On a sunny Tuesday morning, students walking past the outdoor Bell Memorial Union dining area notice something is different. A table, with positive letters and roses, is set up between the side of Meriam Library and the steps to the Dining Marketplace, with no one near to be found who’s responsible for this. 

Emannuell Tinsley, the heart behind spreading kindness around Butte County and neighboring areas, was hiding at a nearby table. Watching his message spread. He sat at a table on the Dining Marketplace balcony, watching students pick up letters corresponding to different mental health struggles, take a rose and walk off. 

Tinsley is not a student, but came to campus anyway to spread kindness and love, because he knew students could use as much kindness as they can get. 

Tinsley spent five weeks before April 14 writing 100 letters and creating a sign that rested on the table, prompting people passing by to take a letter if they needed one. He preferred to stay out of the line of sight because he wanted his actions to speak for themselves. 

“I asked myself, how can I impact as many people as possible without putting any pressure or confrontation on them?” Tinsley said. 

Tinsley decided on letters as opposed to actively talking to people because he felt students who took the letters would be able to accept the message being portrayed more easily. 

The letters, each labeled with a different struggle, such as “for those who feel alone,” were filled with encouraging words and positive thoughts. They discussed mental struggles such as heartbreak, addiction, feeling overwhelmed, stress, anxiety and no familial support. 

Tinsley records the outings he makes and posts them on his personal social media page, spreading the word as much as possible. 

While he was staying out of sight, he was recording students coming up to the table and taking a letter. He saw each student who was interested take a letter, take a rose and walk off. That was his entire mission with the table. 

Since his time on campus ended, he has been standing outside shopping centers and parking lots, handing out free roses and notes, and giving out hugs to people who need them. 

Tinsley has been to places around Chico, Paradise, Oroville, Gridley and Yuba City. A Yuba City resident even reached out to him to convince him to come down, because they had flowers they wanted to help give out with him. 

“I don’t really have a specific reason why I go anywhere,” Tinsley said. “I’m just trying to impact as many places as I can.” 

Tinsley was skeptical about being blindfolded and giving out free hugs at first, but received very positive feedback because “people actually really needed it.” 

Tinsley has been publicly spreading love and kindness for just under a year, with his official start date being May 17, 2025, at Barnes and Noble in Chico. During his time outside Barnes and Noble, he handed out his first round of roses and letters. 

“This is a story about me, but it’s also a story about how something as simple as the human empathy can have an impact on someone’s life,” Tinsley said. “I think that’s so important because sometimes, as humans, we can get stuck in the normality of the way things are, and we can get distracted from the fact that we just need to have empathy for people.” 

Loving each other, being there for each other and respecting each other are all a part of Tinsley’s mission for success. 

“If we can be a little bit kinder to each other and a little more loving, we can have a really big impact on changing the world,” he said. “Because people’s lives are important. Human lives are important.” 

Tinsley described that his passion for mental health started when he was young due to his rough childhood. Being adopted, struggling with no support from his adoptive family with his passions and feeling like he was left out of the things he truly cared for all fueled his passion to spread kindness. 

He described a moment in his childhood that truly shaped his drive for mental health. His father explained to him that his drive for bodybuilding was ruining his life and that once he quits, he’ll find happiness. His father also said that neither he nor his wife, Tinsley’s stepmother, will ever go to his bodybuilding shows. Their lack of support fueled Tinsley’s drive to change lives. 

“He was the only person I ever wanted to make proud,” Tinsley said. “Because of that, it hurt me so much and made me feel unimportant. I don’t want anyone to feel that way.” 

Instead of letting that pain maim him for life, he turned it into his drive for spreading mental health. He is proud of the way he switched the pain around to help others who may feel the same. 

Tinsley also describes his relationship with God and how that has become an important part as well. His relationship with God has shown him how to love people who may not be kind to him. 

Due to his success with the first round of letters and roses on campus, he decided to come back out and spread more love. 

His location this time was the same as his last: between Meriam Library and the Dining Marketplace balcony, but this time he only had 20 letters and roses. 

Valerie Reyes, a freshman, grabbed a letter because “sometimes you just need it.” 

Reyes said that while she’s not feeling down or depressed, she is healing and it’s important to take it slow and not overwhelm yourself. 

The letter she chose helped her put things in perspective and encouraged her to keep going through her healing journey. 

“I would love to see something like this in the future, because the younger generation might be confused about what they want to do, and they might need guidance,” Reyes said. 

Anna Jewel, a junior, said she was walking around when the roses caught her attention. She was feeling stressed about finals week and wanted to give her brain a break. 

“It’s a nice gesture,” Jewel said. 

Anjali Mae Penny, a senior, took a letter because she graduates next Friday and is feeling the drastic impact of the changes that are about to happen. 

“I chose the letter that said ‘if you don’t feel like you’re enough’ and I think what the letter said really applied,” Mae Penny said. “It was really sweet and really motivating.” 

Mae Penny definitely feels a need for there to be something like this table in the future, especially with the environment being stressed by college kids who are looking for a break. 

Kailyn Lopez-Padilla, a senior, took a letter because “it’s not something you see much on campus,” and appreciated the recognition of other people’s struggles. 

“At the end of the day, your struggles are seen, even when you’re going through them [behind] closed doors,” Lopez-Padilla said. “Your struggles still matter and they build you as a person.” 

The table on campus is only one part of his 24-hour kindness marathon. He is planning on going around Chico and displaying signs with kind sayings along intersections, putting roses and notes in shops around downtown and making a stop on campus to show students love as well. 

He made handwritten signs with sayings such as “You’re loved and important” and “You are enough just as you are.”

Roses and letters will start to appear around Chico during the day and well into the night, as he does not plan to sleep until his mission is completed. 

“I’m going to stand across Chico with a whiteboard saying ‘mental health matters, and so do you,’” Tinsley said. 

Tinsley’s mission from the very beginning was to spread the simple message reminding people that love is important. This is his main message, but his personal antidote is to reduce the suicide rate from negative mental health. 

This message is especially important this month, during Mental Health Awareness Month. Resources are available nationwide, and there are many resources on campus as well. “You are not alone,” a past Orion article, highlights the resources around campus. Mental health matters every day, not just during Mental Health Awareness Month, and please remember to speak out if you are struggling. Be kind to people. 

Elizabeth Perez can be reached at [email protected]