Naaman Hinton: Bellingham schools volunteer, Max Higbee Center board member

Tell us about yourself.

I absolutely love to share smiles. I do my best to uplift and encourage every day that I wake up. It is my goal to be a role model in that, I don’t know what you’re going through, what mountains you’re facing right now, but sure enough, you got mountains that you face daily like everybody else. I just want to be encouraging. I’ve been wrestling with multiple sclerosis for over 20 years now, and it’s that refusal to not give up, I think, that plays a part in me strongly in sharing positivity … Life is crazy tough, there’s no doubt about that. But sometimes we forget how strong we are. 

You’ve volunteered in all Bellingham schools, and now some Ferndale schools, too. What’s your favorite part about it?

I know that male volunteers, especially in elementary schools, are kind of a limited edition. And I thought about it, ‘Hey Naaman, you are a male volunteer in a chair with a disability, a disease. How much more rare is that?’ And so I realized I have an opportunity to really impact the lives of the young ones in a positive manner. 

In school, several years ago … there’s one student with two big Hula-Hoops on her arms, and a teacher’s like, ‘What are you doing?’ She said, ‘I have a chair. Just like Naaman!’ And then another student, her friend, said, ‘I want to be like Naaman,’ and took two big Hula-Hoops and put them under her arms, and they played like that the rest of recess.

You hand out little cards often, which say "Thank you. Your smile and thoughtfulness have made my day better," with "pass it on" on the back. What’s the story behind these?

A few years back, I went to the doctor. I saw the registered nurse, we’re almost done, and I asked if I could give him a poetry card — I write inspirational spoken-word poetry about multiple sclerosis. ‘Absolutely,’ he said, ‘and can I give you a card?’ And he explains to me that he helped an elderly lady cross a very busy street, and when they crossed the street, she gave him that thank you card. I fell in love immediately with the back story … and also the card itself and how simply beautiful it is.  

I went home immediately and ordered 500 of them … I know for a fact [I’ve handed out] a minimum of 16,000 cards … for a smile or act of thoughtfulness. I give them out pretty generously, as I think it should be.

You’ve been on the Max Higbee board for six years. What do you love about the center?

It is such a joy to see developmentally disabled friends getting out to experience things that people with no disabilities experience. Like going out for coffee or going to the comic book store, or going kayaking or going rock climbing in the gym. 

April Brews Day is the biggest fundraiser that we do for the year. Essentially, it keeps the lights on for us. It’s on April 26 … It is such a beautiful event where everybody is having such a great time.