Uniting to Be Kind in Honor of National Friendship Day

Did you know, approximately 20 percent of students ages 12-18 experience bullying?¹

As camp director of Kidventure Camp in Battle Creek, Mich., I know that bullying is an all too common issue and everyone has the right to be accepted as his or her true self. That’s why we’re proud to continue our partnership with Kellogg’s Froot Loops® and United Way to host United to Be Kind, a program that engages summer camp attendees in activities and conversations that embrace uniqueness, individuality and friendship. United to Be Kind brings a little fun to a serious topic.

In honor of National Friendship Day on Aug. 4, Michigan’s United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region and Washington’s United Way of King County will host United to Be Kind for the second time the week of Aug. 5. And, new this year, Froot Loops is also partnering with United Way of Southeastern Michigan, expanding United to Be Kind with an end-of-summer celebration in Detroit, focused on spreading kindness and celebrating individuality.

In order to prevent bullying, adults need to help kids understand what bullying is, keep the lines of communication open, encourage them to do what they love, and model how to treat others, which is exactly what United to Be Kind aims to do.

The program is a natural extension of Froot Loops’ campaign, “Whatever Froots Your Loops” and its commitment to individuality and expressing your authentic self. By partnering with United Way to provide activities and conversations around friendship and anti-bullying, the program aims to help students embrace kindness for the upcoming school year and long into the future.   

As one of United to Be Kind’s pilot locations last year, we’re excited to be hosting it again. The messaging and activities were a fun way to talk about a serious topic. Throughout the week, the kids were highly engaged and loved interacting with the volunteers and Toucan Sam. I especially enjoyed seeing the difference in how they treated one another that week and during the weeks that followed. That’s why I’m so excited to see the program expand to Detroit, to help spread the message of friendship and kindness to even more kids in the state.

We’re grateful for the opportunity to participate in United to Be Kind and partner with Froot Loops, Kellogg Company and United Way. Kellogg’s visionary founder, W.K. Kellogg, instilled in the company the understanding that a critical part of running a good business is also doing good for society.

Seeing a large company like Kellogg take on such an important issue like bullying, emphasizes the importance of taking it seriously. It’s obvious to me that Kellogg is a company with heart and soul – one driven by a diverse and inclusive community of passionate people making a difference.

For more information on bullying visit StopBullying.gov, and for more on Kellogg’s Corporate Responsibility efforts, click here.