy,” she said.

Noble-Greathouse believes events like this are important for teaching kindness in young children. She suggested that children can make their bed at home, do chores around the house, open the door for somebody or write a note to a neighbor to spread kindness all month long.

“It’s just one more way to help Mom and Dad and teachers just reinforce,” Noble-Greathouse said. “They might not learn it at home, or they are learning it at home and they don’t think they need to do it somewhere else, and being in the community and having that as a one more reminder to be kind.”

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