Video shoot will honor community contributors

Not too long ago, someone shared a video of a song called “Nothing More,” by Alternate Routes with Deb Barnes.

“I became obsessed with it,” said the chairwoman of the Manito-Cannon Hill Neighborhood Council. She thought the lyrics were positive, and it spoke to her about people who step up to solve problems and get things done.

It also gave her an idea. She gathered some friends and SpoKind was born.

“It’s a celebration of how we all contribute to the community,” Barnes said.

Saturday, anyone who is interested can come to Manito Park to help make a video and light a community candle.

The event’s website features the song that inspired the movement. Barnes said she received permission from the band to use it, as long as she sends them a copy of the video to use in their own promotional materials.

The people involved in the project use hashtags to describe who they are and how they fit into the community on SpoKind’s website. For Barnes, that hashtag is #WorldChanger.

“I really believe that we change the world one person at a time,” she said. Others include #helper, #learner, #CommunityJedi, #EmbracingQuirky and more.

The group, which calls itself the Mighty Warriors of Kindness, includes business owners, volunteers and community members from all walks of life.

Barnes said she believes people contribute to the community through the many roles they play, whether that be parent, son or daughter, friend, boss or employee, or volunteer.

The event has been planned over about a month. Organizers wanted to beat the bad weather with the date.

The event is free. Although the group is selling T-shirts on its website that are customized with the wearer’s hashtag, it’s too late to order them for the video shoot Saturday. Anyone who doesn’t have a T-shirt can make a poster with their personal hashtag on it.

But it won’t be the last event SpoKind will have, so the T-shirts are still for sale online for $20.

“It will be fun,” Barnes said.