By Stephanie Yrungaray | [email protected]

When a thread complaining about Draper popped up on her newsfeed, it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for Mary Squire. 

“It really bothered me,” said Squire, who works as a volunteer for the planning commission in Draper and has helped out in her community in other capacities. “I think a lot of times the people that are the loudest get the most attention and I want to focus more on the positive things.” 

Squire decided the best way to offset the negative tone that often pervades social media was with a positive spin all her own — and the social media account Draper Is Kind was born. 

Found on both Facebook and Instagram, Squire said she plans to highlight the good deeds both small and big that happen on a daily basis in Draper. 

“I want [Draper Is Kind] to be a venue for those good deeds and positive things that are happening in our community,” said Squire. “The more we focus on positive things the less complaining and fault-finding happens” 

From a post about a single mom collecting and donating 2,000 diapers to one highlighting Draper’s idle-free week, Squire said she hopes more people will message her the good things they see in the community. 

“What drives [the account] is people sending in stories of either kindness they’ve experienced or something they did,” Squire said. “A lot has been sent to me about grander gestures like groups making kits to send to Africa or people volunteering at homeless shelters. I love to see those but I also want to post about the small things that people experience.” 

Squire said she has received a lot of support from her friends and hopes to widen the circle of exposure for Draper Is Kind. 

“Follows are not the most important thing to me, but I do need more people to see [my posts],” Squire said. “The more people that know about Draper Is Kind means there are more people in the community that can send things to me to share on my page.”

Draper City Councilmember Mike Green follows the accounts and said he thinks it is a great idea. 

“It is nice to show people outside of the community that people in Draper are doing good things and kind things,” Green said. “We need to see each other as people. If we all have kindness that generates respect, resulting in cooperation. And cooperation is the key to success in any endeavor.” 

Draper resident Vanessa Croshaw has been following the account and said she loves how it helps her look for the good. 

“Focusing on the positive changes everyone’s perspective,” Croshaw said. “It causes us to look around and both notice the kindness or create it ourselves.” 

Squire hopes Draper Is Kind will have a positive impact on people in the community.

“The people who are more engaged in the community are not the ones out there complaining,” Squire said. “They are making changes of their own. I appreciate the efforts of others that want to help those things happen.” 

Stories of kind things seen in Draper can be submitted to @DraperIsKind through messaging on Facebook or Instagram.