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A student-led club at Langley is using community service and casual conversation to help classmates feel more connected at school.

Sophomore Zara Mufti created the Kindness Project with sophomores Ryan Didihvar, Emmy Lookibel, Lexi Bensten and Karim Khokagassi, along with juniors Hakan Caliskan, Nikihil Chanada and Marielle Wooton. Their goal is to foster an environment where students feel comfortable forming relationships with one another.

“I felt like bullying was a really big issue within Langley, and I wanted to create a club that allowed people to feel a sense of belonging and community,” Mufti said.

The club meets once a month during Friday Saxon Time. Each gathering includes an activity intended to benefit either the school or the wider community. Members decorated socks for people experiencing homelessness in December, while their first meeting focused on assembling welcome baskets for new Langley teachers.

Snacks also play a role in bringing members together.

“At our meetings we try to provide a lot of snacks so people can come together and talk and just get to know each other and expand their social circle,” Mufti said.

Lauren Lipton, a system of support advisor and the club’s sponsor, said groups like the Kindness Project can help students feel less isolated.

“That’s what is so special about clubs like this at Langley, they radiate that energy of connection that brings people in so they feel less alone,” Lipton said.

Lipton works with students facing attendance and academic difficulties, some of whom also struggle to become part of the school community. She said clubs that encourage connection can make students feel recognized and listened to. Students who lack strong relationships with their peers and teachers are also less likely to attend school. The CDC has linked a sense of belonging at school with a reduced likelihood of mental health problems.

Sophomore Sadie Jane Stayin said the club’s atmosphere is evident even to students passing its meetings.

“Every time I pass by one of their meetings it seems like such a warm and inviting environment,” Stayin said. “I think that kind of environment and energy is so important to the school and students.”