Jeannette Maré, founder and executive director of Ben’s Bells, recently spoke at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury when she led Be Kind Now: It’s Time to Get Serious about Kindness, an in-depth discussion of the challenges and opportunities encountered in every interaction as we strive to create kinder communities.

During the presentation, Maré reflected on her own personal experiences with kindness in the face of devastating grief, her work with Ben’s Bells Project, and the emerging body of research on the science of kindness. All proceeds supported Ben’s Bells community programming.

Ben’s Bells Kindness in Action Speaker Series brings speakers to Arizona and Connecticut who are leaders in the “science of kindness” field. Part education, part entertainment, pure inspiration, these events are made possible by the support of local businesses and community members.

Ben’s Bells are sculpted from clay and hung randomly around communities for people to find and take home reminders to practice intentional kindness.

“From my experience, kindness is usually not a polarizing issue. But there are some skeptics who question the value of the practice of kindness or who just oppose the idea of being a joiner. I get it,” said Maré. “I joke that, as the ‘kindness lady’, I have to leave town to be even a little grouchy. But my experience of the positive benefits of intentionally practicing these skills is undeniable.”

For more information, visit BensBells.org.