HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – Schools across the country and in the Tampa Bay Area are participating this week in an important initiative to promote kindness and help children feel like they belong.

Students at Martinez Middle School in Hillsborough County participate in Start With Hello week.

Seventh-grader Stella Paban has already noticed a difference among her classmates.

“I saw some kids who were very quiet, but then they saw other quiet kids, talked to them and paired up and became friends,” Paban said.

The initiative is sponsored by the Sandy Hook Promise and is a national week of action aimed at building new social connections, creating a sense of community among children and helping to combat social isolation.

“I was just happy yesterday when we did the hello-grams, and we had to keep going back and making extra copies because we kept running out at lunch,” said school counselor Betsy Dillon.

Martinez Middle School students have participated in various activities throughout the week, including wearing green to promote unity, greeting new people, filling out “hello-grams,” and wearing t-shirts that represent something important to them.

Dillon explained why this sense of belonging and inclusivity is so important.

“It just makes them want to go to school, and when they’re in school, they experience relationships with other people, both children and adults, and positive relationships with children and adults,” Dillon said.

The aim of the initiative is to help children make individual connections and to spread the message of kindness throughout the year.

“I’ve made a lot of new friends just through Hello Week and I want to keep going and interacting with people,” Paban said.