Although the Cranston City Council already honors residents for doing extraordinary things, Ward 4 Councilman Ed Brady wants to make it easier – and more common – for people around the city to be “officially” honored for doing things that benefit the community.

“There are so many great people throughout the city of Cranston that are doing great things,” he said. “You often hear a lot of the negative, but this is an opportunity to promote positivity in the city.”

The initiative is called “Cranston Cares,” and encourages people to submit a name of a Cranston resident to the City Council, explain why they should be recognized, and then if chosen they would speak at the monthly Council meeting explaining their actions “on the record.”

The Council would then give a citation. Brady said there isn’t any reward other than that planned at this point, but it “eventually could lead to something like that.”

“The Council has a way of recognizing people now, but a lot go unrecognized,” Brady said. “Teachers, kids, someone that’s just starting a lemonade stand at their house. There are great things that are happening and should be recognized.”

The Council’s current way of recognizing people come’s only through a member of the Council nominating a person. This initiative would allow any citizen to nominate someone.

Brady referenced his own charitable ventures and the positive feeling he got when he was recognized by the City Council for his work.

Council President Michael Farina also issued statement in support of the initiative.

“This is a wonderful idea to bring inclusion and recognition to the people of Cranston,” he said. “Currently Council members recommend someone for recognition and having a mechanism for people to recommend each other for recognition is a great step to de-politicize the process and bring inclusion to it.”

In the short-term, recognition requests can now be sent directly to Councilman Brady or Farina at Brady4Cranston@gmail.com or Michael.Farina78@gmail.com to review by the Council. Eventually, Brady wants to add a link to the city’s website to make the process easier.

“Cranston is such a great city to live in, I continue to watch people do great things,” Brady said. “I love living in a community of positivity versus what we’re seeing in the world today.”