The Newington Parks and Recreation Department is proud to announce that we are continuing the Building a Strong Community Kindness Counts Program for the third year. We would like to encourage members of the community to perform acts of kindness for their neighbors and fellow Newington residents and in return be recognized as outstanding, thoughtful individuals. Once someone commits an act of kindness, the recipient of the kindness can go online to nominate that person for Kindness Counts using the link below.

Click here to access the online nomination!

Alternatively, if online is not preferred, someone can fill out a Kindness Counts Program Nomination Form that can be found on the Newington Parks and Recreation website at the link below. Once completed, the form can be sent directly to the Newington Parks and Recreation Office at 200 Garfield Street. If it’s easier, you can also email the form to slostocco@newingtonct.gov.

Click here to access a copy of the nomination form

Shortly after receiving a nomination, Parks and Recreation volunteers will then drive out to the home of the person that was nominated and place a green and white sign on their lawn indicating that they have demonstrated an act of kindness. We are anticipating that the whole town will be covered, yet again, with these attractive lawn signs and that kindness will spread throughout the community. Our hope is that when a sign is seen on a fellow neighbor’s lawn, it will motivate other neighbors also to perform acts of kindness. The intent is to emphasize the positive attributes Newington residents possess. Parents will then have many opportunities to deliver positive messages to their children about doing good and being kind. People of all ages can be part of the movement. Hopefully, Newington will be a trendsetter for goodness and kindness and encourage other towns to emulate the program.

Kindness Counts has begun early and nominations are now being accepted!  To culminate the movement, we will invite everyone who proudly hosts a Kindness Counts Lawn Sign to Mill Pond Park on Thursday, July 13, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. during the Bring Your Own Cheese Party (BYOC) to enjoy a night of fun and town-wide recognition. A live concert will feature the band “Ball in the House”.  We would very much like to encourage our Newington families to get involved.  Let’s help make Newington a better place to live, work, and play.  If you have any questions, please contact the Newington Parks and Recreation Office at 860-665-8666.