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At age 18 I took my first trip to South Africa. I fell in love with the country and returned at age 21. Soon after I traveled to Australia. Being exposed to different cultures as a teen and young adult opened my mind and heart to infinite possibilities and instilled in me a sense of adventure and wonder. These multicultural experiences were significant in shaping me into the man I am today.
As I look back, I realize that traveling, broadening my horizons, and meeting people from other cultures helped set the stage for me to one day take the stage and express myself through the medium of music. It is through my art form of music that I am able to pay it forward and give back. I was also taught at a very early age about kindness and the Golden Rule. These values are an intrinsic part of my nature, and a guiding light in all that I am compelled to be and do.
With a focus on spreading kindness, I was naturally drawn to a company and philanthropic organization that I have the greatest respect for—KIND Healthy Snacks and The KIND Foundation. Since KIND’s founding in 2004, they have been on a mission to make the world a little kinder. They call this mission the KIND Movement. KIND founded The KIND Foundation, a charitable organization that aims to foster kinder, more empathetic communities.
I recently had the pleasure to connect and partner with The KIND Foundation, and I am so excited to share an initiative of The KIND Foundation, Empatico. Empatico is inspired by the early experiences of Daniel Lubetzky, who is the Founder of KIND and President of The KIND Foundation. Daniel has dedicated his life to building bridges between people. As the son of a Holocaust survivor, he understands the importance of recognizing our shared humanity and appreciating the difference. Empatico was launched in late 2017 and is his latest effort to connect people—and something he’s been thinking about for more than 10 years.
The mission of Empatico is close to my heart as it takes me back to my own experiences of connecting with people from around the world, from my teen years in South Africa to a recent music tour in Europe, and how those experiences have deeply enriched and shaped my life.
Watch this magical video about Empatico: Classroom, Meet World
Empatico Is A Free Tool That Connects Classrooms Around The World
Empatico is a free tool for educators to connect their classroom with others around the world through video interactions and activities designed to foster meaningful connections among students. Empatico empowers educators and students to explore the world through experiences that spark curiosity, kindness, and empathy. Empatico makes student stories the heart of the learning process. Empatico recently launched at the end of 2017 and has already connected more than 4,000 classrooms in 96+ countries.
How does Empatico work?
Empatico makes it easier for educators to bring virtual connections to their classrooms by combining everything needed in one platform: live video, file sharing, a partner classroom, and activities. All that is needed is an internet connection and a computer, tablet, or mobile phone with a camera to create memorable moments that students will never forget. There are no apps and no downloads. Matches are made automatically between two educators with the same activity selection, overlapping availability, student ages no more than 2 years apart, and locations at least 300 miles apart (information that is collected during registration).
Empatico’s activities cover universal topics like play and weather and incorporate insights from child development research to create meaningful experiences and positive perceptions among children around the world. Through virtual classroom exchanges, Empatico prepares students for future success in an interconnected world by building 21st-century skills like critical thinking, perspective taking, respectful communication, and cooperation.
Prior to the launch of Empatico, teachers were already connecting with other classrooms around the world through various video platforms, pen pal programs, and social media. To expand the opportunity and benefits, Empatico was created to make it as easy as possible for educators and their students and to make sure it was a meaningful experience for them.
Best of all, Empatico is completely free to use and provides something unique for a young audience in that the activities are designed for primary students, ages 7-11, and cover universal topics that easily integrate into existing curriculum.
Teachers and Students Love Empatico!
Watch this video to see 1st graders thanking Empatico for connecting them!
More Love From Teachers and Students About Their Empatico Experience
“My students loved learning about all the similarities. For them, there was an ‘aha moment’ when they realized: ‘Wow! They do the same things as us!’, even though they’re from another part of the country! Every morning since we did the interaction, my kids ask me, ‘When are we going to chat with that class again?!‘”
– Jessica Werderman, 3rd-grade teacher, Pleasant View Elementary School, Bettendorf, Iowa, reflecting after an Empatico interaction with her partner class in Raleigh, North Carolina
“My students loved it. English is not their first language and they were so proud of themselves for speaking to students from the United States. The platform was easy to use and my teacher partner was enthusiastic and easy to work with. The activities are engaging and easy to complete with the students.”
~Anna Carstens, 4th-grade teacher, Colegio Madison Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
“It doesn’t matter where people are from, they are people just like you. They have feelings and a heart, just like everybody else.”
~ 4th-grade student from Kansas, USA
“It’s about finding the similarities, not just the differences — it’s finding the humanity in all of us. They learned that we can all talk together, even if we don’t know each other. It’s about not being afraid of asking questions and really listening.”
~Vicky Masson, PK-8 Spanish, Christ Episcopal School, Rockville, Maryland, after using Empatico to connect 5th graders at her school
“My students like when they have a voice, and they love to share about their school and themselves. The Empatico interaction gave them a sense of pride and something to take ownership of. They took it seriously.”
~Ashleigh Vieyra, 3rd-grade teacher, Graber Elementary School, Hutchinson, Kansas
To learn more and contribute to Empatico, go to https://empatico.org/
Visit https://www.kindsnacks.com/contact-us/foundation to learn more about The KIND Foundation and KIND Movement.
I wrote a song called “Endless Ecstasy”. It’s a feel-good song about celebrating life on earth, about feeling free, dancing and singing, and it’s a reminder that it all comes back to Love.
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A portion of the content of this article was provided by Empatico and The KIND Foundation.
Photos courtesy of Empatico and My Silent Bravery.