When Mariska founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004, we knew that so much was possible, but we had no idea just how much.

Because of your support we’ve directly served over 10,000 survivors and the professionals who care for them since our inception.

We created a whole new category of trauma recovery with our Heal the Healers work.

We testified before Congress and participated in the first White House Roundtable on sexual violence.

We commissioned groundbreaking research on public perceptions of child abuse and neglect.

And through our partnership with the Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund, we created the most comprehensive child abuse prevention campaign in the state’s history.

But what we did not imagine was possible was for the number of child abuse and neglect-related deaths to rise from four a day to over five a day. In the five minutes it will take you to read this email, 30 reports of child abuse will be made. That’s 3.3 million reports each year, involving 6 million children.

Research shows that parents and caregivers with strong support networks are less likely to abuse or neglect their children—which means that all of us have a role to play in strengthening families and preventing abuse.

To unite us all in the movement to prevent child abuse and neglect, Joyful Heart is proudly teaming up with Do the KIND Thing this month, an initiative launched by KIND to try and make the world a little kinder. Each month, Do the KIND Thing challenges people to carry out a specific act of kindness with the promise that if enough people sign up to do so at KINDmovement.com, KIND will pay it forward on a larger scale by carrying out a Big KIND Act. To date, Do the KIND Thing has inspired hundreds of thousands of unexpected acts of kindness and bettered the lives of more than half a million people in need.

Now through October 2nd, we’re asking people everywhere to commit to support a parent or caregiver by offering a helping hand, preparing a meal together or simply asking how they're doing. Please visit kindsnacks.com/dtkt/mission/current to accept this KINDING mission.

Your kindness can have a huge impact. If enough people pledge to participate at KINDmovement.com, Mariska, Joyful Heart and fellow supporters will package and deliver healing kits to hundreds of abused children currently seeking protection at the Manhattan Child Advocacy Center in New York City, as well as centers in Los Angeles and Honolulu.

Together, we can shed light on the issue of child abuse and neglect and engage people everywhere to be part of the solution. Please join us.

And thank you for your kindness.