On October 21, 2020 UPSD again recognized Unity Day. On Unity Day, the entire district community was joined by the broader Upper Perk community in wearing and sharing orange to show that we are together against bullying, and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.

While some of the typical ways to recognize Unity Day were not possible this year, given our virtual learning environment, we felt that these challenging times make it more important than ever to unite as a community in the spirit of kindness. Our individual schools and district recognized this important day in a number of ways, and we were joined by area businesses and organizations including The Open Link, UPV Chamber of Commerce, Penn Foundation, QNB, Raw Replenish, and more.

Check out our gallery of submitted #UPSDUnityDay2020 photos:

We encourage our community members to spread kindness, not just on the annual Unity Day, but every day!

Some ideas to spread kindness are featured below, and a list of student-related ideas is available here:

• Complete random acts of kindness: Pay for a stranger's coffee, drop off a treat on a neighbor's porch, the sky is the limit!
• Pretty-up your neighborhood: Go on a walk and pick up any trash you come across.
• Spread artistic positivity: Hang a sign with kind words in your window, spread love through sidewalk chalk art or create a Unity Day display in your yard!
• Connect with a loved one: Haven't talked to grandma in a while? Give her a call! Write a letter to a friend, send a card to a loved one, reconnect with someone you've lost touch with, or tell a teacher, coach or mentor what a difference they've made in your life...just bring a smile to someone's face!
• Volunteer: The last several months have been tough for many community organizations, and many of our neighbors. Reach out and see if you can safely help out those less fortunate in some way.
• WEAR AND SHARE ORANGE: Encourage your family, friends, community members and businesses to wear orange on Oct. 21, so that we can show that the Upper Perkiomen Valley is united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion!
  • You can even change your Zoom Background in honor of Unity Day by downloading our #UPSDUnityDay2020 Personalized Zoom Background. Instructions on how to customize your Zoom background are available here.

You can read more about Unity Day on the National Bullying Prevention Center’s website. You can also check out our coverage from UPSD’s Unity Day 2019.