About Our Tours

The Jennifer Riordan Foundation has stepped out of our kindness zone on multiple Spark Kindness Tours across the U.S. The purpose of our Tours is to recognize and support kind acts and to celebrate the people who spread kindness throughout their own cities. The Foundation was created to continue the legacy of Jennifer, who lived her life through the tenet to “Always be Kind, Loving, Caring and Sharing,” inspiring compassion and kind deeds wherever she went.

On the Cross Country Tour and East Coast Tours, we visited non-profit organizations whose missions align with our ABCs of Kindness: to Act kind, Be kind, C kind, and to support their work in the areas of Community Vitality, Financial Literacy, Childhood Education and Women’s Empowerment.

SPARK KINDNESS TOUR LOCAL DAY

This is what a local day of kindness looks like at the NM Bowl. This is what we want to bring to your town.

About the Tour

The Jennifer Riordan Foundation is setting off across the US to encourage kindness and to celebrate the people who spread kindness throughout their own cities. The Foundation was created to continue the legacy of Jennifer, who lived her life through the tenet of “Always be Kind, Loving, Caring and Sharing,” inspiring compassion and kind deeds wherever she went.

On the Spark Kindness Tour, we will visit non-profit organizations whose missions align with our ABCs of Kindness: to Act kind, Be kind, C kind, and to support their work in the areas of Community Vitality, Financial Literacy, Childhood Education and Women’s Empowerment. Our stops on the tour include Albuquerque, NM; Amarillo, TX; Springfield, MO; Richmond, IN; Cleveland, OH; Columbus, OH; Buffalo, NY; and Colchester, VT.

Our Routes

ABQ to Vermont

Both Albuquerque and Colchester hold a special place in Jennifer’s story. Her hometown of Colchester, VT taught her the values that shaped the kind, loving, caring, and sharing person we knew.

Jennifer and Michael Riordan took a leap of faith and moved across the country to make Albuquerque, NM their home in 1994. Jennifer touched the lives of countless people in both cities through her love for life and many passion projects. So, it’s only fitting that our Spark Kindness Tour begins in Albuquerque and ends in Colchester!

The original 2019 Kindness Tour was postponed due to the global pandemic. The Jennifer Riordan Foundation supported our local communities and provided resources to assist individuals, families, and businesses, during this time.

In 2020, we decided to plan a kindness mini-tour! At this point many states were lifting their mandates and reopening their communities. In the Summer of 2020, the Kindness Van hit the road and traveled from Albuquerque, NM to Colchester, VT.

Our stops included Springfield, MO; Indianapolis, IN; Richmond, IN; Cleveland, OH; Buffalo, NY; and Colchester, VT. We connected with the YMCAs in Springfield, Indianapolis, and Buffalo and celebrated kindness with early childhood teachers, children and their families. In Cleveland, we spent time with the Founders of BigHearted Blooms arranging “repurposed” flowers. We also had the pleasure of delivering these newly created flower arrangements to assisted living facilities.

2022 EAST COAST TOUR

During the summer of 2022, we embarked on the East Coast Tour! After our launch from Colchester High School, we spent time in Baltimore, MD; Richmond, VA; Rembert, SC; and Savannah, GA. Check out more details and videos about several of our stops on the East Coast Tour below:

 

Colchester, VT
In Colchester, VT, we met with Maeve McCullagh, recipient of the Jennifer Riordan scholarship from the Jennifer Riordan Foundation. Maeve was selected for this scholarship based on how she has always been kind, loving, caring and sharing throughout her entire life. Maeve is going to the University of Vermont to study Nursing. Check out our video with Maeve below or watch it on YouTube here.

Baltimore, Maryland
In Baltimore, we met with Debbie Rock, CEO, and Charmaine Stern-Megginson, Program Manager of Light Health and Wellness Comprehensive Services. The video says it all – they have transformed their community by the services they are providing for families. These women are incredible leaders. Along with the amazing staff members at Light Health and Wellness, they truly have given a better world to those impacted by poverty, addiction, mental illness, HIV/AIDS and other illnesses. Check out our Baltimore Visit below or view it on Youtube here.

 

Richmond, VA
In Richmond, VA, we met with Mindy Conklin, CEO of Hitting Cancer Below the Belt and Kate Gardner who lost her amazing brother-in-law, Gabe Rodriguez, due to colon cancer. These amazing women are heightening the awareness of how early detection saves lives. Check out our Richmond Visit video below or on YouTube here.

 

Our next stop was to meet with Garry Callis who founded Children of Light. It felt as though Garry was the Mayor of Richmond! Everyone knows Garry, and has such gratitude for the way he has helped Richmond, VA evolve in many positive ways to create community vibrancy. Check out our Richmond Children of Light video below or on YouTube here.

Rembert, SC
In Rembert, SC we spend an incredible day at Danny & Ron’s Dog Rescue. As you’ll see in the video below, Danny and Ron have such kind souls. They have provided for over 14,000 dogs since 2005. Witnessing their acts of kindness was heartwarming. Check out our video with Danny & Ron below or watch it on Youtube here.

Reach out to us

It is our mission to recognize, support, and spread acts of kindness in the spirit of Jenn. If you or your organization would like to partner with us to spread kindness in your area, reach out! Our team would love to hear more about your efforts to bring out the good in your community.

Tour Press Releases