ABOVE: Students and Kindness Club members...Vice President Max Coan as Alexander Hamilton, Secretary Citlali Olson as La Catrina Día De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), President Natalie Flaherty as Anne Frank, and Treasurer Audrey Haugen as Addison from 'Zombies'. They were at their Kindness Club meeting here.

FAIRMONT — From a simple admiration of a historical figure to making waves to end international discrimination, Fairmont native and anti-bullying advocate, Natalie Flaherty, is continuing to spread kindness toward everyone with her green bracelets, speeches, and ‘Stand with Anne [Frank]’ campaign that has reached several nations across the globe. Over this past year, Flaherty has committed to the goal of spreading love everywhere by attending museums, speaking at panels, meeting notable figures and lending a hand to organizations around the United States.

“I feel very empowered and a good leader,” Flaherty said on her accomplishments this past year, further describing her powerful role of spreading her mission to the community. “A lot of people and organizations helped me get to where I am currently.”

With more bracelet distributions planned, Flaherty explained that she looks back on her journey with pride, frequently reflecting on previous bracelet hand-out events, the first of which was Oct. 31 last year.

Despite the generous amount of lengths Flaherty has gone to encourage kindness everywhere, she acknowledges that more efforts must be made to promise everyone a safe, friendly environment.

“Hate does so much. There’s no place for hate, but how did we allow it to have a place at all?” Flaherty asked.

In a previous edition of The Fairmont Sentinel, published Thursday, July 25, 2024, Flaherty acknowledged that the hate she had witnessed in her school was emotionally costly and distressing. The ongoing campaign is a testament to Flaherty’s drive to end negativity worldwide.

“I’m very proud of Natalie,” added Flaherty’s mother, Becky Flohrs. “I’m really proud of the work she’s made. But, we both know there’s a lot of work to be done. Natalie has goals and plans for the spring. There’s some really exciting things in the works, so we really hope they work out.”

Flohrs said that Flaherty is a humble individual. She recognizes successes as her campaign progresses, but she and her family don’t celebrate every achievement. The two are very adamant about making sure more work is done for the mission.

“She’s very grateful for the people who are involved,” Flohrs stated.

Today, for Halloween, Flaherty and the members of her newly created ‘Kindness Club’ at Fairmont Elementary School are dressing up in costumes as historical figures, diverse cultures and idols. The group of children will be present this evening on Woodland Avenue in Fairmont, during the additional Halloween festivities. The Kindness Club will hand out bracelets in a persistent effort to raise community awareness for the campaign’s mission. Flaherty, who will be dressing up as Anne Frank for the second year in a row, said she was excited and once again felt empowered to do it again and hand out bracelets to families and trick-or-treaters.

The Kindness Club was founded less than one month ago, according to Flaherty and Flohrs. Flaherty recruited friends at school, and classmates she knew would benefit from the club’s drive.

“I picked people who were able to help me, many leaders [of the club] were also isolated,” Flaherty said.

Currently, the club has four leaders and seven members in total. The club meets every Tuesday and Thursday and discusses ways to end exclusion and solitariness and plan awareness events for the campaign. The role of the leaders is to consult ideas about upcoming strategies to strengthen their goal’s awareness.

“The club is open to anybody who wants to be a part of it,” Flaherty stated. “Inclusivity is the main thing.”

Flohrs concurred that students can isolate and bully individuals for several reasons. The Kindness Club aims to reach events or activities that people are often left out of and provide said victims with a safe, non-discriminating group.

“[The club members] want to see more people helping each other.” Flaherty expressed.

“The Club is making sure people are safe, have a place to go, and be loved for who they are.” Flohrs chimed in.

As the mission grows, Flohrs reported that her daughter has received remarkable feedback; including messages, blog posts, committed schools and supportive followers of the movement. Regarding future agenda, Flaherty and Flohrs shared that she is invited to attend an event in Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands, next spring. Additionally, with the collaboration of Anne Frank Center USA, Flaherty is attempting to bring one of Anne Frank’s treasured tree saplings to Minnesota.

Mother and daughter explained that community rallies and support are appreciated.

“The biggest thing is being supportive of the campaign and the kids,” Flohrs remarked.

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