In KALIPAY, we always try to teach the children under our care to always be good and kind to everyone, and to do their best in all that they do. We see plenty of these little acts of goodness all the time at the Home and in school and thought that it would be nice if they receive rewards for these acts to prove that they do not go unnoticed and unappreciated.
As a form of positive reinforcement, we created Hearts for Joy!
A rewards system for both children and staff where acts of kindness are rewarded with a Heart sticker. These Heart stickers can be exchanged for prizes at our “Hearts Store”. The prizes range from small toys, stationery, and knick-knacks for the kids, and personal items for the staff- all from generous donations. Items can be redeemed for as little as one heart and bigger items can go for as many as 40 hearts.
This rewards system is not only a form of positive reinforcement but a wonderful teaching tool as well- teaching the children to learn the value of saving and the merit of hard work.
How does Hearts For Joy work?
Each child and staff is given a budget of five Heart stickers to give out every week, each color heart corresponds to a positive trait. Pink is for Honesty, orange for Gratitude, blue for Kindness, red for Respect and Courtesy, and yellow for Excellence. As each child or staff member is the recipient of a certain act of goodness aligned with the values mentioned, he or she has the option to reward it with a Heart. These Heart stickers are then kept by the recipient in a card that they use to redeem prizes.
We thank our Board of Trustees for their full support of this project, the Home Parents for overseeing it, and our Executive Director, Meliton E. Sillador Jr. for coming up with this super fun idea! This project has flooded the Home with heart-warming (and sometimes funny) stories ever since it was launched. We are looking forward to giving out (and receiving!) more Hearts in the coming days.