Grief Guides $20 Kindness Challenge

Grief is an emotion that nearly every human will experience at some point in their life. Whether it is a childhood pet or a loved one, grief finds a way to consume us. However, when an opportunity presents itself to use those emotions positively, why not take it? That alternative route is exactly what high school English teacher Kristina Ulmer did, and now, her charitable acts have turned a once somber story into a merry tale.

In October 2014, Katie Amodei, Kristina Ulmer’s younger sister, was killed in a car crash. Katie was a generous woman who, at the time, was training to become an EMT while balancing her waitressing gig. Even with her jam-packed routine, her life and future were endlessly bright. Through and through, Katie was an altruistic person and could never understand why there was so much suffering in this world. So, when Kristina found a $100 bill in her late sister’s purse, she knew she had to keep it for a future good deed.

Jump to four years later, and that $100 bill became the forefront of her 9th-grade English class. While reading the book “Fareighenheight 451,” she had a moment of realisation: use the money to guide every student into a competition of kindness. Quickly, Kristina went to the bank and withdrew a thick stack of $20 bills from her personal account. Her mission was simple: a project in memory of her sister where each student would receive a bill with a few simple instructions: take this money and turn it into something bigger, kinder, and more impactful. 

From then on, Kristina’s students took off running with minimal guidance. They used the money to run a toy drive for an animal shelter, facilitate bake sales for nursing homes, and surprise strangers with quaint gifts. Her students even started incorporating their own funds into the project, making it even more thrilling and purposeful.

After the initial project ended, people outside of Kristina’s classroom started taking an interest in the entire assignment. That is when she received an unexpected email from someone offering to fund a round two. Startled by the public outreach, Kristina delightfully agreed. Donations followed shortly after, and by the end of the second round, 350 acts of kindness, totalling $7,000 in proceeds, were completed. Then, early in 2025, the $20 Kindness Challenges finally became a nonprofit organization, something Kristina never believed would come true. 

Kristina’s impact started smaller than most can believe. Beginning as a memory of the kind deeds her sister prioritized, she grew it into a societal shifter known as the $20 Kindness Challenge. Her effort and good work show what perseverance and kindness can truly achieve in this world, and how every individual can find something pure within the somber parts of their life.