Be The Good

Ryan Carroll is a Sayville, New York local and the CEO of Carroll’s Kitchen, a grass roots non profit charity. Ryan lost his job as a chef in NYC due to the closures of restaurants from Covid 19. Instead of staying home, Ryan sprung into action and assembled a team of over 30 of the best hospitality workers to help people across Long Island in a safe and organized manner. Ryan and his team have fed over 19,000 people in need since March of 2020. From front line workers, veterans, the elderly, children, police departments, fire departments and shelters. 

Ryan and his team are not just donating meals they are also saving small businesses as well. Ryan is running the kitchen at Bistro25 East in Blue Point and donating a portion of the profits to different charities. He has worked with over 20 restaurants on the south shore of Long Island to help people during these difficult times.

Ryan is here with us to share more about the incredible and inspiring work he is doing!

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You may remember Karen (formerly Millsap, now Karen Allen), as she was the very first guest on this podcast! Karen gave us a major dose of inspiration in our first interview and that is exactly why I wanted to bring her back to help us kick off Season 3.

Karen is a resilience and mindset expert, motivational speaker, mom and author. As a growth and mindset speaker and coach, Karen is here to teach us how to pull ourselves out of unhealthy cycles to help us conquer both our personal and professional goals. 

After tragically losing her husband Richard, Karen has turned her pain into purpose and is doing endless amounts of good as she helps so many others to reframe their mindsets.

Being that we are all living in a rather chaotic and stressful time right now, I know that Karen can help us reframe our own mindsets and give us the tools we need to try to stay focused on the positive while navigating all the stressors we are experiencing right now.

Karen is here to help us move from hopelessness and overwhelming stress towards a more positive and balanced way of living and she says it all starts with a mindset shift.

Get ready for a motivation and inspiration packed episode that will help give you all the tools you need to shift from stress to ease!

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Welcome back to Be The Good Podcast! 

Jim Murray is the Co-Founder of the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House.

Born in West Philadelphia, he is a 1960 alumni of Villanova University. In 1969, Jim joined the Philadelphia Eagles’ public relations staff.  Five years later, he was named general manager for the Eagles where he served for nine years and took the franchise to the first Super Bowl appearance against the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV.

During his 14 years with the Eagles, Jim distinguished himself as a leader in a number of projects that served the community. In addition to co-founding the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, he helped start the Eagles Fly for Leukemia campaign. He also persuaded many of his peers in the NFL to become involved in the unique Ronald McDonald House concept across the country.

The Ronald McDonald House® programs provide temporary lodging, transportation, meals, and social services to families who travel to Philadelphia for pediatric care.

Jim joins me on this episode of Be The Good to discuss the flagship Ronald McDonald House here in Philadelphia as it works to support families of seriously ill children, creating a community of comfort and hope.

To learn more about The Ronald McDonald House Programs or to donate please visit: https://www.rmhc.org

To learn more about host, Christy McCaffrey, please visit: https://www.christymccaffrey.com/about

Steve Selfridge is a saxophonist, jazz musician, music teacher, and school band director in the Philadelphia area.  

Steve is an active performer in various musical ensembles and venues in the greater Philadelphia area. In 2011, he performed at Carnegie Hall in NYC, as a featured soloist on stage with rock legend Steven Van Zandt and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darlene Love.  In his career, Steve has had the honor to share the stage with many music greats in both performance and educational settings. 

Aside from performing, Steve maintains a deep commitment to teaching music and promoting music education in our schools and communities.  He has been a band director in the Garnet Valley School District since 2001. 

Steve is a graduate of Temple University and Rowan University, and most recently acquired his doctorate in Music Education from Temple University as well. 

Steve also hosts his own YouTube Channel, “Dr. Selfridge Music” where he teaches students basic skills of all instruments. Once a week Steve hosts a live class, often teaching popular songs the kids are excited to learn. Steve currently has over 223,000 subscribers!

On this episode of "Be The Good" Steve shares with us his own journey into music, how his passion has grown and changed over the years and ultimately what he hopes to achieve with his work as an educator.

Steve's Website: https://www.drselfridgemusic.com
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrSelfridge
Instagram: @drselfridge

For more information about host, Christy McCaffrey, please visit: https://www.christymccaffrey.com/about

Candi Bryan has a passion for women’s ministry. She has facilitated a national prayer group for 10 years that grew to become a non profit called RENEW. It stands for reaching every need for every woman. 

In 2016, Candi was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Following chemo, double mastectomy, radiation and reconstruction Candi turned the process into purpose by hosting and producing her own show called “Good Morning Ladies”, an inspirational podcast for women. She also just released her first women’s devotional called “PEACE AND HOPE in the midst of Cancer”.

In 2019 Candi stepped out of her comfort zone to compete in Ms. Corporate America and won 1st place. She has spent 18 successful years in corporate America with the same company, in sales and project management. And she says that the pageant has given her a platform to make an impact in the community. 

She is co-founder of The Warriors Brunch, a breast cancer survivor event, a business coach at UCF and a women’s breast health advocate and speaker.

For more information about Candi and her work please visit: https://www.candibryan.com

To learn more about host, Christy Mccaffrey, please visit https://www.christymccaffrey.com/about

Lou Harris is the founder of the Rockaway NY Chapter of the Black Surfers Association. Lou says his program is for any kid in the rockaway area who wants to swim and surf but might not have the opportunity or means to do so. 

The mission of the BSA of Rockaway is to “make a positive impact on the surrounding community by bringing everyone together as one and by empowering the youth in a positive way while being active.” The lessons, which are free, are open to any child ages 4 to 16. In addition to surf lessons Lou has expanded his programs to skateboarding and cooking lessons as well. He draws support from the major skateboarding brand Vans, who are eager to help support Lou’s mission. Vans regularly donates boxes of shoes which Lou gives out to his BSA kids and the homeless in his community.

Lou’s heart and passion for his community is truly contagious. On this episode of Be The Good, Lou shares with us what inspired him to do this work and how he hopes to expand his mission going forward.

Follow Lou and his work with the BSA on Instagram @black_surfing_rockaway

To learn more about host, Christy McCaffrey, please visit: https://www.christymccaffrey.com/about

Colleen Echohawk is the founder of the Coalition to End Urban Native Homelessness and the director of an organization called Native Works which aims to better Seattle’s homeless Native American community. By crafting authentic artwork and in partnership with it’s parent organization, The Chief Seattle Club, Native Works aims to honor Native tradition while fostering a healthier native future.

Named as one of Seattle’s most influential people by Seattle Magazine in 2019 and one of Seattle Met Magazine’s 50 most influential women in 2018, Colleen Echohawk is the recipient of multiple public service awards for her leadership and dedication to homeless advocacy. 

In this interview Colleen shares with us what drives her passion for this work and all the ways that her organization is working to support the native homeless community.

To learn more about Native Works please visit: https://nativeworkscsc.org
To learn more about The Chief Seattle Club please visit: https://www.chiefseattleclub.org
To learn more about host, Christy McCaffrey, please visit: https://www.christymccaffrey.com/about

Gabriel Moreno is the founder of an organization called Game Changers Idaho. Before Game Changers was officially a non profit, it started as a small adaptive flag football program that offered an opportunity for kids with and without disabilities to play together. Since that time Game Changers has grown into offering a variety of sports, reaching more and more kids each season.

Of his program Gabriel says, “ We believe that every child, regardless of ability, should have every opportunity to play sports to their fullest potential. We want to be another source in the community where our participants are able to create friendships, to be included into team sports and to show what they are truly capable of doing. While playing sports we are also teaching kids of all abilities what it truly means to help another. We are able to teach everyone patience, empathy, and how to be leaders on and off the field. The first step is by being a genuine human being.”

Gabriel’s organization stands as a great example to us all of the impact we can make in our own communities and as a reminder of the importance of modeling inclusivity, kindness and empathy for our youth.

To learn more about Gabriel and Game Changers Idaho please visit: https://www.gamechangersidaho.com

To learn more about host, Christy McCaffrey, please visit: https://www.christymccaffrey.com/about

Monique Minahan is a San Diego based yoga teacher explaining and exploring grief in the body. She is also the author of a book called “The Grief Practice – Stories of Surviving Loss, and Practices For Supporting Loss”.

In her mid-twenties Monique suddenly lost her husband Nathan due to a complication with one of his chemotherapy drugs. Monique says of this loss, “With a long history of major depression, no embodied resources, and living in a society that stigmatized grief, I dropped into a deep and dark crevasse of isolation and complicated grief for many years.”

But now almost 18 years later, after exploring her own grief and discovering many useful healing practices, Monique says her work is focused on creating supportive containers for people to move with and through all kinds of loss safely. Whether it be through her yoga workshops, or her writing and poems, Monique offers support to those who are experiencing the same challenging emotions she faced with the loss of her husband.

To learn more about Monique and The Grief Practice please visit: https://www.thegriefpractice.com

To learn more about host, Christy McCaffrey, please visit: https://www.christymccaffrey.com/about