Hundreds of mothers and children congregated around the Marina Park pavilion Tuesday for the Kirkland Kids Concert to celebrate “Be Kind to Everyone” Day.
Last year, Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride proclaimed Aug. 28 as Kirkland’s day of kindness to honor Sasia Regan-Hughes, a Lake Washington High School graduate, who suddenly passed away on June 17, 2011 from an enlarged heart.
Her mother, Alesia Regan-Hughes, described her daughter’s death as “ironic and symbolic.”
As a result, The Hope Heart Institute was there to help educate people on the importance of heart health.
“Being kind is good for the heart,” said Cherie Skager, vice president of Hope Heart.
Skager said when people are nicer there is less stress, which can be very beneficial toward heart health.
“At The Hope Heart Institute, we do a lot of community education about heart health and ways to keep your heart healthy, but rarely do we talk about the importance of being kind to others as it relates to heart health,” Skager said in an email.
Alesia Regan-Hughes pointed out pictures of hummingbirds that children could color at the booth. During Sasia’s memorial, there were a few hummingbirds that showed up.
“Hummingbirds represent joy and kindness,” said her father, Robert Regan-Hughes.
Both traits that Sasia’s parents say describe their daughter.
“After we went back (to New York) for the memorial service, everybody that we met, who knew her, commented on how kind she was,” Alesia Regan-Hughes said, “how she was a breath of fresh air and how she went out of her way to be kind to people.
Sasia was living in New York and working for MediaCom in advertising when she passed. Her father, Robert Regan-Hughes, said Tuesday that MediaCom hopes to donate to Heart Health.
Sasia’s mother explained that when she visited her daughter’s work space, she had two important words above her desk: “Ahimsa,” which means kindness and to refrain from harm of all living things, and the word “duende,” which means the power to attract through personal magnetism and charm.
Kirkland’s “Kind Day” falls on Sasia’s birthday. She would have been 27 years old.
