Lewis County residents may have noticed some improvements in the Winlock area over the last few years, and they have a group called Small Acts of Kindness to thank for it.
Small Acts of Kindness is a nonprofit founded about five years ago when a group of friends who had been working together at another nonprofit decided they weren’t satisfied with progress in their community.
“We were the ones doing the fundraising and doing the work trying to get Winlock started again, so we left and said, ‘There are places that are kind of in a Catch-22. There are places that need resources but don’t know how to get it,’” said Timothy White, president of Small Acts of Kindness.
White is retired and treats his work with Small Acts of Kindness like a full-time job. Indeed, the nonprofit is an entirely volunteer-based organization. When the group needs volunteers, members simply ask people they know.
“I’ll come up with some crazy idea and I’ll say to the board, ‘We should do this,’ and the board will usually go along with it. The board will set the project and then we reach out to the network and it snowballs until we get the result we’re looking for,” White said.
According to White, because of the group’s volunteer-based nature, all the money Small Acts of Kindness raises goes directly to helping Lewis County and Ryderwood.
That money has gone a long way toward helping the community.
Over the years, Small Acts of Kindness has given money to girls’ youth sports, which have been traditionally underfunded relative to boys’ sports; made holiday meal boxes for Thanksgiving and Christmas; and run the Giving Tree in Winlock, which last year gave about 600 presents to over 100 children. The group also spent about $3,000 a year to replace flags on 25 flag poles across the county. Recently, Small Acts of Kindness has been working with a motorcycle association to build new trails and maintain old ones near the Cispus Learning Center in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
The nonprofit is currently getting ready for its Concert For Kindness event at the Napavine Amphitheater on Saturday, July 16. In preparation, Small Acts of Kindness has been helping Napavine Youth Sports raise money by letting them sell tickets to the event.
“We like to include other organizations,” White said. “It’s just a matter of working together to do something positive.”
White said doing things like helping other groups with activities is exactly the sort of kindness the group strives to create.
“(Small Acts of Kindness is) like a dandelion spreading its seeds in the wind. Every small act counts,” White said. “That’s kind of how we look at it. If someone needs you to bring a meal, we do it. That’s what we’re all about.”
For Carolyne Nixon, co-founder of Small Acts of Kindness, the group’s willingness to go out of its way to help others was why they gave the group its name.
“We came up with the name ‘Small Acts of Kindness’ because we wanted to do kind things for people,” said Nixon, 79.
She said Small Acts of Kindness’ initial goal was the holiday meal boxes, but the nonprofit’s efforts quickly expanded. The group offered food in Winlock for the Seattle to Portland bike ride, selling concessions to riders to raise funds for their charitable initiatives.
“We did just so many little things,” Nixon said.
While Nixon has since stepped away from Small Acts of Kindness, she’s still proud of the work the group she helped create has done. One of the things that makes her the proudest is when she sees new people join the community and contribute to it. According to Nixon, many of the people who volunteer with Small Acts of Kindness moved to the area from somewhere else and wanted to make their adopted communities even better.
“I’m so grateful for the people who move into the community and step up to the plate and try to make it better,” Nixon said.
So what does Small Acts of Kindness have next on its list of goals? One is a commemorative wall in Winlock, similar to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. They’re looking to put the wall next to the train tracks to recognize those who have given back to their community.
“Down in the plaza at Winlock, we’d love to get the honor wall that honors every branch of service and students who give back, and first responders, mayors and council members as well,” White said.
To attend the Concert for Kindness July 16 at the Napavine Amphitheater, visit smallactsofkindness.net. Tickets can also be purchased at No Limit Tattoos in Centralia, Big Bottom Roadhouse in Randle, Affordable Bookkeeping in Napavine, Cattermole Funeral Home in Winlock and Tyler Rental in Chehalis. Tickets are $15 pre-order or $20 at the gate. The gates for the concert will open at 1 p.m. with music starting at 2 p.m. Sucker Punched will perform from 2 to 4:30 p.m. followed by Tony Braanco & Camp 1 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and The Aqua Nets from 9 p.m. to midnight. In addition to music, there will also be a dunk tank, cornhole and more. The Napavine Amphitheater is located at 207 W. Washington St., Napavine.
