iServe with Kindness

iServe Week is February 11-15 and is going to be an incredible week of encouraging our students and school community to be good to themselves and each other! The "Polar Vortex" caught us by surprise and affected some our planning - your K-6 building may be adjusting their timeline which just means that the kindness last longer! How awesome is that!
Each day will focus on who we can serve. We'll begin with how we can be kind to ourselves; as we know, in order to have something to offer others, we have to first take care of ourselves. On Tuesday, we'll encourage each other to serve our families then move to our friends, school and community through the week. Our K-8 buildings will have a banner where they can share their acts of kindness each day. High schools are encouraged to share their involvement on Social Media and will be led by the 9United student leaders in their buildings. On Monday, Feb 18, while our buildings are closed for Presidents Day, our hope is that students and families will use some time on the day off to find a way to volunteer in our community or spread a little kindness. Please share with us how your students and family are taking part in iServe Week; tag us in your pictures on Facebook (9United), Twitter (@9UnitedLeaders) and/or Instagram (@9UnitedLeaders) and use #iServe. We can't wait to see all the ways our students, families and community will find to serve themselves and others!
Check out our very own Nagel Nighthawks, who helped us with some examples of what serving with kindness looks like; we think they have this kindness thing figured out!
The iServe project is also a great way to prepare for National Random Acts of Kindness Day (Feb 17) and National RAK Week (Feb 18-23). The Random Acts of Kindness website offers many great resources and ideas for how kids and adults alike can spread kindness all year long!
We've created a printable for use at home: you'll find a blank version for families that want to fill it with their own ideas, along with one provides some ideas for each day. Use it as a resource to start conversations about being good to ourselves and each other and track how your family is making the week one filled with intentional acts of kindness.
Each day will focus on who we can serve. We'll begin with how we can be kind to ourselves; as we know, in order to have something to offer others, we have to first take care of ourselves. On Tuesday, we'll encourage each other to serve our families then move to our friends, school and community through the week. Our K-8 buildings will have a banner where they can share their acts of kindness each day. High schools are encouraged to share their involvement on Social Media and will be led by the 9United student leaders in their buildings. On Monday, Feb 18, while our buildings are closed for Presidents Day, our hope is that students and families will use some time on the day off to find a way to volunteer in our community or spread a little kindness. Please share with us how your students and family are taking part in iServe Week; tag us in your pictures on Facebook (9United), Twitter (@9UnitedLeaders) and/or Instagram (@9UnitedLeaders) and use #iServe. We can't wait to see all the ways our students, families and community will find to serve themselves and others!
Check out our very own Nagel Nighthawks, who helped us with some examples of what serving with kindness looks like; we think they have this kindness thing figured out!
The iServe project is also a great way to prepare for National Random Acts of Kindness Day (Feb 17) and National RAK Week (Feb 18-23). The Random Acts of Kindness website offers many great resources and ideas for how kids and adults alike can spread kindness all year long!
We've created a printable for use at home: you'll find a blank version for families that want to fill it with their own ideas, along with one provides some ideas for each day. Use it as a resource to start conversations about being good to ourselves and each other and track how your family is making the week one filled with intentional acts of kindness.
2018-19 Events & Projects
Sept 3 (Monday): Chalk the Walks - Sidewalks decorated at all nine Forest Hills schools
Nov 12 (Monday): Shop & Share kick-off - Online only until Nov. 26th
Nov 26-Dec 3: Shop & Share Collection - At all elementary schools and Nagel Middle School; collection days may vary by school
Nov 27 (Tuesday): Giving Tuesday - National day of giving to your favorite non-profit organizations; click here to donate to 9United
Dec 5 (Wednesday): 10th Annual Shop & Share Target Shopping Night - 4:30-7:30 p.m. Beechmont Target
Feb 11-15: iServe with Kindness - Align with “Acts of Kindness”
Feb 18 (Monday): District-wide Day of Service
May 10 (Friday): FH5K Chalk the Walks and Spirit Signs - Place motivational signs along the course and decorate the sidewalks at Nagel Middle School to thank and welcome participants of the Forest Hills 5K that will be run on Saturday, May 11..
Ongoing Projects
Birthday Bundles: To support children of St. Joe’s Orphanage (click here to donate)
Bottlecaps to Benches: Collection of plastic caps/lids at all FHSD schools & around the community to build park benches that are placed in Anderson Township parks. (click here to get involved)
Personal Care Packs: Provide hygiene and personal care products to counselors and school nurses as requested via online grant application.
Nov 12 (Monday): Shop & Share kick-off - Online only until Nov. 26th
Nov 26-Dec 3: Shop & Share Collection - At all elementary schools and Nagel Middle School; collection days may vary by school
Nov 27 (Tuesday): Giving Tuesday - National day of giving to your favorite non-profit organizations; click here to donate to 9United
Dec 5 (Wednesday): 10th Annual Shop & Share Target Shopping Night - 4:30-7:30 p.m. Beechmont Target
Feb 11-15: iServe with Kindness - Align with “Acts of Kindness”
Feb 18 (Monday): District-wide Day of Service
May 10 (Friday): FH5K Chalk the Walks and Spirit Signs - Place motivational signs along the course and decorate the sidewalks at Nagel Middle School to thank and welcome participants of the Forest Hills 5K that will be run on Saturday, May 11..
Ongoing Projects
Birthday Bundles: To support children of St. Joe’s Orphanage (click here to donate)
Bottlecaps to Benches: Collection of plastic caps/lids at all FHSD schools & around the community to build park benches that are placed in Anderson Township parks. (click here to get involved)
Personal Care Packs: Provide hygiene and personal care products to counselors and school nurses as requested via online grant application.
Bottlecaps to Benches
We have a new home for bottlecap storage! Two very generous donors along with a local church are making it possible for our community and volunteers to have an easy to access spot for drop-off, storage and sorting, as well as a way to transport the caps to Evansville and bring benches back. We are finalizing details and look forward to sharing with our supporters very soon!
On Oct 13, 2018 we dedicated the first bench; it can be found in front of the Park District's main office at Juilfs Park and are very close to an additional two benches, to be placed in Johnson Park. As the project grows so does the need for help picking up, sorting, and weighing caps. If you'd like to get involved beyond collecting & turning in caps, click here to see how you can be a part of the project! If you have questions about the project, email Bottlecaps@9united.org.
Below is a list of caps and lids we can accept:
ACCEPTABLE CAPS are medicine bottle caps, drink bottle caps, milk jug caps, flip-top caps (ketchup, mustard), detergent caps, spout caps (mustard), hair spray caps, spray paint caps, toothpaste cube caps, ointment tube caps, deodorant caps and caps w/ RECYCLE NUMBERS of (2), (4), (5).
ACCEPTABLE LIDS are cottage cheese container lids, cool whip container lids, mayonnaise jar lids, coffee can lids, yogurt lids, cream cheese container lids, peanut butter jar lids, butter container lids and ice cream bucket lids.
On Oct 13, 2018 we dedicated the first bench; it can be found in front of the Park District's main office at Juilfs Park and are very close to an additional two benches, to be placed in Johnson Park. As the project grows so does the need for help picking up, sorting, and weighing caps. If you'd like to get involved beyond collecting & turning in caps, click here to see how you can be a part of the project! If you have questions about the project, email Bottlecaps@9united.org.
Below is a list of caps and lids we can accept:
ACCEPTABLE CAPS are medicine bottle caps, drink bottle caps, milk jug caps, flip-top caps (ketchup, mustard), detergent caps, spout caps (mustard), hair spray caps, spray paint caps, toothpaste cube caps, ointment tube caps, deodorant caps and caps w/ RECYCLE NUMBERS of (2), (4), (5).
ACCEPTABLE LIDS are cottage cheese container lids, cool whip container lids, mayonnaise jar lids, coffee can lids, yogurt lids, cream cheese container lids, peanut butter jar lids, butter container lids and ice cream bucket lids.
Birthday Bundles

No birthday is complete without a birthday cake but many kids in our area go without one each year. We have partnered with St. Joe's Orphanage to give their kids something sweet on their special day!
Since June of 2017, we have provided nearly 80 bundles to the children served by St. Joe's. Due to privacy reasons, we can't share pictures of the kids when they receive their bundles, but trust us, the smiles are like nothing you have ever seen! You can donate items for a bundle by clicking here. Thanks for helping us make birthdays a little brighter for these kids!
Since June of 2017, we have provided nearly 80 bundles to the children served by St. Joe's. Due to privacy reasons, we can't share pictures of the kids when they receive their bundles, but trust us, the smiles are like nothing you have ever seen! You can donate items for a bundle by clicking here. Thanks for helping us make birthdays a little brighter for these kids!