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“What is a zine?”

You may wonder.

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Short for magazine or fanzine, a zine is a small circulation collection of images, text, and other artwork that traditionally is handmade and reproduced via photocopier by one person or group around one theme or cause, such as spreading kindness and smiles in our own lives and across the world!

The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™ is a multimedia, community-based art project that along with this zine workbook is a space where everyone is welcome and appreciated, as both extraordinary individuals of all ages and as members of a community coming together. And in the challenging glare of the Covid-19 Pandemic, this mission of unity and reconnecting as a community—local, national, and global—is especially needed more than ever before.

Because of the multimedia approach with everything at The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™, KRS Co-Founders Megan Murphy and John Schlimm are so excited to share their love of creating zines with all of you through their My Kind Zine™ Series, beginning with The Creative Kindness Zine Workbook. And especially since zines are perfect for any age, and can be a fun solo or group project when it comes to facilitating creative kindness using the unique gifts and talents you have been given in this life.

Zines date back most notably to the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, when grassroots artists and advocacy groups would curate images, articles, and other things into pages that they could easily photocopy, staple together, and then share with people in order to spread inspiration and informative content. At The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™, that tradition will continue, and bring you all along for the colorful and fantastic ride!

Inside The Creative Kindness Zine Workbook, you will find zine pages created by Megan and John opposite blank, outlined versions of those pages that are waiting for you to color, draw, doodle, scribble, collage, tape, glue, sticker, stencil, journal, and anything else you wish.

Also, at the end of this workbook, there is a page of Reflection Questions, which will allow you—individually or within a larger group or class—to further explore and think about what you have created within these zine pages and what that means to you and to others.

The most important part of the My Kind Zine™ Series and your colorful journey through The Creative Kindness Zine Workbook is to have fun and embrace these pages in the way you need to at this moment in time: to express joy or sorrow, love or loss, and hope or wondering, as well as to process your mental well-being, escape into your imagination for a few minutes, and so on.

For more information about The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™, including the installation kit, workshops, and more, please visit www.KRScommunityproject.com.

About the Authors:

Megan Murphy is the co-founder of The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™, as well as an internationally-acclaimed author, speaker, advocate, artist, and founder of The Kindness Rocks Project. Along with John Schlimm, she is also the co-author of The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™ Workbook for Adults, The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™ Workbook for Kids, and The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™ Coloring Book.

John Schlimm is the co-founder of The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™, as well as a Harvard-trained educator, artist, advocate, international award-winning author, and creator of THE SMILE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (is yours). Along with Megan Murphy, he is also the co-author of The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™ Workbook for Adults, The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™ Workbook for Kids, and The Kindness Rocks & Smiles Community Project™ Coloring Book.