Today we’d like to introduce you to Glory Thomas
Hi Glory, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Throughout my life, I have seen friends and loved ones affected by bullying, destructive thinking, and self-harm. I have lost treasured friends to suicide. In junior high, I was excluded from social circles repeatedly, which caused great loneliness in my life. In contrast, I have also seen friendships mend, families unite, and communities come together through kind words and acts performed in simple and profound ways. I observed that empathy is a skill that can be learned and developed through practice. The more we use it, the more powerful it becomes. These experiences became the catalyst for my lifelong commitment to fostering a culture of kindness and empathy. In 2016, at the age of 14, I founded Be the ONE to Make the Difference: GLO With Kindness, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a blueprint for the implementation of kindness in our communities.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For the most part, it was a smooth road. There were definitely some challenges when it came to implementing my ideas, but I had the most amazing support system. Some of the challenges when it came Kindness Week, was convincing people that my ideas were relevant despite how young I was. Thankfully, people could see the value in kindness and jumped on board. I also faced personal struggle, like mental health challenges and trauma, that impacted my personal ability to carry on. Multiple suicide attempts and deaths in my life by close friends and family members led to a lot of PTSD and depression. All of my struggles helped fuel my fire to continue my initiative.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about GLO With Kindness, Nonprofit?
In 2016, at the age of 14, I founded Be the ONE to Make the Difference: GLO With Kindness, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a blueprint for the implementation of kindness in our communities.
The American Psychiatric Association’s most recent Healthy Minds Poll [2023] found that 89% of participants
said showing someone else an act of kindness made them feel either significantly, somewhat, or a little better, and
90% said receiving an act of kindness had a remarkably similar effect. According to the CDC [2023], people with
stronger social bonds have a 50% increased likelihood of survival than those who have few social connections. The
National Library of Medicine [2015] found that volunteering is associated with an approximately 20% decrease in
mortality. Kindness is not simply good manners and nice words. Kindness is a societal necessity with
transformative power. Kindness is action, and GLO With Kindness is an anti-bullying/suicide prevention campaign
that is positive: it teaches people what they can do, not just what they shouldn’t.
Introduction to my nonprofit begins in schools with an educational component I teach using the curriculum I
developed. It is based on the concept that kindness is founded on three principles: Knowledge, becoming familiar
with ways to be kind; Recognition, recognizing opportunities for kind acts and words; and practicing Empathy in
Action, listening to each other’s stories and acting in kind ways to fill the needs we discover. Students have
participated in service projects, written and performed operas, and have made Kindness Chains. As of this writing, I
have taught GLO With Kindness in 81 schools and to over 25 youth groups.
Community events are an integral part of GLO With Kindness. The events are designed to reach a broad
audience, from children to the elderly. Events like the “Kindness Kickoff,” “Kindness Cause,” and “The Circle of
Kindness” encourage participation among all demographics and age groups while serving many marginalized
populations. GLO With Kindness has facilitated over 300 events that have raised thousands of dollars for
humanitarian aid through silent auctions, Kindness Walks, fashion shows, and themed awareness events. The events
bring communities together to create connections and identify existing resources, such as nonprofit organizations and
government programs. This enables community members to know for whom they can make a difference while guiding
people in need to available resources.
A remarkable quality of my community service initiative is its continuing growth. During my nonprofit’s first year, I
held 22 Kindness events. By 2020, I expanded this number to 172 yearly events (during a global pandemic!), an
increase of 83%. To date, GLO With Kindness has partnered with over 50 organizations and businesses, and
has collected and distributed over 75,000 humanitarian care items locally and across the globe. The first
elementary school students I taught in 2016 are now applying for GLO With Kindness Scholarships, and are writing
their applications using the curriculum I teach in Kindness Clubs.
Future plans for my nonprofit:
– Share our website, glowithkindness.org, over social media platforms countywide in order to offer citizens,
schools, and cities the GLO With Kindness curriculum, on-demand training program on kindness, calendar
of statewide Kindness Events, service opportunities, Kindness Kits, and scholarship applications.
– Visit Utah schools to teach students the three principles of kindness, and sponsor service projects to
assist them in putting their empathy into action.
– Expand Kindness Week across Utah by chairing Utah’s Kindness Committee, to promote business
sponsorships and quarterly public events.
– Develop a business model for corporate partners that supports the implementation of a company-wide
culture of kindness, leading to higher customer and employee satisfaction.
I am often asked, “Can kindness really solve our problems?” Boldly, I say yes! Kindness is the treatment that
benefits both the receiver and the provider. It is something that everyone can give. Imagine 8 billion people performing
one act of kindness each day, every day. When you GLO with Kindness, you can be the ONE to make the difference.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
So many people. My board members are absolutely incredible.
Dave Hennessy (Treasurer): Dave has been with me since the beginning and is incredible at making partnerships in the community and bringing community events together. He manages the finances for GLO With Kindness and is a invaluable resource for nonprofit expertise.
Kena J. Matthews (Secretary): Kena is a public servant through and through. She is responsible for a lot of GLO With Kindness’s success because she understands how to connect the community to causes that need help. She is organized and dependable.
Noel Thomas (Volunteer Coordinator, Mom): My mom has been my lifelong partner in helping the world become a better place. When I was 14, she drove me to every meeting, helped me connect with businesses and community leaders, and made such a big difference in the community through her leadership. She is the kindest person and is the inspiration for my initiative.
Anne Flinders (Public Relations): Anne has helped me develop the messaging for GLO With Kindness and how to communicate the purpose of it to community leaders, business owners, etc.
Peter Wolfley: He runs Orem City’s social media and made videos for Kindness Week every year and helped plan the events. He was integral to the founding of Kindness Week.
My story begins with just one act of kindness: Orem city’s mayor, Mayor Brunst said “yes” to a 14 year old girl’s desire to hold a city-wide Kindness Week. Mayor Brunst and the city of Orem believed in my message and helped me accomplish it for 10 years.
The Miss America Organization gave me endless opportunities because it provided me with the platform to spread my message in the community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://glowithkindness.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glo.with.kindness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/GLO-with-Kindness/100067224340378/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCueENbQiNNApnk48mbd0pJw
