Kindness is Everything

In 2007, the Starlight Children’s Foundation in Australia, granted then ten-year-old Daniel Clarke a wish. They were surprised by his response; he wanted to save the orangutans. Daniel and his brother William talk about their dedication to help one of our closest relatives—the orangutans.

In this incredibly moving episode, Daniel and William, now 24 and 22, respectively, share their story of helping save endangered orangutans from extinction. They even describe the first time they saw an orangutan in the wild.

If you love animals, this episode is for you!

As a thank you for sharing their story of kindness, Anitha donated to The Orangutan Project. This charity was created by Leif Cocks, a world-renowned orangutan expert.

To learn more about Daniel and William and their work to save orangutans, click here: https://tearsinthejungle.com/

To learn more about The Orangutan Project, click here: https://www.orangutan.org.au/

In 2012, Christian Marcello and his family adopted a dog from an animal shelter. Little did Christian know that adopting Rocky would not only change the dog’s life, but his as well.

Christian shares what it was like seeing all those dogs in the shelter, learning that not all dogs find their happily-ever-after, and how that inspired him to create Team Plover, a business dedicated to helping dogs find a loving home.

If you love dogs, you’ll definitely want to hear Christian’s story of kindness.

As a thank you for sharing his story of kindness, Anitha donated to Team Dog Rescue on behalf of Christian. This is the rescue where Christian and his family adopted their second dog, Holly.

For more information about Team Plover and how you can help, please click here: https://teamplover.com/

For more information about Team Dog Rescue and how you can help, please click here: https://teamdogrescue.ca/

For eleven-year-old, Sahanna Rasasekaran, a trip to the store with her mom turned into an opportunity to help someone. Sahanna shares her story of coming to the aid of another customer with a simple gesture of kindness.

As a thank you for sharing her story of kindness, Anitha donated to the SickKids Foundation on behalf of Sahanna.

For more information about the SickKids Foundation and how you can help, please click here: https://www.sickkidsfoundation.com/

High school senior, Vini Possobom, joins Anitha Rao-Robinson to talk about the many initiatives and causes he’s involved in that help others.

From raising funds to reunite a young boy with his parents, to volunteering with a non-profit organization called Robotics For All, that provides STEM education to students in underserved communities— Vini is dedicated to doing whatever he can to help as many people as possible.

He manages to do all of this while keeping on top of his own school work, university applications, and participating in activities like basketball, choir, band and the drama club.

For more information about Robotics For All and how you can help, please click here: https://www.roboticsforall.net

Fifteen-year-old writer and climate change activist, Amelia Penney-Crocker, joins Anitha Rao-Robinson to talk about her dedication to climate change.

In December of 2019, Amelia embarked on an ambitious journey of writing one letter every week, for 53 weeks, to Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Amelia shares her goals, frustrations, as well as her reasons for optimism.

Anitha Rao-Robinson speaks with eleven-year-old Sid Chaurasia. Sid shares her story of being part of the Terry Fox Run at school when she noticed a younger student off to the side. At the time, only seven herself, Sid stopped to find out why the little boy wasn’t running with everyone else. When she learned of his dilemma, Sid helped him with the issue and then together they finished the run.

Sid acted without any expectation of acknowledgment or reward, but her act of kindness was noticed and she was surprised at the outcome.

As a thank you for sharing her story of kindness, Anitha donated to the Terry Fox Foundation on behalf of Sid.

Additional show notes available at anitharobinson.com/podcast

Produced by Stephen Hurley from voicEd Radio Canada

Ten-year-olds Maya and Liberty Persaud join Anitha Rao-Robinson to share not one, but two stories of kindness.

Moving to a new country can be exciting, but it also brings on the challenge of making friends. Maya and Liberty Persaud have a lot of experience with this. When the girls were four years old, they moved from Canada to South Korea, and then at the age of eight, they moved to Brazil. Each move meant a new school, new friends, and a new language.

Familiar with being the ‘new kid’ at school and how that can often make someone feel left out, Maya and Liberty created a Buddy Bench.

This wonderful bench is there for any child who is feeling lonely. The child sits on the bench to signal they need someone to play with. Once other children see that student at the bench, they can invite him or her to be a part of their game and feel included. How lovely!

The girls’ acts of kindness didn’t end with the Buddy Bench. They also share their involvement with Nyaka Orphanage, an organization that supports the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children in rural southwestern Uganda.

As a thank you for sharing their story of kindness, Anitha donated to the Nyaka Orphanage on behalf of Maya and Liberty.

Additional show notes available at anitharobinson.com/podcast

Production: Stephen Hurley from voicEd Radio Canada