Sometimes, people need a simple reminder. Sisters Raegan and Rylyn Richins have that idea in mind when they hand paint their “Be Kind” signs. The Oldham County girls create the signs and sell them, with proceeds going to local charities.
“Our goal originally was 60 signs, and now—4,700 signs later—here we are,” said Rylyn, 11.
The girls have siblings with Down Syndrome, and they had witnessed behavior toward Leena, 14, and Liam, 10, that was not always kind. One day in 2019, they saw similar signs in another county and came up with a plan to make their own.
Raegan and Rylyn decided to make each sign unique. “There is not just one way to be kind,” said Raegan, 13. “There are so many ways to show kindness to others, so that is why all of our signs are different.”
Painting the signs is a family affair. Parents Ryan and Rhonda assemble the supplies and apply the base coat, while Raegan and Rylyn choose the colors and paint the design. Raegan explained that Leena and Liam come along to lighten the mood. In July 2021, the family experienced the tragic loss of another sister, Kendall, who was 16.
“We continue to do what we do with joy and peace because we know where we are, and we know where [Kendall] is,” Rhonda said.
Through their grief, the Richins family spreads kindness.
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The girls’ signs dot the landscape of their home county, and their efforts have resulted in La Grange being nicknamed The Kindness Capital of Kentucky by several media outlets. The producers of NBC’s Today Show caught wind of Raegan and Rylyn’s initiative and featured a segment on them. NBC also distributed Be Kind signs to its staff around the country and created a Be Kind billboard in New York’s Times Square.
The girls also caught the attention of the HGTV show Home Town Kickstart, presented by People magazine. The series, which features celebrity rehabbers Ben and Erin Napier, sent a team to La Grange to renovate a home and create a community gathering space, which serves as an incubator for small businesses. The third Home Town Kickstart project was to create a downtown mural designed by Liz Richter, a Louisville artist, that incorporates Raegan and Rylyn’s Be Kind message.
The mural was unveiled in May on an episode titled “Love for La Grange.”
“Seeing it firsthand is beautiful,” Rhonda said. “It is breathtaking, rewarding, and fabulous to know that the girls are a part of it.”
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Rhonda said that, while the project started as sign painting, it has opened other doors. “It started as a sign that said two words, painted by these cute girls who were 7 and 9 years old,” she said. “But it is no longer just about the signs.”
Now, the girls are being asked to spearhead other service projects in the community, and groups—such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts—have helped them paint signs and asked how else they can get involved. “That shows the ripple effect of kindness,” Rhonda said.
Raegan said that, during the Kindness Campaign (as she refers to it), she has become kinder, and her patience has grown. The middle-school student hopes to pursue a career helping people with special needs. Rylyn, who started middle school this year, is undecided on her career path but is interested in clothing design and mortuary science.
“This shows that anybody can volunteer their time, and anybody can change a community,” Rhonda said of the Kindness Campaign. “And it shows that, when you do good things, good things happen.”
Creative Collaboration
Louisville artist Liz Richter, 36, was thrilled when she was contacted by the producers of HGTV’s Home Town Kickstart about painting a mural for La Grange. She was familiar with Raegan and Rylyn’s signs because she had seen them around town but did not know the story behind them.
After meeting with the girls, whom Liz described as “incredible,” she looked at their sketches of what they envisioned in a mural at the corner of South Walnut and East Walnut.
The sisters had the idea to make the mural interactive, prompting people to stand in the place of the letter “I” in “KIND” and take photos. Raegan and Rylyn drew the outline of the state of Kentucky and the phrase “Kindness Capital of Kentucky,” including their signature bee where La Grange appears on the map.
“We combined my aesthetic and what I do with their original sketch,” Richter said. “All of the text was their idea, and the florals are kind of my signature.”
Richter explained that she included coneflower, a symbol for strength and health; Kentucky’s state flower, goldenrod, for happiness; bluebells for kindness; and the wild rose, which signifies love and is a special symbol for the Richins family to represent their loss.
“I also included a butterfly in flight for the philosophy that small acts of kindness can have a ripple effect over time,” Richter said.
Richter has years of experience painting murals and would love to create more in other communities. “My heart and soul are in small towns. I was born in Paducah, so I’m a rural girl at heart,” she said. “Each town has its own beautiful identity, and, as an artist, I can help tell those stories.”
Home Town Kickstart was filmed from mid-December to mid-January, and Richter acknowledged that was the worst time of year to paint an outdoor mural. “We had a lot of interesting challenges due to the weather,” she said. “We literally had icicles running down the wall, the paint was freezing, and, one time, I left all my brushes in the car and my bucket turned to solid ice. There were a lot of funny, interesting things happening behind the scenes.”
Despite the temperature issues, Richter said she had a great team and received support from the city of La Grange. “When people ask me about the show, I tell them it is reality TV,” she explained, “but the Richins family, they are as real as it gets.”
The Alley Loop
One of the Home Town Kickstart projects in La Grange is a mile-long walking trail that winds around the Main Street buildings. Meant to beautify downtown as well as educate residents and visitors on the history of La Grange, Alley Loop links the new Springs Park and the Oldham County History Museum on one end of town to the La Grange Railroad Museum on the other end.
Still a work in progress, the path features murals by various artists with inspirational themes, particularly focusing on kindness. Retail shops, restaurants, art galleries and Airbnbs eventually will be along the trail.
A big reveal of the initial phase of Alley Loop took place on Oct. 8 with the first annual Alley Loop Festival.
For more on the path, visit touroldham.com/venue/alley-loop.
To purchase Be Kind signs and T-shirts, visit teesntextiles.com/bekindoldhamcounty/shop/home. All proceeds go to local charities.