In honor of International Women’s Day, we want to spotlight two particularly lovely ladies. Lauren Paul and Molly Thompson are the founders of Kind Campaign, a nonprofit that works to promote kind relationships among young women. Inspired by their own personal experience with girl-on-girl bullying, these ladies teamed up to create an organization that brings awareness to the issue and supports young women as they heal.
Lauren Paul’s Story
Lauren’s experience with “girl-against-girl ‘crime’” began in middle school, when a group of her girlfriends began to bully her. As a result, Lauren’s 7th and 8th-grade years were spent in fear. She was scared to go to school or answer the phone. Her grades suffered and she found herself hiding daily to avoid confrontation. Unfortunately, this led Lauren to a battle with depression and a suicide attempt. In her Kind Campaign Bio, Lauren states, “I know first hand how much it hurts to be called names, to be threatened and to feel like you are all alone.”
As she grew up, Lauren dreamed of building a career that would “create an outlet and spread awareness about the emotional, verbal and physical abuse within female relationships.” Luckily, she met her best friend and Kind Campaign Co-Founder, Molly, during her attendance at Pepperdine University where they both studied film and television production. It was there that Lauren discovered the value of documentary-style films as a tool to create a dialogue about the issue. As the conversation grew, Lauren and Molly founded the Kind Campaign. Their organization would soon be internationally recognized, bringing a documentary, school assemblies, and education programs to schools globally.
“I truly hope that the message of Kind Campaign speaks to you and that you know how special you are. When you go through this, it’s really hard to see outside your current experience or outside of your school halls and to know that you have so many different chapters of your life ahead of you. I promise you it gets better and I am so thankful that I am here today, able to tell you that and to do the work that we do. I know it’s extremely hard to be a girl. It’s hard for ALL of us. However, I have confidence that through the Kind Campaign, we will all come together to create a community and an awareness that will change this problem.”
~ Lauren Paul
Molly Thompson’s Story
Molly gained her passion for the Kind Campaign’s mission through her experience in high school, when a group of her girlfriends turned on her, leaving her anxious and scared to attend school and answer phone calls. In her Kind Campaign Bio, Molly states, “Throughout this experience, I felt so alone, even though I had a small core group of friends that stuck by my side.” To spread awareness and ensure support for girls going through similar experiences, Molly joined forces with Lauren to create the Kind Campaign. Her journey since has been life-changing.
“I am an extremely sensitive person, so even today I still struggle with feeling hurt by things that girls say or do, intentionally or not. Thankfully, because of my previous experiences and because of the strength that I see in girl’s faces every single day as we travel, I look at the bigger picture now. I remind myself that we are all insecure and battling the exact same thing, we all want to be loved and accepted by the people around us. I am thankful for every single person that I have encountered on this journey; they have blessed me with such generosity, strength, and kindness.”
~ Molly Thompson
About Kind Campaign
Kind Campaign started as a documentary to create a dialogue around ‘girl-against-girl bullying,’ and eventually became “a multi-platform movement that has transformed hundreds of thousands of lives, friendships, classrooms and communities around the world.” Since its beginnings in 2009, Kind Campaign Assemblies have been invited to hundreds of schools nationally. Lauren and Molly have even achieved international recognition, completing eleven international tours to increase awareness and healing around bullying. Together, these women work hard to offer new initiatives and curriculums annually, committed to extending the reaches and impact of their Kind Campaign mission. We are forever inspired by their kindness, compassion, ambition, and commitment towards building a kinder world for women globally. Thank you, ladies, for all you do!
