For the first time in the history of the Everyday Kindness Heroes program, two Kindness Champions were crowned.
Out of five community-nominated finalists and five finalists chosen from past Dispatch reporting, or “Dispatch Picks,” Sean McKay and Carter Kefauver were both named Everyday Kindness Heroes Champions at the Dec. 3 awards ceremony.
Speaking to the audience at the event, McKay tearfully expressed his love for the way his community has become his chosen family.
“I work with people of all sorts, from our littles to our elders, people that look like me, people that don’t look like me,” he said. “. . I don’t have a strong family background, but the people that are sitting at my table, I consider one family.”
The event, organized by The Dispatch and Dispatch Magazines, brought 18 honorees to Vitria on the Square in Columbus to be celebrated by over 200 guests.
For their service to the community, they also received grants from the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation toward the nonprofit organization of their choice.
Both Kefauver and McKay left the event with a $3,000 grant for being named the 2025 Kindness Champions.
As a part of the program, the other “Dispatch Picks” honorees and finalists each received $500 from the Center for HumanKindness. Likewise, five semifinalist honorees — including three individuals, a duo and a group of three — each received a $300 grant.
Kate Oliphint, the director of the Center for HumanKindness, said the evening and the partnership showed the impact of kindness in the community.
“This partnership has helped show that kindness isn’t just happening behind the scenes. It’s headline worthy,” she said.
Beyond the awards and in the spirit of the program, the highlight of the night was the many stories of service.
Stories of service to central Ohio
The audience in attendance got to hear from all honorees about what brought each of them to the stage — their kindness to the central Ohio community.
Areas of impact ranged from giving rides to refugee families to serving foster youth.
Many honorees have focused on meeting critical needs, including fighting hunger. One semifinalist duo, Susan Swinford and Emily Rials, facilitate Columbus Food Rescue through a Columbus nonprofit, Local Matters.
Swinford described taking over the food rescue organization in February 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve seen a lot of the challenging things in Columbus,” she said. “… We do all of these things with people who every day say, ‘You know, the world is on fire, but I can do something in this. So, I will.’ And our rescuers are the thing that gets me out.”
That trend also proved true for both Kindness Champions.
With Carter Kindness, the “kindness army” named after its 13-year-old founder, the Kefauver family works to meet these needs in central Ohio. McKay grows produce and inspires young farmers across the region with his nonprofit, the Garden District Corp.
When asked before the event about being recognized, Kefauver and his mom, Robin, said they were excited to be in the presence of all the other honorees.
“We do this not expecting any recognition or any reward. It’s just what we should all do, right? Be kind,” Robin Kefauver said.
This article was made possible by support from the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, which has partnered with The Columbus Dispatch to profile those making our community a better place. Help us inspire kindness by suggesting people, initiatives or organizations for Reporter Sophia Veneziano to profile. She can be reached at sveneziano@dispatch.com. Learn more at Dispatch.com/Kindness. The Dispatch retains full editorial independence for all content.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Meet this year’s Kindness Champions, crowned at our Everyday Kindness event
Reporting by Sophia Veneziano, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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