Kindness is something very important in life and, according to SPARKS Grant Coordinator Hannah Scherer, St. Louis Park elementary students are about to learn about it first hand.

By joining with the Minneapolis Recreation Department’s “Love One Another” program, students at Susan Lindgren elementary school will assist in their goal of creating sandwiches for homeless, vulnerable individuals, disadvantaged youth and their families in the Twin Cities on May 15.

Two years ago, Scherer said she learned about the program and thought it was a perfect match to the mission of the SPARKS program, which teaches students skills to become leaders in their community.

“It’s all about teaching kids to stand up for kindness instead of wasting time and feelings on negative attitudes,” Scherer said. “The SPARKS students get to be the leaders and they get to work on their leadership roles and during this time we discuss who these are going to help and who will enjoy them.”

Senior Alicianna Newell said she thinks the program will help younger kids gain an appreciation for what they have.

“By helping others it will teach them not to be spoiled, but be caring and loving and learn to appreciate other people even if they have less,” she said. “If they learn to help more, it will help them to become upstanders.”

Anne Moore is the school counselor at Susan Lindgren elementary school and she said that hosting the event at the school will serve as a culmination of all that the children have learned through the year about helping others. She said she also thinks this experience can be beneficial for students as they continue to grow.

“I really think that this will have a lasting impact on the students,” she said. “Having this experience to help the less fortunate will be very very useful for them later in life.”

The program also focuses on teaching kids skills to help others outside of school that they can use later in life. According to Scherer, this is one of the main goals of the program.

“What we’re trying to to teach the kids is to look beyond yourself and look beyond the classroom and the school to help others,” Scherer said. “The hope is to inspire kids to go home and look for other volunteer opportunities and keep this up as they continue on in life.”

Sophomore Zack Sulub said learning to help others at a young age can help become more socially conscious citizens later in life.

“It will help them be more conscious later in life, so it’s a good idea to teach them the basics of helping others when they are young,” he said.