Girl Scouts Deliver Inspiration to MiraVista Adolescents on World Kindness Day

HOLYOKE — World Kindness Day, recognized globally today, Nov. 13, will bring the delivery of journaling books, hand-decorated by area Girl Scouts with motivational messages like “it’s good to be you,” to patients on the adolescent unit at MiraVista Behavioral Health Center.

The books, a collaboration during a recent service fair between the Pioneer Valley Coalition for Suicide Prevention and Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts, will be particularly appreciated on World Kindness Day during an event scheduled for 3 p.m. at MiraVista, said Kimberley Lee, MiraVista’s chief of Creative Strategy and Development.

“World Kindness Day urges the doing of thoughtful acts, and to have supportive messages sent to our adolescent patients by understanding young people on this day is real encouragement for them,” Lee said. “Having mental-health challenges, which manifest at any age and range in diagnoses, can create feelings of self-doubt and loneliness, and this outreach project, along with the work of our clinicians, help counter those emotions.”

Sara Crawley, service unit manager for the Nonotuck Service Unit of the Girl Scouts of America, known locally as the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts, said the fair devoted to community service drew about six local area nonprofits and some 40 Girl Scouts and was a way of celebrating the birthday of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts.

“She was born October 31,” Crawley said. “From the beginning, service to the community was part of the foundation of Girl Scouting. We honor her legacy by continuing that tradition.”

Jen Matoney, co-chair of Pioneer Valley Coalition for Suicide Prevention, one of the state’s 11 regional coalitions under the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, said the book project drew the interest of high-school as well as elementary-school-aged Girl Scouts.

“Our volunteers answered questions that came up and followed the girls’ lead about what they wanted to talk about, organically providing age-appropriate, facilitated conversation about wellness and the importance of naming, sharing, and/or writing down emotions,” Matoney said.

She said the decorated covers carry personal messages designed to first let the adolescent patients at MiraVista know “they are thought of and cared about, that they matter, and that healing, hope, and recovery are possible.

“Secondarily,” she added, “we hope they may find journaling or doodling useful as a positive coping skill and self-reflection tool that anyone at any age can use.”

Matoney said the project reflects the mission of PVCSP “to promote wellness and hope and reduce suicide and despair,” adding that members consist of both social-service professionals and individuals who have been “personally impacted by suicide, known as having lived experience,” and that this particular project held a “very high importance” for her.

“My beloved mom, Lynn, died from depression and suicide in 2007 at the age of 58,” Matoney said. “Among her many roles, she had been my Girl Scout troop leader for 10 years. With her gentle, reserved approach, endless creativity, and talent for hands-on projects, she made an incredible impact on me, my sister, our friends, and many other girls. When she died, probably 15 to 20 years after being a troop leader, former Girl Scouts from childhood reached out to me. Of course, I now volunteer and work in suicide prevention and support in my mom’s honor.”