OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The push to make a ripple and change the world focused on moving forward nine years after the shootings at two Overland Park Jewish centers killed three people.
The SevenDays of Kindness movement was founded to remember the lives of Reat Underwood, his grandfather William Corporon and Terri LaManno.
Each day focuses on encouraging people to focus on a different mindset or behavior to help make the world a better place.
Thursday, hundreds of students at Blue Valley and Blue Valley North High School participated in a peace walk.
“So it’s kind of like saying by being kind, you can make the world a better place,” Abby Reeves, President of SevenDays Committee at Blue Valley High School, said.
While students at Blue Valley High School may not have known Reat personally, the cause is personal because he attended the school before his death.
“We’re just remembering what SevenDays is and why we do it because Reat who was murdered was a freshman here,” Sami Sandler, Kindness Youth Leadership Team Member with SevenDays, said.
Students walked the track and stopped at tables to write kind notes to staff. The kindness walk was one of several events SevenDays hosts annually to spread kindness and understanding.
The community is invited to another event on Sunday. It’s a 1.5 mile kindness walk that begins at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood.
Pre-walk activities begin at 4 p.m. and the walk begins at 4:30 p.m.