A Different Class, A Different Future

Inside a Utah prison, a group of inmates gathers once a week for something unexpected: a class on kindness.

Not as a concept. As a practice.

They talk about the moments that shaped them—what they’ve done, what’s been done to them—and the choices that followed. They listen to one another. They wrestle with accountability. And, slowly, they begin to imagine a different version of themselves.

The program, offered through a partnership with the Utah Department of Corrections and the One Kind Act A Day Foundation, centers on something simple but often overlooked: empathy.

For many of the inmates, that idea lands hard.

“A lot of us have been through some hard things,” one participant shared during a panel discussion. “We can let that tear us down… or we can rise above it.”

That shift—from reaction to choice—is the heart of the class.

The initiative was started by the Semnani Family Foundation, which didn’t originally plan to bring it into prisons. But once it did, the impact became clear. Week by week, participants began to speak differently—about their past, about responsibility, and about the possibility of becoming better.

Not perfect. Better.

Because in a place defined by past decisions, the idea that something can still change carries real weight.

And sometimes, that change begins with something as small—and as difficult—as choosing kindness.

The Bright Side

Change doesn’t always start with a grand gesture. Sometimes it begins with a single, different choice—one that quietly reshapes everything that comes next.

Before you go, read about 32 schools in 18 states that have been designated as “kind schools.”

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