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Viral Kindness
During this COVID-19 crisis, people are stepping up and spreading goodwill. We want to hear about the ways in which Kansans are responding to this emergency with compassion, and shine a light on the humans that exemplify humanity.Every other Friday, we'll share your stories on KMUW's new commentary, Viral Kindness.Share your experience. Use the 'Talk to Us' feature on the KMUW app, or leave a voicemail at (316) 978-6789.

Viral Kindness: Wichita Love Notes

Emily Brookover organized a slew of signage for Downtown Wichita meant to keep everyone’s spirits up during this tough year. 

Her coworker, Megan Hartzell, explains:

"Emily Brookover, our director of community development, is the individual who connected with all of the artists to get them involved. And she’s just a very creative and caring person. I think anyone who knows her or has worked with her would say that something like this is right up her alley. The world is going through a pandemic, but she’s thinking about other people, and thinking about Wichita.

"She contacted nine local artists and asked them to anonymously create something beautiful that will inspire and encourage our community during this time. And all nine artists took it and ran and did an amazing job. And they created this series of signs that we call the Wichita Love Notes. It’s a project that we have wanted to do for a while, and then when the pandemic hit, we thought we need hope and positive messages now more than ever.

"They are spread all throughout downtown and Old Town. Any residents, visitors, anybody passing by, maybe it will just make them smile and remind them they’re not alone. There’s 31 different designs and we’ve printed so far a total of 73. There’s two by John Pirtle, a local artist. One of them you can see it at The Monarch, and it’s a bartender. He’s got these two big frosted mugs in his hands and he says, 'When this is all over, the next one’s on me.' And that one always makes me smile. He has another one that’s a chicken, and it says, 'Keep Fighting.'"

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Participating artists include:

Marc Bosworth

Curt Clonts

Richard Crowson

Rebecca Hoyer

Jordan Kirtley

Hallie Linnebur

Dustin Parker

John Pirtle

Ernest Vincent Wood III

Sarah Jane Crespo is the Director of Community Engagement at KMUW. She is the creator and host of Engage ICT and the weekly Engage ICT Mini series.