20 Years of KINDNESS
How it all started…
2026 marks 20 years since we officially began delivering services as the “Kodiak KINDNESS Project”. What began as a small idea from our founder, Heather Preece, has flourished into a robust program that has served over 3000 families. .
KINDNESS is a loose acronym for “Kodiak Infant Nutrition and Development Support and Survey”. When we were thinking about what to call ourselves and were playing around with those words – KINDNESS popped out – and we went with it. At first, we thought it might be a little hokie-sounding, but “Kodiak KINDNESS” has a nice ring to it, and people seemed to like it. As the program grew, we realized the word KINDNESS itself embodies the entire approach of our program.
A special story about our logo: Janelle Peterson, a Kodiak – based graphic designer, created our logo. She was inspired by a photo of our very first Peer Counselor, Sarah, holding her baby Lily’s newborn hand nested in her own hand. We think it captures the essence of our mission perfectly. Think of KINDNESS as a “helping hand” for all parents…mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunties, foster families, friends, teachers, neighbors… we are raising the next generation together!
Meet the Founder
Heather Preece, MHSc, RDN, IBCLC founded the KINDNESS Project in 2006, inspired by the help she received from a kind neighbor after the birth of her first child. Like many new parents, Heather was experiencing feeding challenges and second-guessing everything the first night home with her newborn. Feeling desperate, she called an experienced mother living down the street, and just a few reassuring words and specific strategies from her neighbor turned everything around. The experience cemented Heather's conviction that every parent deserves practical, loving support with feeding their tiny humans. Building on an existing strong sense of community in Kodiak, Heather piloted the idea of a comprehensive, proactive peer support network for parents, and secured start-up funding from the Alaska Children's Miracle Network. As KINDNESS's successful model spreads beyond Kodiak into other areas of rural Alaska, it remains grounded in the fundamentally human act of one person caring for another in a vulnerable moment.
The Story of “KINDNESS” from Rural Alaska:
A Model for Comprehensive Infant Feeding Support
In November 2019, a program report on KINDNESS was published in the journal Clinical Lactation. This was a huge accomplishment and the culmination of years of data analysis and background research by several KINDNESS team members and supportive professionals. This article put Kodiak on the map in the world of breastfeeding literature! It shows that what we do is validated professionally, and proves positive health outcomes with our public health program model. We hope to use this article to help spread KINDNESS satellite programs around rural Alaska, and support grant applications for sustainable funding. We’re impressed you’ve read this far…we hope you have the time to read the article here.
