Two Quinnipiac University students were shocked when they discovered a kindness club didn’t already exist on campus — so they made one.
They called it the Quinnipiac KindCats club.
“We thought it already existed, because we were like, ‘How could a kindness club not already exist?’ It seems like the most basic, simple thing,” club President and co-founder Genesis Camejo, a senior psychology and health science studies double major, said.
Camejo said that students already display little acts of kindness on campus and were in need of an outlet. People leave sticky notes with positive messages on mirrors and clubs incorporate acts of kindness into their missions. Sororities and fraternities are deeply involved with philanthropy, but this is not their entire goal.
“There’s no place where people can go to actually have just (kindness) be the focus,” Camejo said. “I would say that’s the purpose, and to brighten people’s day.”
Vice President and co-founder Mikayla Hyman, a junior health science studies major, agreed.
“You see little acts of kindness everywhere, but I feel like you need a hub for everything,” she said. “We have so much breadth in our org, so we can go into so many different categories. We can have so many different events.”
In Camejo’s words, KindCats is more of an “umbrella” because they can really tap into anything.
According to its page on Bobcat Central, the club’s purpose is to create “a welcoming and inclusive environment for all” and to “facilitate new friendships for students rooted in kindness through meaningful event programming and exciting opportunities…”
The KindCats’ e-board is currently full, with senior criminal justice major Brigid Murphy as the events coordinator, second-year health science studies major Casey O’Toole as the treasurer and senior interdisciplinary studies major Gianna Marconi as the secretary, in addition to Camejo and Hyman.
Unlike traditional clubs, there won’t be weekly or bi-weekly meetings for general members. Instead, the club will be event-focused.
“A lot of the time, I know people say, ‘Oh I had no idea that was happening on campus’ or ‘Oh, I have no time to do that.’ That’s fine,” Camejo said. She understands that people have busy schedules and doesn’t want the club to be a big time commitment for its members.
The majority of meetings will be just for the e-board to plan the club’s events, but there will be some open meetings for general members to come with ideas, questions, or to say ‘hi.’
According to Hyman, the club has also toyed with the idea of creating a g-board, offering members a chance to “come and help set up” when needed.
They hope members, as well as others on campus, will show up to the club’s events, a majority of which will be held during the Common Hours.
Their first planned event is in cooperation with the Comfort and Joy Holiday Card Drive.
“We’re going to be essentially making holiday cards for isolated older individuals. It will essentially be (a series of) events that people, students, faculty, truly anyone can come to, stop by and pop in,” Camejo said.
By Dec. 10, all the holiday cards need to be collected, so getting people to make as many cards as possible is the club’s main focus right now. The KindCats also have ideas for some other events, like tabling and sending candygrams to spread kindness.
The club is open to, and searching for, partnerships. They have already made plans to partner with the weekly Wellness Wednesday program in the Recreation and Wellness Center for their card-making event.
“We’re going to have our little holiday card-making station and it’s going to be added on…So we will also be targeting the group in the gym, not just (people in) the student center, which I think is great,” Camejo said.
Currently, Camejo thinks the KindCats’ biggest challenge is making their club known.
“Our goal is definitely not to recruit the most people, but get the most people aware of this club and aware that it exists,” she said. They want people to “not only see the acts of kindness that are happening around them, but feel it, and have it happen to them too.”
Recruitment may not be the main goal, but it is a necessary step in the club’s infant stages.
“We just got recognized this semester…we are recognized but uncharted. So essentially that means we don’t get a budget,” she said. “That’s why recruitment, getting people to see what we’re all about, what we’re trying to do and gauge interest is super important.”
Both Cemejo and Hyman say they are most excited for the club’s first event, to see kindness in action.
“This really is just for our community, and I hope (everyone) can see the value in that,” Camejo said.