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Utah foundation spreading kindness after tragedy
Apr 22, 2020, 11:09 AM
Brady and Amber Newby from the Kind Like Kamree foundation joined the Project Recovery podcast to talk about and remember their daughter, Kamree Marie Newby.
SALT LAKE CITY — One Utah foundation is turning tragedy into a community-building opportunity by spreading kindness and raising awareness surrounding suicide prevention.
The Kind Like Kamree foundation began with the help of Brady and Amber Newby in memory of their daughter, Kamree Marie Newby. Kamree tragically took her own life on March 11, 2019, after she suffered from anxiety and depression. The foundation’s main mission is to “be kind and do random acts of kindness to show others we care.”
“Kamree was a sweetheart. Wherever we went, she would always want to help others, especially the homeless or those less fortunate,” Amber Newby said. “It just made me remember her because that’s the thing she would do.”
Now the couple is doing everything they can to spread kindness to help combat the stigma of anxiety and depression. The pair recently spoke to the Project Recovery podcast.
“I just don’t want to see anybody have to go through what we went through and receive the phone call that your daughter has taken her own life,” Brady Newby said. “It’s by far, the most horrible thing ever.”
How Kind Like Kamree is spreading kindness
(Photo: The Kind Like Kamree foundation | https://kindlikekamree.com/)
Initially, Brady and Amber’s goal was to participate in random acts of kindness on Kamree’s birthday. After much support, they knew that they could be spreading kindness every day.
“We’ve been doing whatever we can do [to help],” Brady said. “We brought coats up to the Salt Lake Rescue Mission. Just a few weeks ago we had a blood drive in Kamree’s honor. [It] went from a one-day blood drive into a three-day event and blew our goal clear out of the water.”
Most notably, the couple began to mail out their Random Acts of Kindness cards.
“One night I was messing around and found these cute little business cards that we could print up and hand them out with our little random acts of kindness,” Amber Newby said.
The cards have become a way of doing something special for someone else in a somewhat, pay-it-forward system. Amber and Brady have even started shipping the cards outside of Utah.
“We ordered 500 cards and then it became 1000. Then this last box that we ordered was 50,000 that we’re almost through,” she described. “And we’ve mailed them all over the world.”
Amber and Brady both acknowledge the pain they still feel after losing their daughter. But they do believe that the work they’ve done in the past year has helped.
“It has helped us get through this last year to know that she is all over the world still doing her kind little acts,” Amber said.
Suicide Prevention Resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, call the suicide prevention hotline at 1-800-273-TALK.Crisis Hotlines
Utah County Crisis Line: 801-691-5433
Salt Lake County/UNI Crisis Line: 801-587-3000
Wasatch Mental Health Crisis Line: 801-373-7393
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Trevor Project Hotline for LGBTQ teens: 1-866-488-7386
Online resources
NAMI Utah: namiut.org
Utah Chapter-American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: afsputah.com
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Listen to the podcast
For more information on addiction or if you or someone you know is struggling, you can find more information on Facebook, KSL TV, or from Use Only as Directed. To hear more from Casey Scott and Dr. Matt Woolley, you can listen below or subscribe to the ‘Project Recovery’ podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get major podcasts.
