Thank you 2019 and all our supporters for helping us bring children in the hospital some fun character building activities to keep them on the mend! 2020 we're doing it all again! Visit us online to see how you can make a difference in the life of a child. Thank you.

Characters of Character is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization located in Illinois and moving to Tennessee in 2020 to plant roots and harvest the good in character development, teaching children and empowering communities. Learn more online. Meet the characters here.
Learn about our 2020 projects here. Donate here . Contact us here. Check out upcoming events here.

You can sponsor a painting class in your community! Children listen to a social story, discuss the character trait and then bring the character to life on canvas that they paint! Contact Joni here.

Another year older and a new year will begin! I would take my children to school everyday, when I would take them after summer break to their next grade level is when it would hit me.....they're getting older..........their Birthday's didn't effect me this way, it was ALWAYS the next year of school....So, the New Year is upon us and what will you do, another year older, coo-coo-ca-choo!

While so many will have New Years Resolutions for whatever they may be, to take them on slowly is the best way to be. This way your resolutions become a habit, if it's being kinder, eating healthier, trying harder, etc. Make them a reality by doing them slowly, daily and intentionally.

Make each minute count! I know for me at times I feel like the day is lasting forever, and yet the years seem to fly on by? Something I've been doing this past year when I'm overwhelmed or avoiding a task that needs to be done, I find my 'happy place', be it painting, drawing, writing or writing in my journal, I choose one to do to keep my mind occupied in a good place so that I can go into the next minute, next hour, next week or next year feeling at peace and balanced.

Don't worry, BE HAPPY! Don't put so much pressure on yourself and try to get everything accomplished right away, take it one day at a time, one minute, one week, one month, one year and before you know it another New Year will appear! Happy New Year.

My name is Joni Downey, I'm the creator of the Characters of Character. We're a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide a firm foundation for children to establish strong civic values. Be sure to visit our website to learn how you can implement these traits in your home, your classroom, your community and in your everyday life!

Have you met the Characters of Character? After piloting them in an elementary school where they earned a National Promising Practice Award, Joni Downey, the creator formed a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization to share the important messages of the characters and to empower children, engage families and entertain communities in their life lessons building better citizenship, a better mindset and a foundation to build and grow upon. Meet Behavior Bear who teaches a child what good behavior means. Meet Do'er Duck who teaches children to 'NEVER GIVE UP'. Meet Friendship Frog who teaches children what it means to be a friend. Meet Healthy Hippo who teaches children about healthy habits. Meet Manners Monkey who teaches children about good manners. Meet Respectful Rabbit who teaches children about being respectful. Meet Responsible Rabbit who teaches children what it means to be responsible. Meet Self-Esteem Elephant who teaches children what it means to be confident and proud of who you are. And, finally, meet Warm-Hearted Walrus who teaches children to be kind and not bully.

Whether you live locally or throughout the country, Characters of Character shares its service and resource nationally. This year we focused on Children's Hospital Visits to bring joy to girls and boys as they heal their body and minds during their hospital stay. The kits included character building activities which they don't even realize because they are so engaged in the activity. The kits include an activity book, a canvas with a message to paint, paints, paint brush, crayons, etc. to help empower the child in the messages. Some of these were Super Hero Kits, others were Kindness Kits or a Super Hero Box. The locations varied depending on the funding. We brought our character costume Self-Esteem Elephant to Shriner's Children Hospital in Chicago and our character costume Warm-Hearted Walrus to Huntley Hospital in Huntley, Illinois. We donated activities to Loyola Hospital in Chicago and also Robert and Ann Lurie's Children Hospital in Chicago. In 2020 we have began to reach out to other Children's Hospitals across the country to gift these character kits to children. With your donation we are able to continue making a difference in the life of a child. We can not do it with out your support. Please consider the Characters of Character for this Giving Tuesday and through the year ahead to empower, engage and entertain our children, families and communities in these important character messages. Thank you.

Due to germs, we are unable to bring one of our Characters in costume, but Characters of Character will be donating Superhero Themed Character Building to the Lurie's Children's Hospital of Chicago as well. 

Here are some ways that you can help support our End of the Year 2019 Children's Hospital Donation:

- Launch a Facebook fundraiser​ to share with family & friends - be sure to let us know you raised funds for this specific project so we make sure the donations go directly towards the December 2019 Children's Hospital Character Building Gift Bags

- Give a monetary donation (even a small $5 donations makes an impact!) directly to Characters of Character either through Facebook or the through Paypal by clicking the  'donate' button below.

- Donate an in-kind item from our Amazon Wishlist found here - one of our biggest needs from the Wishlist are the Kindness Coloring & Activity Book as well as the Superhero Activity Book. 

​- Match a contribution through work if the company you work for offers that.  You can also ask co-workers if they'd like to donate to Characters of Character project directly.  

- Share the project on social media.  Word of mouth is a powerful thing and you never know who you are going to reach.  Simply sharing or talking about our project has the potential to reach thousands of people who might be interested in supporting our Character Building Activity Bag donation project.

 - Set up a donation can in your community to collect donations from others.  Talk to your local gas station, a local shop, or even the grocery store you shop at and see if they'd be willing to let you put a donation jar or two at the store for a few days.  

Two of the items on our Amazon Wishlist are stamps and greeting cards.  One of our goals for this project is to handwrite letters on the greeting cards to each child from one of our Characters.  In addition to our Characters writing those letters, we will encourage each child who receive a goody bag to write directly to their favorite Character (hence the stamps), and the Character will write back!  

It's an engaging way to not only give the children a distraction from their hospital stay/visit, but it's also a great way to encourage writing!

*Final contents of Character Building Activity Bags will be determined by the amount of monetary and in-kind donations received.  We will post updates as soon as the goody bags are put together.