Do Something More-Nonprofit Spotlights & Ways to Serve Your Community

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Time! We all wish we had more of it! Especially when it comes to serving and helping others, many of us feel we wish we had time to do more of those good things we’ve felt inspired or nudged to do. In this episode I’m sharing some of my thoughts on time and submitting the idea that we are more in control than we think.  I talk about the famous ‘Good Samaritan’ study done back in the 70s that looked at this concept of serving others and time, and I’m sharing 5 tips to help inspire you on how to make time for service and volunteering in your life.

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Janelle Christensen has been involved with Family Haven in a myriad of ways for almost 15 years and right now she serves as the Director. On this episode of the podcast she shares how Family Haven fulfills its primary purpose of preventing and treating child abuse.

What impressed me in this interview is Family Haven truly believes in coming at this sensitive issue from all sides. First by empowering families and giving them the tools they need to be healthy and succeed, through things like parenting classes and providing child care that parents can access for any reason. They also provide therapy and treatment so those who have experienced abuse or families trying to break generational cycles can find the hope and healing they need.

The powerful message I took away from this interview is that no family or child needs to walk the road of life alone. Whether it’s getting help and support for the current season you’re in, or finding healing from past experiences, there is help and hope to be found and it is places like Family Haven that work hard to provide that for their community.

Links mentioned in the show:
Family Haven Website
Family Haven Instagram
Family Haven Facebook

UtahFamilies.org-find Family Support Centers across Utah
National Family Support Network

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Brady and Andrea Murray are the parents of 11 children, 7 of them they adopted into their family. Their journey with adoption and their passion for advocating for children began after their first son was born with Down syndrome. Soon after that, they became aware of the fate that many children born with Down syndrome around the world face of being abandoned or left in orphanages.

That fueled their idea to create a nonprofit to help many of those children find families and homes. The mission of their nonprofit now is to inspire families to answer the call to adopt children with Down syndrome or other unique circumstances, and they call their nonprofit Rods Heroes.

This was an inspiring episode! Brady and Andrea are very honest about some of the realities of adoption and the feelings they’ve experienced along the way with their journey, but they also share the light, hope, and joy in bringing children and families together.

Listen to the episode  to learn more about their nonprofit, some of the programs they do to further their cause, and the many miracles they’ve seen along the way.

Links mentioned in the episode:
Rods Heroes Website
Rods Heroes Instagram
Rods Heroes Facebook
Rods Heroes App
Brady and Andrea's Podcast 'See the Miracle'

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This week the podcast is celebrating one year! I am so proud of putting out an episode each week for one whole year. I also am so, so grateful for every guest that graciously gives of their time to come on the show, and each person that downloads, follows, or shares.

This episode is a fun one celebrating the podcast...I'm sharing some fun stats, talking about some favorite episodes, and answering some of the questions I regularly get about the podcast.

Give it a listen to learn a little more about the behind the scenes and celebrate!

Links mentioned in the show:
Samsung Mic (what I use to record)
Alitu (what I use to produce the podcast)
Buzzsprout (my host)
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‘People Helping People’ is a non-profit organization that likes to say they are often in the business of building confidence. They help primarily women and single mothers gain and keep good employment so they can provide for themselves and their families. 

My guest on the podcast this week Kristen Carr is the Community Outreach Coordinator, and she shared that many of the women and single mothers that come into their program have gone through hard and traumatic experiences. But through the mentoring and coaching those women receive at People Helping People, they learn to see the talents and skills they already have to offer, and build on those as they seek to gain meaningful employment or start a career.

This organization truly believes that one of the best ways to help children and families out of poverty, is to empower women and give them the confidence and skills they need to be successful in the workforce. 

Listen to the podcast to learn more about People Helping People and also hear some great stories of women who have found success through their programs.

Links mentioned in the episode:
People Helping People Website
People Helping People Instagram
People Helping People Facebook

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Tallia Feltis was raising her young kids in Provo, Utah when she realized they needed an accessible and affordable place they could go to create, explore, learn and try new things. She decided to be the one to create that community space, and the Neighborhood Art Center was born. 

Tallia’s taken her passions from visiting other Children’s Museums around the country and seeing what her own kids enjoyed doing, and she’s put all of those ideas together into one engaging space for children and families. In this episode she walks us through their different stations at the center, and also some of the different classes and community activities they provide.

One thing I was so impressed with is how hard Tallia has worked to make the Neighborhood Art Center an accessible place for all by doing things like keeping their prices low, having a pass families can check out at the local library, and even providing scholarships for their art classes.

This podcast will make want to go and create something fun with the kids in your life! But it will also inspire you to see how anyone can truly see a need in their community and work hard to fulfill it.

Links mentioned in the episode:
The Neighborhood Art Center Website
The Neighborhood Art Center Instagram
The Neighborhood Art Center Facebook

Utah Nonprofits Association PDF file of steps to form non-profit
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
Children's Museum of Manhattan

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Anxiety and depression have been a reality for me like they are for many others. In this episode I share what I’ve learned about the nature of managing my own mental health, and one way of doing it is to find regular things I put in my daily life and routines that help me navigate those challenges and keep moving forward. I share why I truly believe service can be a great thing to incorporate when someone is wanting to improve their mental health. I also give some concrete ideas anyone can use to find ways to put service into their life, even when they might be struggling.

I feel passionate about this topic, and that might come through on the episode. :) Service is cool guys! It really can do good things not only for those who are receiving it, but those who make an effort to give it too.

Links mentioned in episode:
JustServe

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Wendy Osborne was working in a corporate career when she found herself on a spiritual journey and felt inspiration come that she needed to open a local food pantry in her community. She decided to name the pantry ‘Tabitha’s Way’ after a story from the Bible about a woman who provided food and clothing to the needy. That was in 2010, and now their pantry operates out of three different locations in Utah County, serving thousands of people each month. 

I learned a lot in this interview! It was fascinating to learn the logistics of the ways a food pantry works and how they fill in the gap of taking surplus from businesses and organizations in the community and distributing that to those in need. I loved hearing the stories Wendy shared about families and individuals they’ve served. At the end of the episode, she shares her thoughts about how food insecurity is a problem that can be solved by everyone in the community working together.

Listen to the podcast to learn more about ‘Tabitha’s Way’. You might also feel inspired for how you can help people in need of food assistance in your own community.

Links mentioned in the show:
Tabitha's Way Food Pantry Website
Tabitha's Way Food Pantry Instagram
Tabitha's Way Food Pantry Facebook
Urban Institute

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Several years ago, Ivan Gonzalez wanted to throw himself a birthday party. But it was a little different than your typical party. At this party he wanted to invite children and families going through hard times, whether it be because of poverty and finances, or because of a medical diagnosis, or special needs. After having a great time watching these kids be able to experience true joy for the evening, Ivan decided to plan another event and then another, and that’s how his non-profit ‘Best Seat in the House’ began. 

And now not only do they put on these fun events for families and children, but they have branched out to find tickets and opportunities for kids to visit different events and venues in their community that they otherwise would never have the chance to experience.

Even though they regularly see kids who are battling hard things, Ivan’s non-profit is really all about joy and the idea that every child should have the opportunity to experience those simple fun and joyful moments, no matter what their current life situation is. 

Listen to the podcast to learn more from Ivan and also here some great stories about the kids they’ve been able to serve.

Links mentioned in the show:
Best Seat in the House Website
Best Seat in the House Instagram
Best Seat in the House Facebook

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On this episode I'm sharing 3 simple ways anyone can use service to strengthen, boost, or improve their relationship with their spouse or significant other. And of course, I share a few stories about me and my husband!

At its core, service is an act of love. It naturally brings good feelings with it and helps us feel connected to those around us, whether we are givers or receivers of that service. And in my opinion, there's no better way than to use all those benefits that come with service to strengthen the relationship that means the most to us.

Listen to the podcast to hear my ideas! I would love to get feedback from anyone that uses these and finds them to be beneficial for their own relationship.

Links mentioned in the show:
5 Love Languages
JustServe

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