Ararat residents may have noticed blue hats popping up at various locations around town this week. The free ‘gratitude’ caps have been left at parks, sporting facilities and other landmarks to promote Resilient Ararat’s latest Mental Health Month campaign.
The Positive Postie Project is a kindness-based wellbeing initiative that encourages the whole community to practice gratitude.
Participating schools have received free campaign resources, including branded notepads and Positive Postie boxes to inspire students to write kind, uplifting notes to their peers, teachers and school staff. Resilient Ararat is also delivering free resources to businesses that would like to get involved in the campaign with their staff.
Central Grampians LLEN Executive Officer, Jane Moriarty, said the concept for this year’s campaign was developed during a workshop with a group of students from Resilient Ararat’s cluster schools.
“We looked at some simple strategies that can be used to improve our mental health and wellbeing, and practicing gratitude was one that really resonated with the students. Showing gratitude for the people around us is something that is really easy to do, but most of us don’t do it enough,” Ms Moriarty said.
“The Positive Postie Project is designed to encourage kindness in our local schools and workplaces by providing resources that make it easy to write a quick gratitude note for a peer, teacher or colleague and post it in the Positive Postie box.
“Recognising someone you are grateful for or someone who has done something kind or extraordinary not only puts a smile on their face, but it helps you appreciate the positive things in your life.”
Ms Moriarty said each school and business would choose how they distribute the notes.
“Some schools will be handing them out to the recipients or reading them out at assembly, while others have decided to create a gratitude wall or feature them in the school newsletter,” she said.
“Businesses can share the notes in staff meetings or include them in the staff newsletter to boost workplace morale.”
To allow the entire community to participate in the campaign, Resilient Ararat has taken The Positive Postie Project online.
A virtual gratitude wall has been set up on the Central Grampians LLEN website for community members to acknowledge and celebrate local businesses, sporting clubs, community groups or individuals that are doing great things.
Residents are encouraged to contribute to The Positive Postie Virtual Gratitude Wall and fill it with positive messages. Visit www.cgllen.org.au/the-positive-postie-project-virtual-gratitude-wall/ to submit your gratitude note.
PHOTO: Branded caps are being hidden around Ararat as part of Resilient Ararat’s latest Mental Health Month campaign, The Positive Postie Project.