'Unselfie' recognition shows kindness in Lombard District 44

In the world of the selfie, when it's not so much about the experience as the photo and self-promotion is seen not as bragging but as branding, one suburban school district is trying to reverse the trend.

With the D44 Unselfie Campaign, Lombard Elementary District 44 has begun to recognize selfless acts by students, teachers, staff members and the community, aiming to spread the message that life is not all about the "follow" on social media, but about following the example of real people who are doing good.

Superintendent Ted Stec and Jenn Nimke, director of communications and strategic planning, came up with the idea around Thanksgiving, when, through no outreach of their own, they began hearing frequent stories of people helping people.

There was the story of the student council members at Butterfield Elementary who conducted a "Socktober" drive to collect more than 400 pairs of socks for people in need.

Then the story of Catherine Tecktiel trickled in. She's a seventh-grade reading teacher who worked with her family to serve more than 175 people a free, home-cooked meal for Thanksgiving at a Downers Grove church.

From all kinds of sources, in emails, phone calls and in person, Stec and Nimke said they kept hearing of these helpful actions.

"Honestly, it seems like every single day, maybe it's because it's the holiday season now, I'm hearing a different story," Stec said.

Going about their work, Stec and Nimke noted the trend. And they noticed something else about their newfound knowledge of all this kindness: It wasn't firsthand. It came through the grapevine and consisted of parents and staff members recognizing others whose actions they found amazing.

"These people didn't put it on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram because they weren't doing it for the recognition," Nimke said about the people honored through Unselfie so far. "They were doing it because they really cared. We wanted to share that story."

Teachers don't often share their own stories of helping out because "it's who we are and what we do," said Mary Cation, a third-grade teacher at Manor Hill Elementary and a Lombard resident.

"People who work in schools tend to do a lot of things for other people," she said. "But we're not big on tooting horns."

So the district is doing the tooting for them.

On Giving Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the district posted its first Unselfie, using Twitter and the hashtag #D44unselfie. The district's official Twitter handle, @tweetsfrom44, has mentioned Unselfies five more times since, once linking to a monthly newsletter that detailed the "Unselfie Acts" of five people deemed worthy.

The story of Sandy Osborn, an administrative assistant who renewed her teaching license so she could tutor a child who needed to stay home because of a medical diagnosis was one of the first to be called an Unselfie.

The tale of teachers from the Lombard Education Association helping out at Community Table, a weekly meal of fellowship for those in need at First Church of Lombard became a favorite of Nimke's.

"It's a collaborative effort in Lombard," said Cation, who helps organize teacher volunteers and serves food nearly every month. "There are all sorts of guests around the table."

Stec said he got choked up when he overheard inside a local deli the plans of several teachers from Glenn Westlake Middle School, who pooled their money and used their lunch hour to buy gift cards at Target so the mother of a student in need would be able to buy Christmas gifts. It was an Unselfie in the making.

"The No. 1 thing that we try to emphasize here is caring about the kids," Stec said. "That shows it."

Stec jokes that the campaign got its name, "because I hate selfies," but he and Nimke don't hide the positive purpose behind the outreach.

"It's about really having a conversation," Nimke said, "about people demonstrating a level of kindness and care."

To submit an Unselfie Act, District 44 community members can email communications@sd44.org with the subject line "D44 Unselfie."

Cation said she appreciates the example the campaign is setting for students and the way it can serve as inspiration, offering new ways to give back.

"I think it's nice that some of the hard work that people are doing selflessly is being recognized," Cation said. "We're a small part of a very large community that does wonderful things for people."