United Kingdom, April 28 -- Goldie Hawn believes "empathy can be taught".

The 80-year-old actress launched MindUP, a mental health programme, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Goldie has been on a mission to curb rising rates of anxiety and depression among young people ever since.

Goldie - who has been in a relationship with fellow actor Kurt Russell since 1983 - told People: "I was knitting the American flag and crying because the world had changed forever."

Goldie has now channelled the principles of MindUP into a new children's book, titled The After-School Kindness Crew: Pooch on the Loose #1, which she's co-written with veteran author Lin Oliver.

Goldie said: "This is kindness. This is caring. This is empathy . In these stor...