Today’s #BeKind21 message is brought to you by our partners at Black Girls Vote.

At Black Girls Vote, kindness is enacted through education, empowerment, and the provision of resources. For us, acts of kindness transcend easily gratified deeds, and instead directly address barriers to equality and accessibility.

In the age of COVID-19, barriers to equality and accessibility are front and center, especially for communities like that which Black Girls Votes serves. Compounding the COVID-19 pandemic is the reality that 2020 is an election year in the United States. Marginalized communities are already disproportionately disadvantaged in the election process, but the possibility of an even greater gap in equality and accessibility presented itself as states contemplated voting methods for 2020 Primary elections.

Yet somehow, these past few months, as filled with fear, uncertainty, and peril as they have been, have also forged opportunities for enacting kindness: opportunities for education, empowerment, and provision of resources. So Black Girls Vote leaned in!

In response to the legislative shift from in-person voting to vote-by-mail in Baltimore City, we launched the #PartyAtTheMailbox Campaign. In a time of uncertainty and fear, the campaign provided Baltimoreans, from students to senior citizens, with the celebratory spirit associated with traditional in-person voting. We delivered over 2,000 boxes containing Baltimorean goodies, balloons, posters, T-shirts, and important voter information to assist voters as they headed to the “mailbox.” The festive campaign culminated in an online election night party, featuring Reverend Jesse Jackson, celebrating all those who voted. #PartyAtTheMailbox educated Baltimore voters about the switch to vote-by-mail, empowered them to participate in the democratic system, and fostered a sense of community.

Kindness is contagious, and we want to spread more of it. Thus, we’re extending the campaign beyond Baltimore as the General Election approaches.

Your kindness challenge today: Learn more about #PartyAtTheMailbox and lean in. Whether it’s encouraging your community to vote this November or advocating for protections for the U.S. Postal Service: lean into education; lean into empowerment; lean into accessibility and providing resources.

Click here to read more about our work.

In Kindness,

Black Girls Vote

P.S. Invite someone to join the challenge: bornthisway.foundation/bekind21.