At a press conference on Tuesday, Boise Mayor David Bieter announced a community-wide initiative with a goal to promote and maintain the city’s values and kindness.
Mayor Bieter proposed the Boise Kind initiative at his State of the City Address in September. At a press conference at the Idaho Foodbank Tuesday, he expounded on the idea.
"People have asked me, ‘How can I get involved?’ and the answer thankfully is well, you already are. Everybody is invited to step up and be a part of this," he said.
Boise Kind will officially kick off at Treefort Music Festival this March. It will begin with a “Kindness Count,” where anyone can digitally submit acts of kindness.
Other projects Boise Kind plans to take on include an annual day of service and volunteering.
Bill Connors is the president and CEO of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, one of the organizations involved in putting the initiative together. He says a big reason people and companies come to Boise as opposed to cities in other states is the city’s “kind factor.”
"This is not just a nice, feel-good initiative. This is something that actually gives us a competitive edge over some other cities," he said.
Mayor Bieter says there’s no dollar amount connected to the project yet because they’re still working on the details. But he says there will likely be some taxpayer money going to support Boise Kind.
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