From Melissa Rayworth at Kidsburgh: 'Ariel Heywood was thinking about that recently when a new girl joined her preschool class. “Ariel is only 3. But yesterday she came home and told me how she ate lunch with her new classmate, because she was new and didn’t have any friends,” says Ariel’s mom, Tiffanee Heywood. And the kindness didn’t stop there: “When we picked her up, she walked her new friend to her car and told her to make sure she came back tomorrow,” Tiffanee told us.

JAM 2019 JAM has had a very exciting year in 2019; so many incredible things have come to this fantastic group of makers. As of December 31, 2018 – JAM has sold 42,507 #bethekid kid clothing items in 18 months! We started the year with 4 JAM organizations and ended the year with 23 JAM’s.  Eighteen (18) are located in PA, one (1) in Virginia, one (1) in Indiana, one (1) in Oregon, one (1) in Tennessee and one (1) in California! Our JAM started the year with 60 members and now

H.W. Lockley Early Learning Center is about 40 miles north of Pittsburgh and is located in the city of New Castle. We have approximately 800 of the district’s earliest learners (K-2) in our building. As grant winners of the PA 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant, three years ago we established our C.A.N.E.S. Club after school/summer learning program. This name stands for Cultivating and Nurturing Exceptional Students. 75-100 students attend C.A.N.E.S. Club throughout

Greenock Elementary School in The Elizabeth Forward School District has joined the Pittsburgh Commitment to Kindness Initiative!  Through a partnership and donation from Avonworth Primary Center and The Children’s Museum, Miss Stephanie Sciulli and a group of 18 second-graders, have started an after-school club and student-run business called “JAM 2 Kindness Club.” Students stay after school and brainstorm ideas on how to spread kindness throughout their school and community.

Avalon Kindness Club- JAM3 was established in 2019 by the kind kids in grades K-3. We had a total of 38 children that were ready to spread kindness to our Avalon community and school. The club was held after school with the help of amazing staff! The kindness club could not have been possible without the help of Miss Burns, Mrs. Majerac, Mrs. Galupi, Mrs. Persson, and Mrs. Riley.  The kids cannot thank them enough for all they did to help get this club of the ground and runni

Principal Dr. Scott Miller surprised Avonworth Primary Center students and staff with an end of the year #bethekindkid assembly on May 29, 2019. Pirates In-Game Host (and Avonworth dad) Joe Klimchak, along with the Pirate Parrot and Chick-fil-A Cow, led this hour-long pep rally for kindness! Klimchak explained the importance of kindness to students and played kindness trivia, with the winners getting to chose between Pirates game tickets or the kid friendly contents of the “B

The home match of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs. Nashville SC held on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at 7 PM was #BeTheKindKid night, presented by Kidsburgh and JAM Enterprises. There were 155 Avonworth community members in attendance. "The evening was incredible," said Maureen Frew, Digital Media Specialist at Avonworth Primary Center. "The kids were so delighted to be part of it." JAM partnered with Kidsburgh - an online resource focusing on the people and ideas making Pittsbu

JAM Enterprises and Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) have established a partnership to foster and promote cultures of kindness in Pittsburgh area schools. Made possible by the generous support of The Grable Foundation and Pennsylvania Department of Education. The Pittsburgh Commitment to Kindness (PCK) pilot initiative uses a cohort-model to support schools in developing a kindness project over the 2018-2019 academic year. Cohort members participate in professional learn

Kindness. A heartfelt word frequently used, sometimes lost in the expectation of doing. Kindness is defined differently to everyone; acts of kindness are relevant to a person or situation. How do you define kindness in your life? According to a February 2017 article on kindness.org, people defined kindness in the following actions: Showing empathy – ranks high at 27 percent. This includes listening to others with compassion and understanding their feelings. Smiling – ranks se

JAM Presentation On Wednesday, February 27, 2019, the JAM girls presented at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. They did a great job talking about how JAM originated, some of the products they’ve produced, and their #bethekindkid t-shirts. When the girls weren’t presenting, they were listening to Sharon G. Flake talk about her writing process for the 20th Anniversary of the Skin I’m In. Flake offered advice applicable to writing, but also life. “I’m somebody who never imagined

JAM is now offering custom school logo #bethekindkid shirts! You choose your color scheme and school logo, and JAM will cover the cost of delivery! A minimum order of 50 shirts is required. Keystone Oaks, South Fayette, Mount Lebanon, South Park, and Bethel Park are just a few of the awesome school districts that have already ordered. Bulk shirt prices start at just $8 per shirt. Get your district on board today by emailing your request to JAMEnterprisesAPC@gmail.com

November was another charitable month for JAM! In addition to making cards for Meals on Wheels and donating to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, JAM hosted their First Annual #bethekindkid Community Night. On November 15, 2018, families joined together at Avonworth Primary Center Gymnasium, where the event took place. The night personified JAM’s mission. Eleven stations were set up, each offering a different way for families to give. Beneficiaries of each station were diverse, ra

WBZZ - Star Pittsburgh 100.7 hosted JAM Enterprises for their Anything Goes Friday segment on November 9, 2018, just two weeks after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting. The feel-good morning show featured the work of JAM and the #bethekindkid movement. Bubba and Melanie Taylor of Star spoke with the young ladies of JAM Enterprises, Amelia, Julia, Lucy, Ella, and Grace, along with their leaders, Maureen Frew and Meghan Kelly about JAM’s origin and current work including the s

Come be a part of our mission to spread kindness at Avonworth by joining us for our first “#bethekindkid Community Night.” The event will take place on Thursday, November 15th from 6:30 – 7:30 at the Avonworth Primary Center gymnasium. This special night of kindness will include many stations of different services activities where children will help make various items to donate to organizations and people in need. A suggested cash donation will be taken at the door and all mo

Maureen Frew and a Meghan Kelly foster young humanitarians as the girls of JAM continue to contribute to the world around them. Their charitable efforts are widespread. October donations range from money raised by #bethekindkid shirt sales to items made at their weekly meetings. Recipients include globally recognized foundations such as Susan G. Komen, the beneficiary of $250 raised from pink shirt sales during the month of October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to the homel

Happy Fall, JAM Fans! October has been a lucrative month for JAM Enterprises. Shirt sales continue to rise as word about our kindness movement spreads. To date, almost 9K #bethekindkid shirts have been sold! A spike in sales was observed after the launching of our webstore in September, along with the release of a variety of shirt color options. Schools are taking advantage of the color options as they place bulk orders in their district colors for their students, faculty, an

Girls who make. Girls who care. The JAM girls continue to spread kindness at each of their weekly meetings. A typical after-school meeting consists of the girls making an item to sell or donate, while brainstorming innovative ways to continue their mission. At this week's meeting, they created counting games that will be distributed to Avonworth Primary School's youngest students. The girls were also busy cutting "Kind-Slips." At Avonworth, teachers give "Kind-Slips" to stude

JAM Enterprises was featured in the June 29 Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation e-newsletter as the Power Player of the Month. This title is awarded to children achieving great things in the community. The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation is an integral part of the success of many of our region's non-profit organizations. In 2018, the foundation donated over $1.1 million to local 501c3 charities from funds collected through the 50/50 Raffle during Penguins home games. JAM looks forw

Due to the overwhelming demand for #bethekindkid shirts, we are excited to launch our online store! Join the kindness movement! Are you a leader ready to start the movement in your school, company or organization? The purchase of #bethekindkid shirts is a great start. By keeping shirt sales convenient and affordable, we aim to spread the kindness across all districts, across all industries and walks of life. The message is simple, yet profound. Let #bethekindkid shirts show t

On behalf of JAM Enterprises, Avonworth School District is honored to accept a $20,000 grant from The Grable Foundation, a local nonprofit foundation which invests in children and youth. It is with great pride that JAM has been recognized among the high-performing organizations that share The Grable Foundation's mission: "To promote independent, caring, contributing members of society by supporting programs critical to a child’s successful development." Encouraging entreprene