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Meet the leaders of PeaceFull Kids
Heidi Kaufman and Carolyn Rabidoux are inspiring people to develop the habit of intentionally and consistently supporting their happiness and the well-being of those around them. Don't miss our podcast interview!
Meet the leaders of PeaceFull Kids: “We inspire people to develop the habit of intentionally and consistently supporting their happiness and the well-being of those around them”
Friends for over 30 years, Heidi Kaufman and Carolyn Rabidoux, are passionate about prioritizing health and wellness. “In 2008, we began working together to bring the well-being tools of yoga to a local elementary school,” explains the co-founders of the nonprofit Peacefull Kids.
With a Greater Rochester Health Foundation grant, they developed and implemented a program that catalyzed wellness throughout the school. It helped hundreds of students increase self-awareness, better manage stress, and get more movement during the school day.
In 2018 they launched Peacefull Kids to bring the research and interventions of Positive Psychology to the greater community. We are excited and honored to share these new and powerful tools with educators and students to support their well-being and help them meet challenging times.
Our Mission: Empowering children, teachers, and families with tools to cultivate their well-being. A teacher’s energy and outlook radiate in their classroom. A teacher empowered with tools for well-being will naturally share those tools with others in their lives, including their students. Supported teachers = supported kids.
Our Vision: We strive to support a world where communities champion flourishing, peaceful kids. Our children are our future. They are experiencing unprecedented stressors, so they need to be taught powerful life skills to meet these challenges.
Our Community: Communities are made up of individuals, each one with its own “root” system and branches of growth. Empowering every individual’s unique journey helps them to reach their full potential.
About the Founders
Heidi Kaufman is a trailblazer. “In 2006, I introduced yoga to schools because I knew I was also teaching students the life skills of managing energy and emotions through yoga poses. I was passionate about bringing this information to the broader community, so in 2008, I opened the first kids and family yoga studio in Rochester for families to relax, connect, and build their strength and flexibility. I am excited to bring cutting-edge content to schools after completing my Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. The research in positive psychology of character strengths, happiness, resilience, grit, and optimism informs all our work and has given us new frameworks and language to support people in flourishing. At Peacefull Kids, we leverage my decades of experience teaching and training yoga and Carolyn’s 36 years in education to deliver programming that supports and empowers all constituents within school communities to enhance their well-being.
Carolyn Rabidoux is a masterful teacher. “After 36 years working in public education as a teacher and school and district level administrator, I am very aware of the importance of supporting students’ academic achievement and providing them with the tools to enhance their well-being. I have always believed that supporting teachers and other school personnel’s social/emotional well-being will help each individual and positively impact the students and the school’s culture. I retired from public education in 2020, but my desire to support the well-being of educators and students has not waned. I currently work as a coach for new administrators and hope to pass my passion for wellness initiatives on to the new generation of educators. As a co-owner of Peacefull Kids, Heidi and I provide tools that support the well-being of educators, students, and families through the programs we created based on the science of positive psychology.