World Kindness Day, observed every year on November 13th, is a day to highlight good deeds in the community, focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness that binds us. Started in 1998, World Kindness Day was introduced by the World Kindness Movement, and almost 20 years later it is celebrated around the world. The mission of the World Kindness Movement is to inspire individuals and nations to create a kinder world through establishing independent kindness programs and projects in cities, schools, and communities across the globe.

At Words Alive, our mission is to open opportunities for life success by inspiring a commitment to reading. Through our programs, we are helping students and families fall in love with reading and helping them understand the numerous benefits of literacy. One of the benefits of reading is increased empathy. In 2006, Keith Oatley, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Toronto, conducted a study that linked reading fiction to better performance on empathy and social acumen tests. He has said: "When we read about other people, we can imagine ourselves into their position and we can imagine what it's like being that person. That enables us to better understand people, better cooperate with them."

So today, on World Kindness Day, pick up a book and think about how that story makes you a kinder person or introduced kindness into the world! What does kindness mean to you?

Below, you can watch a video of Gabriella van Rij, author and Secretary General of the World Kindness Movement, read an excerpt of her book for us! Learn more about the work that Gabriella does at https://www.gabriella.global/