Benny Westcott
Splashes of color have been hitting the Sweet Home streets for weeks now, thanks to the city’s Paint The Town project being in full swing. But on Wednesday, August 23, Main Street motorists were also treated to a group of people outside Steelhead Fitness dressed in orange spreading joy and energy, waving at passersby and holding signs.
The festivities started that day with an “orange frog” conference for Sweet Home School District ambassadors and community members. The orange frog concept, based on the works of positive psychology researcher Shawn Achor and taught in Harvard’s happiness course and to companies worldwide, was first introduced at the district last year. Among the community members at the conference was Kelcey Young, Sweet Home’s city manager. “During our conference, she made an announcement that KEZI was coming to Sweet Home to run a feature on Paint The Town,” said Barbi Riggs, the district’s director of teaching and learning. “So she said she would love for us all to come and be part of this feature.” The group agreed to go. “We went there to support and be part of the community,” Riggs said.
Also that day, the orange-clad ambassadors and community members were doing “joy droppings,” going into businesses and spreading joy and positivity. “We’re trying to spread the orange throughout Sweet Home, not just at the school district,” she said. Staff talked to service workers on the streets and let them know they were appreciated. An all-day conference and workshop under the theme of the orange frog will be put on for the entire district staff on the Aug. 28 in-service day that welcomes staff back for the school year. “We wanted to make sure that the entire district was on board with the orange frog movement and really building a positive happiness culture throughout the district,” she said.
And don’t expect the orange to go away anytime soon. “This orange is spreading throughout Sweet Home, and we’re just spreading positivity and happiness, and we wanted our parents, kids and the community to know that we’re looking at life with a glass half full,” Riggs said.