#devonkind

transforming loss into a positive

The loss of Devon Blackwelder was a collective heartbreak for the FM community: Devon was known for being kind and calm, and his passing stunned all who knew him. However, the tragedy quickly turned into a beacon of hope and happiness. In honor of Devon's light and life, his family teamed up with the non-profit Exist Loudly to bring Devon's essence back to the community by carrying out random acts of kindness.

Exist Loudly: what do you want to be remembered for?

Emma Bartelson created Exist Loudly to take her passion for spreading joy to the next level: by performing random acts of kindness throughout the community. Her Facebook group biography explains that "exist loudly means to be bold in who you are, to make an impact in your role, to exist without hesitation, to exist purposefully, and to be unapologetically yourself" (Exist Loudly Facebook group). Her first project was starting the #devonkind hashtag to promote spreading Devon's light and memory throughout the FM area.

For the past two weeks, the Exist Loudly group page has been flooded with photos of its members' random acts of kindness. People have paid for strangers' lunches, passed along gift cards in the drive-through, written sweet notes to leave in car windows, and more. The response has been overwhelmingly contagious - the hashtag has moved from Facebook to other social media sites.

To raise money for the movement, Exist Loudly teamed up with Shirts from Fargo to create custom apparel with the #devonkind logo. All proceeds from this collaboration will go toward the Random Acts of Kindness fund.

Exist Loudly is also taking donations via Venmo and PayPal.

#devonkind apparel: all proceeds are going towards the Exist Loudly random acts of kindness fund.