A Tioga Hills fifth grader is being recognized for his kindness to others with an award from a program created by Senator Akshar.

Children are taught at a very early age the lessons of kindness, teachers read stories to them in school, parents tell their kids to be nice to others, we see on TV and in movies.

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It starts with random acts of kindness, and that is what fifth grader Ben Cucci had in mind when he founded “Nathan’s Butterflies” which is a not for profit that encourages others to pay it forward throughout our community.

According to a news release from Vestal schools Nathan’s Butterflies was named after Ben’s brother who passed away when Ben was just six years old.

Ben has put together a group of volunteers that he calls his butterfly crew, and the goal is not just to spread kindness, but also to inspire others to create their own random acts of kindness.

The group also collects and helps provide school supplies, facemasks and hand sanitizer, and have set up a free library in the school’s butterfly garden, along with many other good will projects.

The award Ben received came from a program called Akshar’s All Stars, created by New York Senator Fred Akshar.

Find out more about Nathan’s Butterfly’s HERE and on Facebook HERE

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