About Us

The Just One Wish Kindness Program began on January 2, 2013, in Hamilton, ON.  It started as a positive school climate program and has grown into so much more.  

 

April 2013

 

It was first implemented at Prince of Wales Elementary School, Ham, ON, in April 2013.  It had a profound positive impact on the school climate. 

 

Students, staff, parents, and volunteers were all given the task to make a wish.  Not a material or religious wish, but a wish of what they would want for the world and the people in it.  Nearly 900 were received, including requests to smile more, be kinder to others, respect each other, pick up litter, stop bullying, and say "I love you" more often. The wishes made it clear that everyone wanted a better, kinder, more caring, and compassionate world.

 

After the wishes were collected, the Prince of Wales Elementary School community started taking steps to make these wishes come true.  They Realized that in order to create sustainable change, they needed to start with themselves.  By examining the wishes, they were able to determine what they, as individuals, could do to help make their school community a better, kinder, and more compassionate place.  Everyone worked on something different, such as smiling more, picking up litter, saying kind words to others, using manners, saying hello to others, and taking turns.  They were all trying to change the culture of the school.  Teachers engaged with students by asking about their wish and how it was going, which led to great conversations and problem-solving strategies.

 

As the Prince of Wales community worked on making wishes come true, the climate of the school changed.  Manners were used more often, doors were held open, more smiles were seen, kinder words were used, and garbage was picked up.  Everyone made a conscious effort to treat themselves, others, and the environment with kindness and respect. There were still problems, but everyone was trying to make a difference.

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NOW

 

It includes:

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- A positive school climate program for school

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- Free character education lessons for educators, parents and caregivers

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- The Just One Wish Kindness Awards, began in 2015 and are held annually during the It's Your Festival's Canada Day celebration in Gage Park, Hamilton, Ontario

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- The Let's Talk Kindness YouTube Puppet Talk Show

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- Pictures Book, positive photographs and other merchandise for sale

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- Opportunities for public speaking engagements

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Since it began, The Just One Wish Kindness Program continues to make positive change happen.  It is not only a positive school climate program, it is also a positive climate program for everyone.  By promoting the importance of kindness and the fact everyone has value, The Just One Wish Kindness Program hopes to put an end to bullying, create a cleaner environment, and achieve world peace.