Local woman to appear on Kelly Clarkson Show
A South Fayette woman’s efforts to make the world a nicer place will be featured when she makes a guest appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show today.
For 23 years, Gabrielle Bovard has taped random notes of encouragement to telephone poles, on parking meters, in restaurants and parks, and tucked them into library books in the greater Pittsburgh area and beyond in order to brighten people’s days.
On Monday, Bovard, who in 2021 launched @randomnoteproject.com on Instagram, will appear on the show to talk about the Random Note Project and the work she does.
The invitation from Clarkson’s show came in September, and she flew to New York City on Oct. 2 to tape the episode.
Bovard was delighted when a producer unexpectedly reached out to her, and happy with the opportunity to share the mission of Random Note Project.
“A producer from the Kelly Clarkson Show said Pilot Pen is one of the show’s sponsors, and so they were looking for a women who are using pen and paper to do something positive for the world, to show that you can make a difference with just a pen and paper,” said Bovard.
For the episode, Bovard spent a day placing random notes with positive messages throughout Manhattan and Rockefeller Center, where the show is taped.
“I walked about 12 miles walking through Manhattan taping up notes, I went into a Subway restaurant and other places all around Rockefeller Center. It was really fun” said Bovard. “And Kelly Clarkson was awesome. She was so down to earth and easy to talk to, it was like hanging out with a friend.”
Bovard was 14 years old when she started leaving notes of encouragement. She slipped her first note into a library book.
In a 2022 interview with the Observer-Reporter, Bovard, a Chartiers Valley graduate, said, “I was feeling super insecure and I didn’t really fit in. I felt like, there’s got to be more than this feeling. Please tell me that it gets better. I either had to accept that life, which they say is good, is actually really painful and uncomfortable, or I have to be somebody who goes out and makes it better.”
Words of encouragement, she believes, matter. She didn’t realize she was starting a movement, of sorts.
Notes written by Bovard and others have appeared across the United States and in other countries spreading messages of encouragement.
One Random Note Project message found on the side of a building by a woman named Judy in Bismarck, N.D., for example, said, “Maybe you’re the one who shows the world it can be done.”
“It was a great positive message to see at 9 a.m. on a Wednesday,” she wrote on Instagram.
Another message of encouragement was found by a man from Boise, Idaho, who was suffering with severe depression, and the note brightened his spirits.
People have found random notes while hurrying to work, or dropping into a coffee shop, attending sporting events or taking a walk.
“There’s always someone who can be supportive, and we can be a support to someone else,” said Bovard. “I think so often we have these challenges we face and we feel that it’s our burden to bear, alone, such as drug and alcohol addiction. It can be so isolating and sometimes we forget that even if it’s not our particular circumstance, it’s still relatable.”
Bovard’s Instagram account has grown to more than 1,250 followers.
Bovard, a senior marketing and communications manager for a health company, is currently writing a book that she calls “sort of a long form of Random Note Project.”
She also has started offering speaking engagements and workshops centered around Random Note Project.
She also said that all are welcome to join Random Note Project and leave notes.
“What started off as compassion for other people grew into self-compassion, I became kinder to myself, and that’s important. I’d like to help people find that, too.”
To contact Bovard, message her at hello@randomnoteproject.com.
The episode airs on WPXI at 3 p.m.