Police in Alaska’s capital city are responding to a year of deadly confrontations between police and citizens across the country with a local campaign to turn 2017 into a year of kindness.
Juneau police will kick off the effort with public potlucks on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to encourage locals to commit daily acts of kindness and to reach out weekly to individuals outside their usual circles.
Groups, businesses, government agencies and others are choosing a different week of the year for their employees to conduct “kindness surges.”
Lt. Kris Sell hatched the idea in a partnership with the global kindness advocate, Random Acts, and multiple local entities. She says the goal is to measure the impact of kindness on such areas as crimes and emergency calls.