Be Good. Be Kind. Be Love. Turning Grief Into a Movement

What would you do if the two people who embodied everything good about the world, kindness without hesitation, love without conditions, were suddenly gone? Would you let that goodness disappear too, or would you carry it forward?

Amie Drudge chose to carry it forward. After losing her twin daughters Belle and Elle in a car accident four years ago, she founded the BE Foundation , named for them, built on their spirit, and dedicated to spreading the three things they lived by: be good, be kind, be love.

In a recent episode of the All Peacemakers Needed video series, host Nell Rose Hill sat down with Amie for a conversation about loss, community, and what peacemaking looks like in everyday life.

Watch the full video interview below, then read on for the highlights.

The Story Behind The BE Foundation

Amie's foundation didn't begin with a strategic plan or a mission statement drafted in a conference room. It began with loss.

Four years ago, Amie's twin daughters — Isabella and Elleana, known to everyone who loved them as Belle and Elle — were killed by a driver under the influence. They were 17 years old.

"It's still hard to just speak those words," Amie said quietly during the conversation.

Belle and Elle were not the loudest voices in the room. They weren't the so-called popular girls. But they were the ones who sat next to someone eating lunch alone. Elle, who loved art even though she'd be the first to admit she wasn't a natural artist, once told her mom she was going to buy every piece of art made by a classmate who she believed in, just so that girl would know someone saw her talent. "I just want her to know that I believe in her," Elle had said.

That spirit — that quiet, consistent, freely given love is what the BE Foundation was created to carry forward. BE, of course, stands for Belle and Elle. But it has grown into something larger: be good, be kind, be love.

"I couldn't abide that being taken out of the world," Amie said. "They had so much left to give."

What the Foundation Does

The BE Foundation operates on two tracks: the small, daily acts that anyone can do, and the larger material acts of generosity made possible through fundraising.

On the small-scale side, the foundation distributes little lapel pins that simply read "BE Foundation." But the pins come with a commitment. When Amie hands one to someone, she tells them: no road rage, hold the door, be good. Wear the pin and let it be a daily reminder to show up with kindness.

"I think it's the daily things that we do that might save someone's life," she said. "Just that smile — to let them know they are seen and heard and loved."

On the larger scale, the foundation has donated vehicles, paid electricity bills, and sponsored educational classes for community members in the Fishers, Indiana area. Two little free libraries, one at the Fisher Municipal Town Center in honor of Belle and Elle, and one in Amie's own yard, give out books stamped inside with the message: be good, be kind, be love.

"Anything that we can do to just pass that message along, we're going to try to do it on the daily," she said.

Peacemaking as a Practice

Nell asked Amie to share a tip for anyone who wants to become a better peacemaker. Her answer was simple, and it's one that has come up again and again in the All Peacemakers Needed series.

See each other.

"If we could really sit with each other and see each other. I don't care who it is, someone from a different race, a different background, something we don't understand; we need to sit with those people and hear their story," Amie said. "And I think if we just understood each other a little bit more, the world would be a better place."

She was quick to add that she fails at this too, that peacemaking is a daily effort. But that honesty is part of what makes her message so resonant. Nobody has this perfectly figured out. We're all just trying, every day, to be a little more present, a little more kind, a little more like the people who inspire us.

For Amie, those people happen to be her daughters.

"I want to be what they were," she said. "And the world is lacking now. So we have to fix it."

Why This Matters Right Now

During their conversation, Amie noted that in the last three months alone, she had known two people who died by suicide. Nell shared that she'd recently lost a friend suddenly and unexpectedly, and that her first instinct was to want to say "I love you forever" to every person she met from that moment on.

Amie didn't find that sappy at all.

"We don't know when our last moment is," she said. "We have to be present with the people that we are with and give them all of ourselves."

In a world that can feel overwhelming, politically, socially, emotionally, Amie and Nell both hold onto the same conviction: kindness is free. Peace is free. Goodness is free. And we can choose to give it out, every single day.

Get Involved

Learn more about the BE Foundation and the work being done in honor of Belle and Elle at the BE Foundation's website. If you know someone who needs support in the Fishers, Indiana area, reach out to the foundation directly by email.

Watch the full conversation between Nell and Amie in the All Peacemakers Needed video series. The series brings together everyday people to talk about what peacemaking looks like in real life — and why the world needs more of it.

If this conversation moved you, share it. Pass it along. Be the pocket of peace someone near you is looking for.

Because All PEACEMAKERS ARE NEEDED.

The All Peacemakers Needed video series features conversations between everyday people exploring the practice of peacemaking. New episodes are released regularly.