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The McKenna Foundation is excited to announce that three schools from New Braunfels Independent School District (NBISD) and three from Comal Independent School District (CISD) will receive awards for their outstanding participation in the Choose Kindness Video Contest.

Given just over three weeks to create a video demonstrating how their school chooses kindness, the McKenna Foundation received 27 unique and creative entries between the two districts.

Originally planning to award one school from each district, the Foundation was so impressed by the creativity and heartfelt messages in each video that it was decided to award first-place prizes of $10,000, second-place prizes of $5,000, and third-place prizes of $2,500 for both NBISD and CISD.

“You just feel better after watching these videos,” said McKenna CEO Alice Jewell. “We were amazed at how creative and heartfelt each video was, and felt compelled to give second and third-place prizes. Our schools work so hard and make such an impact on our community, so this was a great way for the McKenna Foundation to make a meaningful investment while also engaging students and staff in something fun.

The winning schools from NBISD included: (1) Voss Farms Elementary; (2) Klein Road Elementary; and (3) Walnut Springs Elementary.

Winning schools from CISD included: (1) Pieper Ranch Middle School; (2) Johnson Ranch Elementary; and (3) Garden Ridge Elementary.

Standouts among them were the first-place winners, Voss Farms Elementary and Pieper Ranch Middle School. Voss Farms created a fun twist on the viral “suspect challenge,” featuring a student catching ‘suspects’ in kind acts such as opening the door for someone or spreading joy and kindness in morning announcements.

Watch the video below:

The first-place winner from CISD, Pieper Ranch Middle School, made a memorable impression with their creative use of black-and-white to color transition, illustrating how small acts of kindness can brighten someone’s day. Their video ended with the simple yet powerful message, “color the world with kindness.”

Watch the video below:

The McKenna Foundation would like to thank and congratulate all the participants for their incredible efforts in creating these videos and for their enthusiasm in Choosing Kindness.

You can watch all winning videos on the McKenna Foundation’s YouTube or on Instagram at @mckennafoundation.