Kindness Club spreads cheer during pandemic

WASHOUGAL — Students in Jemtegaard Middle School’s Kindness Club have pushed on despite school closures. The club meets virtually on Zoom each Wednesday. “Our focus is about sharing kindness with others by creating small gift boxes filled with creative trinkets and uplifting notes,” club organizer and school parent Kalle Fletcher said in a news release. The club has made Kindness Boxes for Jemtegaard students, Clark County’s Teen Talk program, and the Salvation Army of Washougal to add to their food bags. Fletcher and her daughters, Emerson and Elliot, delivered 162 bandanna face masks to the Knights of Pythias Active Retirement Center in downtown Vancouver. Marriott TownePlace Suites Vancouver asked the Kindness Club to make special signs with the names of each employee laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “With these kits, the students essentially create tangible kindness to give away,” Fletcher said. Fletcher’s goal is to continue the club, but won’t be able to do it without donations of craft supplies and finances. A GoFundMe account has been set up for JMSKindnessClub. Reach Fletcher at mykindnessclub@gmail.com to receive the club’s supply wish list.