In Honor of “Be Kind to Humankind Week”

Have you ever wondered if you could, as a single human on this planet, have a profound effect on many other people? Of course you can! How many films have revolved around that exact theme? I find such stories fascinating.

You’ve probably never heard of “Be Kind to Humankind Week, but it does exist. And it’s one of those “one person took action” type stories. Oddly enough, the end of a life started ‘Be Kind to Humankind Week” in August of 1988 by Lorraine Jara in Toms River, New Jersey:

“I created this celebration in light of a very upsetting newspaper article I read. The article dealt with the story of 2 young men, both in their 20′s, who were boating in our local town’s waterways. Apparently, they were in a small rowboat, which overturned. The story went on to say that as they clung to the overturned vessel, 2 young ladies in another boat plucked them out of the cold water. The ladies did not have a motor boat or a radio on board their vessel to call land for help. 2 maybe 3 other power-operated boats with radio antenna’s

passed them by, refusing their calls for help. One passing boater reportedly said, ‘We don’t want to be bothered.’  Understandably, I grew very ‘bothered’ by their reaction. When finally rescued, one of the young men died.

“I was so devastated after reading this article that I felt something had to be done in honor and memory of the deceased young man.

“I phoned his family and asked permission to have a memorial erected in a park where he lived, and understandably they thanked me but refused. They were too grief stricken to think about it. I then thought…well, they have Be Kind to Animals Week so why not celebrate ‘Be Kind to Humankind!!!’ That was in August of 1988!”

In honor of the this holiday, which occurs on the fourth week of August, we have decided to be kind to humankind by extending our early bird pricing on the Canon Boot Camp! Officially, the Early Bird pricing ended August 14th. So for all of those shooters who were waiting for Friday’s paycheck to come in and missed the cutoff for the lower price, you’re in luck!

Ok, I admit, I didn’t even know about this Holiday prior to writing this blog post. But you have to admit, it’s still a kind act to all filmmakers everywhere. Just roll with it.

Did you know Canon Boot Camp Graduates are eligible to come back to any boot camp class free of charge as a “refresher?” And if anyone referring someone who pays for the class gets a $50 referral prize. Just a couple more ways we can be kind. So pay it forward and refer a friend today!