Berne Bendel, associate professor of Education and Psychology at Columbia-Greene Community College, is known for many things on campus: a vibrant teaching style, great shoes, and the red cart she pushes from class to class – chock full of granola bars, apples, and water bottles for anyone who might need a snack.
Recently, Bendel, of Germantown, N.Y., added a new feature to her cart at the suggestion of C-GCC alumna Johna Valk of Saugerties: a bucket labeled Food for the Soul, where students may take and leave motivational or inspiring notes for one another.
The messages (pictured) range from the simple (You Matter) to the specific (I hope you do well on that test!) to the profound (Be a voice, not an echo), and it wasn’t long before Bendel noticed similar morsels spilling out into other areas of campus.
Student Senate President Randy Dunham of Haines Falls, for instance, created a Positivity Board in C-GCC’s HRBTF Student Dining Hall on which any student, faculty- or staff-member can leave words of encouragement via sticky-notes.
“That was the first ripple,” said Bendel, “and the momentum only picked up from there.”
Bendel’s student Tobey Preston, of Tivoli, was next to throw a stone, taking what she thought was a simple step and sharing the idea with her young daughter, Greta.
“She immediately set off to write some of her own with messages, like Have a happy smiley day, and We love you,” said Preston, who added them to the Food for the Soul bucket and the Positivity Board for her fellow classmates to read.
In turn, Bendel began her next class by reading a note of thanks she penned to Greta for her participation.
“As you clearly know, it is important to think of others and how they feel,” it read. “There are definitely times in everyone’s life when things get tough. When those times happen, it helps to hear caring words or read an encouraging message from someone else.”
The gratitude didn’t stop there, however. Students in all of Bendel’s classes wrote messages of encouragement specifically for Preston’s daughter to be included with the note, ranging from You’re an inspiration toRock on, and grow up to help heal this world!The sentiments amounted to four hand-written pages.
“Reading all of the inspiring words of love from strangers was incredible,” said Preston. “She sat quietly listening intently and when I was finally finished she just hugged me and said she loved it.”
That special moment between mother and daughter would serve as a perfect ending to the story, however Food for the Soul has proven to be more than a drop in the bucket. Preston shared the experience with her daughter’s teacher, who requested copies of the letters – they’re now posted throughout the school.
“Later, I was contacted by the president of the PTA requesting copies as well. The ripple continues,” she said.
Bendel agreed. On the C-GCC campus alone, the original Food for the Soul bucket still rides her red cart, and as the spring semester draws to a close, the Positivity Board in the student dining hall is now overflowing with multi-colored messages of encouragement.
“Watching something that began as a way to reach out to help our students turned, very organically, into our students reaching out to help others,” she said. “My heart swells with honor, humility, and pride.”
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