Daniel Lubetzky

In addition to being in Us Weekly, Kelly’s love of KIND was featured in OK! Magazine, In Touch and Life & Style…
 

Paparazzi snapped Kelly snacking on a KIND bar and toting a KIND Healthy Snacks grocery bag! She was featured in USMagazine.com and X17online.com.

Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust presents:

Tuesday, November 17, 7 P.M.

Making Money and Doing Good

Moderated by Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times

Daniel Lubetzky, Kind Inc. and PeaceWorks Foundation/OneVoice Movement; Nancy Lublin, Dress For Success and Do Something; and Barry Nalebuff, Honest Tea

The news has been marked in recent years by the moral and literal downfall of prominent businesses. Meet a new generation of Jewish entrepreneurs who are leading a shift in corporate culture and philanthropy by integrating their business plans with social activism.    

Join us for a tour of The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service at 6 P.M.  Space is limited.  Pre-registration for tour is required. Call 646.437.4202.

TICKETS:

Free with suggested donation.

Advance reservations recommended.

TO RESERVE TICKETS:

http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&pl=jewishheritage&eventId=2817044

OR CALL 646.437.4202

In Person: Visit the Museum Box Office at 36 Battery Place, Battery Park City, New York.

I was forwarded this really cool note from a KIND consumer that reached out to us regarding the KINDED movement…

Name: Melissa [last name removed]

E-mail: [removed]

Telephone:

Comment: Hello KIND team,

I happened to discover your "KINDED" card movement through my on-line subscription to "Springwise". It is an amazing way to encourage everyone (especially in this day and age) to take a moment out of our busy schedules to perform an act of kindness and then to encourage the receiver to do the same.

Next September, I will be marrying my best friend and we didn’t want to give out the usual favours that friends and family either leave behind, toss or eat. We wanted a favour that leaves a lasting positive note on our guests and the world we live in. The moment I read the article, there was no doubt that your KINDED cards are IT. Is there any possible way to arrange to have a bulk amount of cards? Approximately 100 to 150? We live in [removed] and we are willing to look at the cost of having these made, shipped, etc…If we could, we’d even include your snacks in our wedding treats but I understand that you can’t ship those outside of the US yet.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and we (eagerly and hopefully) look forward to your reply.

Melissa and Rob

Natalie in our team is following up to coordinate something with them.

KIND was honored as a Responsibility Pioneer in the September 20, 2009 edition of TIME.  Richard Stengel, Managing Editor of TIME inc. described it as such:

our first list of 25 Responsibility Pioneers, which includes a range of social innovators, from individual activists and nimble nonprofits to megacorporations [includes companies like Starbucks, Gap, General Electric and PeaceWorks.]

Here is the feature on KIND/PeaceWorks.

Additionally, in the same issue our new KINDED website (www.kinded.com) was featured as one of their recommended “New Ways to Make a Difference."

[Read more →]

Big challenge – and need to address and fix it [at KIND and PeaceWorks we are working on several initiatives to make fruits & veggies more convenient without detracting from minimally processed, attractive natural wholesome essence]

Kids Eat Few Fruits, Veggies

WSJ Associated Press

Fewer than 10% of U.S. high-school students are eating the combined recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables, a finding that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called "poor" in a report.

The report, based on 2007 data, found that 13% of U.S. high-school students get at least three servings of vegetables a day and just 32% get two servings of fruit. Fewer than one in 10 get enough of both combined.

[Read more →]

I just finished watching Happy-Go-Lucky, directed by Mike Leigh.  Initially I was jarred by the ebullience of the lead character, played with Golden-Globe-winning excellence by Sally Hawkins.  But I stuck through it and discovered a well-executed character study of a woman with an eternally sunny personality (and her impact on others, including an irascible driving instructor solidly played by Eddie Marsan). 

If you think about it, it is pretty rare that we delve into understanding "excessively" positive people, compared to studies of darkness.  Yet the introspection pays off, and really delves nicely and naturally into her philosophy of life, human nature, and social conditioning.

Why do some of us live our lives wanting to be liked by everyone? Is it insecurity (from lack of affection, or from just biological need to be liked)?  Is it a Karmik outlook of life (treat others with warmth and it will come back to you)? Is it our genes? Or our family history or ethnic culture (living in the shadow of the Holocaust)?  Or our upbringing and parental models? Religious teaching? Is it guided by altruism, self-interest, or just being oneself?

And is it a "good" way to live our lives? Can we make this a better world by making others smile? (and doing unexpected acts of kindness for them – or KINDINGS – as KIND is encouraging with KINDED?).  And what drives some people to care so much about others and about making this world better, while others are less so motivated?

Do we yield better people if guided by social awareness and concern or by internal values?

One of my best friends never cares what anyone else thinks about him – and it doesn’t make him any less ethical or upstanding, quite the opposite in his case. He has a solid core of values, does what he feels is right, and doesn’t wonder how society will receive it.  He also doesn’t lose sleep.  But maybe he is a rare case? Certainly there are many examples of people who also do not care about what others may think and who are not role models for society.

Others like me are always wondering how their behavior and actions will be judged by others, very self-aware, introspective, and insecure.  In some ways this insecurity and self-consciousness can be a positive trait that makes us strive to be better and improve.  But it can also increase occasions of grief and worry, and more dangerously for people in positions of power or responsibility (say a politician leading a nation), it can cause them to bend to political/social pressure and potentially reach a wrong but ephemerally popular decision.  And just like in the other strand, there are also examples of self-aware people who may obsess about how others will see them but just put up fake mirrors and end up harming the world no less (think Bernard Madoff).

What is interesting about Poppy, the lead character in Happy-Go-Lucky, is that she is eternally positive and deeply committed to making those around her happier, WITHOUT judging herself or taking herself too seriously.  She is forgiving – of others and of herself.  That is quite interesting. And not as easy to emulate. She seems genuinely interested in healing the world – and in her own way, she quite succeeds at times.

Beyond values and outside impact, as far as our individual journeys in life, it certainly must be the case that having a positive outlook must yield greater happiness and joy in life than seeing life through gray. 

In very deep ways, attitude is destiny.

BarsAreFood.com just added KIND Almond Cranberry to its Hall of Fame.

Thanks to "Ava" from Skinny And the City for her really nice coverage of KIND and what we are aiming to achieve. This type of enthusiasm is what motivates us to do our very best.

She also has a contest out:

Skinny Contest: Have you done something KIND lately? Let us know what by e-mailing contests@skinnyandthecity.com by July 22nd, 5pm EST, and you could win a variety pack of these delicious bars.

From the site:
"We’ve been a fan of the Fruit + Nut for years. They’re all-natural bars chock full of nutrients and flavor. You can actually see whole pieces of nuts and fruit all mashed together and sweetened with a touch of honey. It’s an all-star bar, and now the new variety, KIND PLUS, has even more added nutrients such as calcium and antioxidants. Both are great snacks for in-between meals.
Another reason we love ‘em? KIND’s mission to spread KINDness all around. The founder started producing KIND after beginning PeaceWorks Inc., a business that strives to foster relationships between conflict regions all over the world…" Full story…

Creative offer from Barnes & Noble, as described in this Washington Post article.  Download the B&N app to your iphone, flash it to a Barista at one of their in-store Starbucks, and get a free cup of coffee.

We want to do the same thing with KIND and KINDED.  And give participants a free KIND bar when they go to Starbucks and tell us how they KINDED someone.  Any good iphone App genius that wants to help us build it?