‘We’re supposed to work together’

The Kindness Project takes root in BHB

“I read the paper every week and I see a little bit of the bicker back and forth in the letters to the editor,” said Hayley Jackson, a librarian at the Greybull and Basin branches. 

“I think that with the political climate being so tense and the global climate being so tense, a lot of people are at disagreement with each other. But when you’re in disagreements with each other over these political aspects or this person or that, you lose your sense of community and you’re no longer participating with the rest of the people that are there to help you. We’re supposed to work together, that’s how communities thrive.”

About a week ago, Jackson launched The Kindness Project. The plan is to create a network of support, connecting people in need with resources and promoting volunteer opportunities. Jackson got the inspiration as her friend has made moves to start a community garden in Greybull – an idea still in the works. 

“Basically, my idea is to have more community involvement…,” Jackson said. “Getting the community closer together and providing assistance for one another, whether that be food donations or, I have this idea of possibly having a free farmers market put up.”

Jackson said she does not intend to compete with the regular farmers market, instead, providing a place for people with extra produce from their home gardens who don’t participate in the market to offer it up for free. The first free farmers market is currently scheduled for July 20 at the Herb Asp Community Center. 

“Obviously grocery prices are ridiculous, there’s a lot of people who are not food secure at the moment. So if we can actually collectively get a group of people together and say here, this is the place to go get (free food resources), that would make it easier,” Jackson said. 

Online, the movement has a Facebook page under “Kindness Project Big Horn Basin.” Jackson hoped to utilize the page as a sort of “free stuff” marketplace – where people can post their giveaways or reach out with needs. Eventually, she intends to use the audience from the Facebook page to connect the community garden with volunteers, gathered seeds and donated gardening materials. 

Beyond the giving and volunteer work, The Kindness Project is supposed to promote just that – the basic idea of kindness. Jackson hoped it would encourage people to meet and know their neighbors and invest in their hometown. The project doesn’t have borders, either, and could extend out further into the Big Horn Basin and beyond with enough support. 

“The town of Greybull is a mile long. If we can find something that brings us together and makes sure we are all taken care of, that’s what my goal is,” Jackson said. 

The Kindness Project can be joined online at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ 1895424107837865. Or, stop by the Greybull or Basin public library.