Kindness begets kindness

My years in Fernandina Beach were filled with joy and kindness. The biggest challenge for me in writing an article on kindness was choosing which kindness to focus on. One that truly stands out involves my transition from one volunteer passion to another.

For a number of years, I coordinated the Wild Amelia Junior Naturalist program. Those years will forever be a tremendous joy memory for me. When it became time to transition out of that volunteerism, I felt afloat for a time, grieving the loss of immersion in nature with children as well as the amazing support I received from the community and families involved in this program.

Loving teaching as I do, I approached the owners of Story & Song Bookstore, Donna and Mark Kaufman, with my idea to begin a children’s ukulele circle. I had already experienced so much kindness and support from Donna and Mark. When I volunteered to take tickets for the great concerts hosted there, I was able to attend them without cost. When I wanted to try an intentional journaling class for women, they supported the idea and took time to help me expand my own ideas. They even helped me to connect personally with an author whose book I wished to use. I received support when I wanted to teach summer camps there. And they supported me as a local artist.

As with so many other projects, when I inquired about the possibility of beginning the children’s ukulele circle, Mark and Donna were immediately supportive. They helped me integrate into a new volunteerism that I felt passionate about. They made hundreds of copies of song sheets for our group. They offered the entire upstairs area for our gatherings. They welcomed the children and me with open hearts and helped me to give of my time and energy to the wonderful Fernandina community. And then volunteers from the Fernandina community stepped up. My main volunteer was Steve Crounse, our “Big Kahuna”! He helped secure the donation of ukuleles for children who were interested in learning to play. He showed up consistently to offer one-on-one instruction to children who struggled, such as one boy with a significant visual challenge. My teen volunteer, Olivia, stepped up to help with teaching.

This I know: kindness begets kindness. Bookstore owners showed me kindness, and that kindness was contagious. The entire Story & Song community's kindness was overwhelming to me, to my volunteers, and to the children who named this group Seaside Strummers! 

I believe we all remember acts of kindness and compassion more deeply when we feel sad or lost or disillusioned. The uplift of kindness feels so deeply appreciated when it comes at a time when we need it most. It then becomes an embedded memory of gratitude, along with the determination to pay it forward in whatever ways we can to others who struggle to find a passion foothold in their lives.

Robyn Nemes and her husband Ron lived in Fernandina for 13 years and now live in Catalina, Arizona, north of Tucson. Robyn continues to teach ukulele for all ages and participates in a ukulele meet-up group. She also volunteers as a natural history guide in a local preserve in Arizona. She is grateful to be able to keep alive two of her passions in her new community!

If you have a story you'd like to share here in the Fernandina Observer - about a neighbor or friend or stranger or business that showed kindness, or about kindness and compassion in general - please contact Peggie Weeks at pegweeks@gmail.com