By The Epoch Times | Created at 2025-03-31 02:33:50 | Updated at 2025-04-01 20:19:20
1 day ago
The video competition drew 26,000 entries from over 50 countries, shared in 11 languages, with over 10 million views globally.
NEW YORK—In a heartwarming celebration, content creators, artists, officials, and schools convened in New York City on March 28 to spread the powerful message of kindness.
Gan Jing World celebrated its #KindnessIsCool Video Awards 2024 Winners Celebration, held in Times Square, along with its official launch of the #KindnessIsCool 2025 campaign.
The Nasdaq billboard lit up, featuring the 14 global winners of the #KindnessIsCool Video Awards. Gan Jing World, a New York-based digital platform committed to fostering kindness, highlighted this year’s event with the award of a $10,000 grand prize.
The competition drew 26,000 entries from over 50 countries, shared in 11 languages, with over 10 million views globally.
James H. White won the top prize for his video “Hero in Uniform: Army Sergeant Leads Hurricane Helene Relief Drive,” featuring the heroic efforts of Army Sgt. Michael Sharpes and accompanied by White’s song “Born to Rise.”
“I was watching all these amazing veteran-run organizations like Aerial Recovery,” White told NTD’s Chris Bob. “They were risking their lives saving people literally from drowning. I was so moved that one weekend, actually I was moved to tears. ... I had to write a song.”
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The CEO of Aerial Recovery, Jeremy Locke told NTD, “People are going through the worst times of their life but it’s people from all over the world that were sending prayers, sending supplies, sending money, sending people to come out there and help those who are in their greatest time of need. So it’s a great alignment and I’m thrilled to be out here to support this event too.”
“Even in some of the worst times of life, humanity really does rise up. The kindness campaign is exactly that,” Locke added.
Other highlights included the Silver Award, won by Audrey Wang for her short film “Old Shoes.” Based on a true story, the film follows a young woman who repeatedly finds an old pair of shoes outside her door—and discovers they were a quiet, unexpected act of kindness.
The Bronze Award was given to the Lumen Academy for their “Umbrella of Kindness” project, created by third- and fourth-grade students. Another bronze was awarded to Marco Tistarelli for his impactful “Prom Dresses and Suits Giveaway” video, which highlighted a community initiative providing formal wear to underprivileged students.
Sherry Yin, CEO of Gan Jing World Corporation, expressed her enthusiasm for the participants and winners.
“Our mission, Technology for Humanity, is at the heart of everything we do: promoting kindness, respect, and trust among humanity. ... The overwhelming success of #KindnessIsCool gives us confidence—confidence that kindness is worth pioneering, that people want a better digital space, and that together, we are making it a reality,” Yin said in a statement.
Ben Hedges, Gan Jing World ambassador and event host, stated, “The competition inspires real actions that are changing the world.”
Notable officials in attendance included New York State Assembly Member Brian Cunningham.
The #KindnessIsCool movement was honored with a citation award by Cunningham, delivered by his chief of staff, Britney Dixon.
“I’ve seen the back end of social media where people are not always inclined to act through kindness, so I think them doing it through the platform and then making it incentivized also does create a greater impact,” Dixon told NTD.
Others included Fernando Meza, representative of New York State Assemblywoman Larinda C. Hooks, alongside Minister Darrell J. Bennett, Founder of DJB Global Enterprises.
As the event concluded, Yin announced the launch of the #KindnessIsCool Video Awards 2025, inviting a new wave of kindness stories to be shared globally.
“Gan Jing” means clean, and Gan Jing World’s mission is to promote kindness, respect, and trust among people, according to the website. Through the platform’s non-addictive algorithms and use of Ethical AI, it aims to prioritize meaningful information and content.
