SevenDays, a Kansas City-based nonprofit organization, aims to overcome hate by promoting kindness and understanding through education and dialogue.
Now in its ninth year, SevenDays will take place in the Greater Kansas City area beginning Wednesday, April 5, and continuing through Sunday, April 16. CommunityAmerica Credit Union is the presenting sponsor for SevenDays.
Kansas City has not been immune to hate crimes. In 2014, a white supremacist murdered three people outside of Jewish facilities in Overland Park; three years later, another gunman killed a man in Olathe in 2017. Recently, vandalism, including both racial and antisemitic slurs, took place at Blue Valley High School and Bishop Miege High School.
SevenDays 2023 continues the healing journey following the murders that took the lives of Dr. William Corporon, his grandson Reat Underwood, and Teresa LaManno outside of Jewish facilities in April 2014. The three lost their lives at the hands of a convicted neo-Nazi shooter. Determined to turn tragedy into triumph, family members and friends joined together to create something positive to overcome the senseless hate crime. Mindy Corporon, Underwood's mother and Dr. Corporon’s daughter, is co-founder of SevenDays and serves as its president.
“Hate is being taught in our community and our nation,” Corporon said. “It infiltrates our lives all at once with loud firearms, and it seeps into our vernacular through social media and water cooler jokes.
“In the aftermath of losing my father and son, I knew something good must come from such a horrific tragedy. Never alone in my endeavors, SevenDays is proving to be a catalyst for teaching kindness to our youth. Why? Because our youth are thirsty for the ability to be kind. They find value and enrichment from the kind actions they create and implement. We are providing them opportunities to not only choose kindness but be kindness influencers.”
Recognizing that people are not born with hate, SevenDays has broadened its efforts to engage K-12 youth. SevenDays offers grants for Kindness Clubs and Kindness Walks adopted at educational institutions. SevenDays is providing resources and grants for Kindness Clubs and Kindness Walks in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey and Texas.
SevenDays Kindness Youth Leadership Team
Locally, 33 area high school students serve on the SevenDays Kindness Youth Leadership Team (KYLT). Reflecting the diversity of our SevenDays effort, this youth group is made up of students from a variety of schools, grades, faiths and races.
KYLT members meet monthly during the school year to work on various aspects of SevenDays including planning events and activities. They receive mentorship from adults involved with SevenDays and go out in the community performing community service for other nonprofit organizations. KYLT members also work to increase participation in SevenDays activities by students at their schools.
Buttons and Kindness Action Scholarship
A signature of SevenDays has been distributing colorful buttons and stickers with designs reflecting each day’s theme. For the eighth year, a button-design contest took place inviting area high school students to submit their artwork for consideration. Designs from eight different students were chosen for the 2023 SevenDays buttons. Each student receives a $500 award.
Each year SevenDays awards the Kindness Action Scholarship, providing up to five graduating high school seniors with $1,000 scholarships for post-high school tuition. Five area seniors were chosen as winners for creating a project of kindness addressing one or more of the SevenDays themes, executing it and submitting an essay about its impact.
SevenDays 2023 will feature two public events hosted by the nonprofit organization.
- The Love Day Kindness Breakfast at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection (Building B, the Foundry) in Leawood will take place on Wednesday, April 5, at 8 a.m. This morning will include the presentation of the 2023 Ripple of Kindness Award to Lisa Ginter, CEO of CommunityAmerica Credit Union. Last year’s Ripple of Kindness Honoree, Dayton Moore (senior advisor for baseball operations for the Texas Rangers), will be on hand to present the award. The SevenDays button design and Kindness Scholarship winners will be recognized, as well. Limited tickets remain and are available on the website.
- The Kindness Walk will take place on Sunday, April 16, at 4 p.m. at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood. Pre-walk activities begin at 4 p.m. with live music, activities and a photobooth; the one-mile walk begins at 4:30 p.m. Refreshments will be available after the walk from some of Kansas City’s food trucks, and there will be a live performance by Diamond Empire Band. Kindness Walk registration is now open on the website at SevenDays.org.
On the ensuing days, SevenDays encourages schools, businesses and families, to celebrate kindness through the other daily themes: “Discover” (April 6), “Others” (April 7), “Connect” (April 10), “You” (April 11), “Go” (April 12) and “Onward” (April 13). Resources are available during SevenDays including tools for educators, faith groups, businesses and organizations. The online resources are free and allow participation at each person's desired level of engagement. All ages are encouraged to participate.
In addition, the Community Blood Center offers donation opportunities at its centers during SevenDays (Kansas City is currently facing a blood supply shortage).
SevenDays Kindness Cities
Fourteen area communities have signed on as SevenDays Kindness Cities – in Missouri: Independence, Kansas City, North Kansas City and Parkville; in Kansas: Bonner Springs, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Leawood, Lenexa, Merriam, Mission, Olathe, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Shawnee. As a SevenDays City, each commits to promoting kindness and encouraging its citizens to participate. City social media outlets should post details on how each city is participating.
Schools, businesses, community organizations, and families are invited to create their own activities and share them through SevenDays social media sites by tagging @GiveSevenDays and using the hashtags #givesevendays and #betheripple.
Volunteer opportunities are available for SevenDays; those interested are urged to regularly check the website for details and registration.
More information about SevenDays is available by contacting Ruth Baum Bigus, (913) 707-7746, or at .
SevenDays 2023 Button Designer Winners
- Love Day: Abrie Zumwalt, freshman, Raymore-Peculiar High School; Raymore, Missouri
- Discover Day: Brenna Chism, senior, Olathe North High School; Olathe
- Others’ Day: Emma White, junior, Staley High School; Kansas City, Missouri
- Connect Day: Issy Sivadon, freshman, Raymore-Peculiar High School; Raymore
- You Day: Rhys Blatt, sophomore, Liberty High School; Kansas City, Missouri
- Go Day: Kate Klein, senior, Olathe Northwest High School; Overland Park
- Onward Day: Audrey Hart, junior, Blue Valley High School; Bucyrus, Kansas
- SevenDays (Overall Button): Kayla Gele, junior, Raymore-Peculiar High School; Peculiar, Missouri
Kindness Action Scholarship Winners
- Claire Joseph, Blue Valley High School; Leawood
- Sydney Bohachick, Winnetonka High School; Kansas City, Missouri
- Jackson Rees, Blue Valley Southwest High School; Olathe
- Chloe Chistensen: Lee's Summit North High School; Lake Lotawana, Missouri
- Natalie Goldman: Blue Valley High School; Overland Park
SevenDays 2022 Kindness Youth Leadership Team
- Alex Alley: junior, Notre Dame de Sion; undecided
- Sydney Anderson: junior, Blue Valley North High School; Christian
- Katie Burke: senior, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School; Christian
- Andrea Busetti: junior, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School; Catholic
- Meghan Coleman: senior, Blue Valley North High School; agnostic
- Caleb Deng: junior, Blue Valley North High School; Christian
- Cierra Dominick: senior, Lansing High School
- Lauren Frumkin: junior, Blue Valley West High School; Jewish
- Anika Goyal: freshman, Blue Valley West High School; Hindu
- Gabbie Granoff: junior, Shawnee Mission South High School; Jewish
- Hailey Hayton: senior, homeschooled; Christian
- Kiara Howard: junior, Paola High School
- Jiaqi Huang: junior, Grandview High School; Christian
- Eden Iseman: sophomore, Blue Valley North High School; Jewish
- Sarah Jiang: sophomore, Blue Valley West High School; spiritual
- Macy Kennedy: senior, Blue Valley Southwest High School
- Ellie Lim: junior, Blue Valley North High School
- Livia Meytal-Noorollah: sophomore, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy; Jewish
- Ellington Persley: senior, Notre Dame de Sion; Christian
- Brooke Petro: sophomore, Notre Dame de Sion; Catholic
- Caroline Plumb: junior, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School; Catholic
- Ashley Ratliff: senior, Olathe East High School
- Anna Rhodus: junior, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School; Catholic
- Alexandra Ridge: junior, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School; Catholic
- Sarah Roberts: senior, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School; Christian
- Julie Rueckert: senior, Liberty High School; agnostic
- Sami Sandler: freshman, Blue Valley High School; Jewish
- Emma Sandler: senior, Blue Valley High School; Jewish
- Kenneth Michael Siebert: junior, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School; Catholic
- Athan Tran: sophomore, Blue Valley North High School; Muslim
- McKinley Van Slyke: senior, Blue Valley North High School; Christian
- Alexander Martin White, Jr.: sophomore, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School; Catholic
- Mark Ziegler: junior, Shawnee Mission South High School; Christian
