As the 40% Club continues to become recognized throughout the Franklin community for their little acts of kindness, Mr. DiBona, Franklin High School’s leader of the club will be presented the 2017 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Champions of Wellness Award.

On Friday, Oct. 27, Mr. DiBona and six other FHS students will be traveling to the MIAA conference in Westborough, Mass to give a twenty slide presentation on why the community needs a club similar to the 40% Club, what the club has done, and where the club is going.

Mr. DiBona explained the process of the award and how he nominated the club for the award when he found out about the ceremony. He expressed that he wants to find a way to counter all the stress that teenagers go through so they do not have to look back and ask what happened to their happiness.

The Award Ceremony will consist of Mr. DiBona giving a presentation highlighting the who, what, and where aspects of the club followed by a one-hour seminar to teach educators how to start their own 40% Club in their communities.

When Mr. DiBona was told about the club winning the award at the end of August, he expressed that even though he loves to teach, this last year and a half has been his favorite because he is seeing happiness beginning to spread organically with little acts of kindness and happiness. He has been at FHS for 11 years but noticed that he is now beginning to see his students as ambassadors of happiness and how special it has been to witness. He concluded that it is infectiously fun and makes a definite impact.