VBPR Celebrates Unity Week and YOU can too!

Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation is celebrating its first Unity Week. The goal of the week is to promote inclusion and acceptance of all individuals in our community (and beyond!) Think about it…what a world this would be if everyone just accepted each other with kindness and understanding! We mean it – really stop and think about what that would be like (take your time; we’ll wait.) No judgments, no stereotypes, no bullying or exclusion of people because of how they look or what they believe. And the crazy (yet not so crazy) thing is – it’s TOTALLY POSSIBLE! Idealistic, but possible! How you may ask? Through the power of kindness. It’s simple really:

Do the KIND thing.

Say the KIND thing.

Think the KIND thoughts.

Approach difficult situations and even disagreements with KINDNESS.

Revolutionary stuff, huh? Another radical tactic - show empathy. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes before you leap to judgment or form an opinion. Seek to get to know and understand someone and the experiences they have had that make them who they are. And wouldn’t it feel amazing if others did the same for you?

Lastly, remember that it’s ok to disagree with someone’s point of view. We’re not all going to agree and will have differing opinions and priorities. This is actually a good thing because it colors our world with new ideas and ways of thinking, but what’s not a good thing is being unkind toward someone just because they see things differently than you. You may not agree, but you can always be kind.

At Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation, we believe passionately that promoting diversity and inclusion makes us better as an organization and as a community. From our incredible Inclusion Services that provide accommodations for kids and adults to engage in our programs and facilities, to our Therapeutic Recreation Programs, down to the people we hire who believe in our mission and share our vision, we’re promoting unity every day and hope you join us in doing the same.  

For more about all the happenings during Unity Week, click here. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook to see our special Unity Week video, loads of pictures of your friends and neighbors expressing what unity means to them, and the event details for our Unity Week Movie Night at Mount Trashmore this Saturday, Oct. 20!