Being able to speak at this University is an honor I have been looking forward to for the past 6 months.  Dr. John Stratton, who heads the Department for Non-Violence, and I have been planning this day since then.  In response to a terrific level of interest, Dr. Stratton added a second day to my visit.  This was really a dream coming true for me, and maybe, just maybe, my Kindness mission is having an impact and is truly making a difference.  It’s my hope days like this will happen more frequently as The Kindness Bus Tour carries on.                  Student extraordinaire, Sara Garska, who handled most of the logistics for my visit, helped me work the crowd for three hours at the student union. Many students remembered our visit from last year’s Kindness tour. Kurt, one of those students, was once again very complimentary about my mission.  We were then whisked away to help teach an English class at the University and then work with a middle school class at the Ray Kroc center near the Ashland campus.
The main event for me was my 70 minute talk in the evening to a very appreciative audience, followed by a discussion group. Thank you Ashland University.

Almost a year to the day that I first visited Case Western Reserve University, this year’s visit was twofold, promoting “Cleveland, The City of Kindness” and One Million Acts Of Kindness. Ten or so students remembered my visit from last year and were happy to see me once again. In the short three hour visit, I surveyed more than 300 students. The opinion was nearly unanimous; 285 students loved the idea, 1 was against and 2 said maybe. People of all ages are loving Cleveland being promoted as “The City of Kindness.”  Since the beginning of my campaign 5 days ago, over 2,000 people favor my idea with less than two dozen opposing it.  I never could have guessed how positive the feedback would have been.
A student named Abbott from Wisconsin, loved the fact that Cleveland has such friendly people. Another student told me that she had just read the article about One Million Acts Of Kindness in September’s issue of Cleveland Magazine. Word is starting to spread.

The interest in “Cleveland, The City of Kindness” grows with each passing day. I started the day with a quick visit to the historic West Side Market and talked with most of the vendors. Melody, the owner of Mel’s Deli was quick to show her interest because of her caring heart. She puts her heart and soul into her business and her customers.
Arriving downtown, I was able to talk with Teresa from the narcotic/gang impact unit of the Cleveland Police department, she shared many pertinent thoughts about reaching kids at an early age. Amanda, with her dog Oliver, was one of the 500 people I surveyed today. Amanda works for the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland, she is going to try to arrange a visit by The Kindness Bus Tour to her organization.
The totals are approximately 1,800 agreeing with my mission and 19 not agreeing.  One of my favorite conversations today was with a woman in her 70s who has lived in Cleveland all of her life, she said “This is just what this city needs.”

Cleveland’s West Side Market was the perfect spot for The Kindness Bus Tour to visit this Saturday. Thousands of locals and visitors were here to do their shopping and I was able to locate myself near the main entrance. People from across northeast Ohio and a few surrounding states came here on this beautiful day. People of all ages, from all walks of life stopped by to learn of my mission. I was able to talk with 500 people today about the “Cleveland, The City of Kindness” campaign. Thus far, in 3 days I have surveyed approximately 1,300 people; 1,250 agree wholeheartedly and 15 don’t agree. People want something better for this city, their city, in very big numbers.

Today I started in earnest on my “Cleveland, The City of Kindness” campaign. One thing became clear instantly; kindness is an easy sell. Everyone wants to live in a city where people respect one another.
I set up on one of the busiest street corners where foot traffic is steady. I found out almost immediately how big the interest is, in this campaign. Nearly everyone was positive about hearing of this newly proposed idea. After an hour or so I headed to the City Hall region, while talking with people on their lunch hour, Jay Westbrook, a Cleveland City Councilman, stopped by, he loved the idea and invited me to talk with council to propose my idea at an upcoming council meeting.
I was now inspired more than I could ever be and worked by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame building and the crowd getting ready to head to the Indians game. I’m thinking that I’m on to something.