What if you received a smile with every sales transaction and smiled back? What if your neighbor picked up your trash can lid rather than watching it blow down the street?
What if you didn’t shake your fist at the driver who wouldn’t let you merge into traffic?
These are questions posed by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, Florida, as it launches a new civility campaign. The "Because It Matters" initiative, launched this week, will stress improving quality of life by increasing civic participation, civil discourse, and social capital.
When we act civilly we feel good. "Research bears it out," says the Foundation. "Emotions are contagious. When humans feel good, those good feelings extend to the next person we encounter. Human brain chemistry signals us to feel better about the world around us. That is the essence of Because It Matters."
“Because It Matters gives all of us an opportunity to improve the quality of life in our region, one encounter at a time,” says Foundation President and CEO, Teri A. Hansen.
Visit BecauseItMatters.net for more information and to read the 10 Keys to Civility. (Which you already know, of course . . . right?)
