Today we’d like to introduce you to Joni Downey.
Hi Joni, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was working in an elementary school in Grayslake, Illinois as a Teaching Assistant on the Reading Team. The principal submitted the characters as a pilot program and they earned a National Promising Practice Award through the Character Education Partnership in Washington D.C.! Only two schools earned this high honor and ours was one of them.
I had spent that summer making classroom posters, journals for students and sharing the characters and their messages with the staff. After they earned this award I chose to take a leave of absence from the school to form a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and named it Characters of Character NFP. That was 2007, and today I am proud to share that we have impacted thousands of children and youth with our character messages, published over thirty books and brought the characters to life in costume!
We have shared the characters through Mommy and Me painting classes at Park districts, libraries, homes and classrooms. We have shared resources at community events, such as the Chicago Land Kids Expo, at hospitals, and classrooms to introduce the characters, engage children and allow parents to learn more about the characters and our organization. There was one student who loved Do’er Duck and dressed as the character she and her mom made for Halloween one year! Years later she found us at the Kids Expo and dressed in our costume with her mom! After a presentation at an early childhood center with our character Friendship Frog, the students wanted to stay inside to write Friendship Frog letters and draw pictures thanking the character for coming to visit instead of going outdoors for recess! Self-Esteem elephant visited a community and shared coloring pages and water bottles that read, “I Like ME” and when we arrived back home that evening, I had received an email from a mom who shared that her daughter wanted to talk about the message which opened up conversations and building her own confidence. She shared that her daughter would not toss out her water bottle because she loved the message and she loved herself. We sent her more stickers! Her mom was also a Girl Scout Leader and we sent her resources to do with her girls in the troop. I think one of my favorite stories is when we presented Manners Monkey at a library and the parents stayed for the presentation. There were about thirty children. I always start out with a social story and open a discussion about the trait. There was one boy, about ten years old who seemed not interested at all, he wasn’t disruptive or anything, just not present. I reached out to him and asked him if he was doing okay today and he said to me, “yes, I just don’t want to be here, I don’t even like painting” as you see, after the story and discussion we painted the character on canvas for the children to take home as a visual reminder. Well, not only did he finish his painting, he left me a message on the plate of paints that read, “I didn’t want to paint, but thank you” His parent actually came up to thank me as his son was engaged, completed the task and had a nice time. However, there is more! I had received a nice email from a parent sharing with me that her daughter had a nice time and to thank me for coming out that evening to the library. On their way home from the class her daughter wanted to learn polite words in their heritage. Now, that is priceless!
As much as I enjoyed and absolutely love working with the families and children, unfortunately the Pandemic had arrived and we all know that things shut down. Now I had to think outside the box and how we could continue to get these characters into the lives of our children and youth. So, our first thought was to put together resources with our character Warm-Hearted Walrus and deliver them to a local hospital where children were. Warm-Hearted Walrus even delivered the packets for the children and was very welcomed! After seeing the impact that this had we designed a Superhero Character building activity box to donate to children’s hospitals in Illinois where we were registered and began the organization, and to Tennessee where we had moved to. I began writing grants and we received one from the Nashville Predators Foundation!
This was our sign! We moved in October of 2021 to Tennessee and absolutely love it here! You are stuck with us now! The grant from the Predators was to donate Superhero boxes to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Now, we had mot yet moved here, so my daughter and I drove to Vanderbilt where we met Gnash their mascot and donated them to the staff at the hospital. Today, we have donated to this location with support from not only the Nashville Predators Foundation, but from Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins, Chris Stapleton, Fall Out Boy, Chicago, Coca-Cola, Meijer, Northwestern Medicine and others who believe in our organization and brought so much happiness and joy to the girls and boys in the hospitals. Since this project began in late 2021 we have now donated almost five thousand boxes, not only to children’s hospitals, but to Fort Campbell Army base and our Military families and also to the YMCA. There are so many opportunities to donate to so many locations when we have received the funds to put together the boxes.
What’s included in these boxes, first, they are sturdy and colorful and belong to the child. There is a superhero activity book, watercolor paints and brush, crayons, a canvas that says I AM SUPER, an easel to display this piece of art, a superhero mask, a character lanyard and badge of one of the characters and an autographed greeting card from one of the characters. We fulfill these at our home where we print and press the canvas, laminate the badges and fulfill each box with TLC. We have even had students from Belmont and Austin Peay help us out by signing, stuffing and sealing the autographed greeting cards which is beyond helpful to us.
As of today, we have donated these Superhero boxes to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, the Dolly Parton Children’s hospital in East Tennessee, the Rainbow Kids Clinic in Clarksville, Grace and Pride Prep school in Clarksville, Fort Campbell Army Base in Clarksville, Robertson County and Rutherford County YMCA in Tennessee, Shriner’s Children’s hospital in Chicago, Rush in Chicago, Ann and Robert Lurie’s Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Northwestern Medicine in Illinois, and Nemours Children’s Hospital in Deleware.
While meeting the band Chicago, Chris Stapleton and Gnash are highlights for us, there is nothing more rewarding than knowing, seeing and feeling the impact that the characters have in the life of a child. We are making a difference, one child at a time.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Characters of Character NFP celebrated nineteen years as a nonprofit organization which we are proud of! Smooth sailing, nah, it never is! When I took a leave of absence from the school I thought that forming a nonprofit organization would be easy, fun and fall into place. Who was I kidding!! Networking, writing grants, researching for funds, marketing, vendor events, and classes all take a lot of time, effort and commitment. That is where my Ph.d. comes into play, my Passion, my Heart and my Determination to make a difference in the life of a child.
While we have made tremendous strides, met amazing people, impacted thousands of children, it’s always a struggle and time consuming to secure funds to be able to continue to donate the Superhero boxes and share these important messages from the Characters of Character.. As my initial idea was to have a space where we could invite the community in and host painting classes and character building activities, that never happened. What did happen though is our perseverance to keep doing what we can, where we can and however we can to engage children and youth into building a firm foundation of good character.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Shortly after turning 60 I went on an adventure with a dear friend, she and I drove to Louisiana for an art retreat and then to Georgia for an event called Turning Point with the John Maxwell Team. This changed my life! While our three kids were adults, I wasn’t in the school teaching anymore and Characters of Character NFP was not where I hoped it would be at that time, I took in this next chapter with a lot of excitement and openness to new ideas. As I sat at the art retreat, the instructor looked at me and asked me, “Joni, what brings you here?” and my response was, “to find Joni again”
At our John Maxwell event with Turning Point which was a three day workshop, we would break into small groups and one on one to learn more about who we are, what we would like to change, etc. about ourself. As I sat in this and listened, there was a question proposed to me and really got one to think, and my response was this, “I want to do more” and the person looked at me and said, “you have already done so much, built an organizaiton, created these characters, published books and impacted so many children” and I actually cried, I had never, ever thought of it like that, but I did now that I had so much more in me to give. And I still do! As much as I use my Phd, I know that I am living my purpose, I am where I am suppose to be and I shall continue to do what I can, how I can and where I can to teach our children that they are SUPER, to build their confidence, to hear their words and to build a firm foundation to grow on.
I never thought of myself as an artist, I loved to draw, craft, and all that, but hadn’t thought of me as an artist. All three of our adult children are creatives, my husband is a master carpenter and we poured into them as much as I pour into your children to teach them about the characters, which are Behavior Bear, Do’er Duck, Friendship Frog, Healthy Hippo, Manners Monkey, Respectful Rabbit, Responsible Rabbit, Self-Esteem Elephant and Warm-Hearted Walrus. What began in a classroom for behavior challenged children, turned into the Characters of Character.
I’m known as Joey, Josh and Jennifer’s mom, Joe’s wife and now the creator of Characters of Character NFP.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
While I personally never dreamed after nineteen years I would have dedicated my life to these characters, I have. Would I do it again, yes. Have I learned from this journey. Yes,
If there were one thing I would do differently as a young parent, I would have asked my own children what they like about who they are. It honestly never occurred to me such a thought. They were confident, well mannered, etc. This question opens so many conversations with children and as I asked it during classes and activities there was never two answers the same. It got the child thinking, learning more about who they were and who they want to be, what they want to learn and how they can grow from this question.
I presented to grades K-4 and the school social worker and even the principal hesitated for the fourth graders to attend. However, this is where I learned the most and the students did, too. As conversations unfolded they learned more about their peers, their interests and themself. When I wrapped up the class, the students walked by me with a high five and many shared a hug. What would I like you to take away from all of this, talk with your children, be present with them and mostly listen. We are not the same people we were yesterday, we are today and we will be tomorrow, help your child to grow into the best they can be, I also did this with a group of Girl Scouts and the impact that it had on the group was heartfelt as they also learned about one another and themself. So, while driving in the car to the next activity, ask your own child, “What do you like about who you are?”
Pricing:
- Your support makes a difference in the life of a child.
- Following us and sharing us on social media helps get our word out.
- If your business or you know of one who would like to support our Superhero boxes, please contact me.
- Our books are available on amazon.
- We are looking to build our Board of Directors, please connect with me if you would be interested.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.charactersofcharacter.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charactersofcharacter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharactersOfCharacter/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joni-downey-67325312/
- Twitter: https://x.com/CofCJoni
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@charactersofcharacterjonid51
