What Doing Good + Being Kind means to us
“Doing Good + Being Kind” is not just a catchy phrase for us here at River District Consulting. It’s something we strive for in both our personal and professional lives.
The phrase can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, and even the team has different ideas of what it truly means. But, ultimately, it is about using positivity, privilege, and love to make your surroundings, and (hopefully!) the world a better place.
We wanted to touch on what Doing Good + Being Kind means to each of us, and in the process, show you how we represent ourselves as individuals and how we represent ourselves to friends, coworkers, and clients.
“Doing Good + Being Kind” can mean many different things
Image: Unsplash
Kindness can go a long way and everyone has a unique way of displaying it. These don’t have to be extravagant shows of kindness. Kindness can be surprising a friend with coffee or donating books to a local library, small actions can build up into something amazing.
Make an effort every day
Forming habits can be a great way to work towards many goals in your life, and the same can be said for being a positive force for those around you.
“I firmly believe that, if we all, as humans, make an effort every day to do good things, and be kind to others, we are making small contributions towards making our world better.
And I do feel incredibly lucky that we have been able to create a business that allows us to work with so many other Good+Kind humans.”
- Rachel del Campo Gatewood, Co-founder of River District Consulting
It starts with your community
Image: Michael Pulice/DHR, 2021
While we would love to always spread our Good+Kind message as wide as possible, it often starts at home, with the people and businesses locally. Little acts of kindness can quickly add up to build a better community.
“My experience in life is that it's almost always the little things that mean the most. I believe you can change an entire community just by doing little things. Start with where you are and what you have. Maybe that means your Good+Kind work is smiling at someone in line at the grocery store. You don't know what that does for someone else's day.
Growing up in Pittsylvania County I was always told to make something of yourself, you HAVE to leave. And I wholeheartedly disagree with that! I know that advice comes from a place of love, but if we all start doing one little thing to make our community better every day, it adds up to create an overall better community experience. One that’s most definitely worth sticking around for. The impact our clients’ are having on the communities around them is inspiring and it’s a privilege to be a small part of their Good+Kind work.”
- Hollie Adams, Co-founder of River District Consulting Group
Show yourself kindness and grace
Doing Good + Being Kind is a great way to spread positivity in your community and in online groups you frequent, but it’s important to remember that you should always be kind to yourself, as well.
“I’m a firm believer that in order to be the best for other people, you first need to be the best for yourself. That includes being kind to yourself and showing yourself compassion and patience.
By doing that, you can learn a lot about not only yourself, but other people as well, and use that to empower those around you.”
- Josiah Motley, Marketing at River District Consulting Group
Don’t let others bring you down
We often don’t realize it, but it’s easy to feed off the energy of those that we surround ourselves with. That can often be a great thing! But sometimes, it can work in the opposite way to drag you down. It takes courage and self-awareness to deflect that.
“For me, and my work, it really boils down to changing the narrative around the area in which we live. For much of my youth, I couldn’t wait to leave. In fact, I was told I should leave. There was nothing good happening here and, essentially, I didn’t want to go down with a sinking ship or be associated with a ‘backwards’ place.
Danville was ‘famously’ the last capital of the Confederacy and still boasts plenty of Confederate flags. Everyone would talk about how dangerous Danville was and how Chatham was stuck in the past. I don’t want that to be what people think of when I tell them about my home. I want them to talk about all the amazing things that are happening and how much the area has grown. I am so proud of the people I get to work with and I’m grateful for the opportunity to see how places can evolve when the right people, with the same Good + Kind intentions, come together.”
- Elli Whitehead, Associate Consultant at River District Consulting Group
Challenge yourself to be kind
We hope this little blog post has given you a glimpse into how we conduct ourselves personally and professionally.
Doing Good + Being Kind doesn’t require an elaborate act and often, it’s the small things in life that we do that can have the biggest impact on our communities. But the important part is that we all strive to spread a little kindness every day.
At River District Consulting, Doing Good + Being Kind is an integral part of how we represent ourselves and we love working with organizations that are also trying to uplift others and bring just a little bit more kindness into the world. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you.