New York-based digital platform Gan Jing World celebrated World Kindness Day on Nov. 13 by collaborating with content creators to share a message of kindness in the heart of Times Square in New York City.
Schwartz, who is one of more than a dozen content creators who have become “kindness ambassadors” in Gan Jing World’s #KindnessIsCool campaign, attended the event in Times Square on Wednesday morning to share his core message of helping and uplifting others.
His story emerged as one of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Schwartz, a new father, lost his advertising job and suddenly found himself needing to chart a new path in life.
He heard from a caretaker of an elderly woman who needed help with her yard, and Schwartz said he would mow her lawn.
“When I first started, it was more a way just to keep busy for my mind, my body, and my soul, as I figured out the next step in my life,” he told The Epoch Times.
But as he continued to help mow lawns for those who couldn’t manage it themselves, it grew into a movement.
“As I’m doing this, I’m hearing feedback not just from people that we’re helping, but from people that want to help. I’m realizing it’s bigger than myself,” he said. “I inadvertently found myself uplifting others at a time when they really could have used it.”
Four years later, the organization is still going, with more than 1,350 volunteers worldwide who have signed up to help others, including someone who enlisted as recently as Tuesday, Schwartz said.
The organization is not a professional landscaping service, Schwartz said, but more akin to a matchmaker. He learned during the pandemic that there are as many people who want to help as those who need help, and he has built his charity into one that connects people through acts of kindness.
Schwartz said he recently learned about the death of a Korean War veteran from a couple whom he had matched to help the veteran mow his lawn four years ago. They had formed a real human connection, Schwartz said, and became involved in the veteran’s life, driving him to weekly dialysis treatments in addition to tending to his lawn.
“Reflecting back, helping others helped me,” he said. “Whether you’re in the middle of a transition for a job, looking to change careers, looking to get community service hours, it’s super beneficial not just for the homeowners, not just for oneself, but for the overall neighborhood.”
Gan Jing World, a startup media platform with a mission of social responsibility, launched its “Kindness Is Cool” campaign last year, inspiring more than 1,000 creators to contribute acts of kindness in their communities. Schwartz resonated with Gan Jing World’s idea to create a central platform to share kindness, hope, and inspiration and joined when they reached out.
A spokesperson for the platform said Gan Jing World wants to give content creators a world stage and platform to tell stories of kindness and how it can change the world, hence the video billboard in Times Square.
James Dixon, founder of Absolute Motivation, told Gan Jing World: “Gift the gift that will always be needed, always be present, and always be welcome. Kindness above all else.”
Luke Mizel, a 22-year-old professional parkour athlete, told Gan Jing World: “A simple act of kindness can go such a long way and literally change somebody’s life. So let’s rally together and remember that kindness is pretty cool.”
