Let's Give A Damn

I rarely watch TV but I definitely make time for Queer Eye. Season 2 came out this summer and I was first introduced to my guest today in the season 2 finale called Make Ted Great Again. The Fab 5 were tasked with helping the Mayor of Clarkston GA…well, look more the part of a Mayor. It was a deeply impactful episode as we got a peek into how diverse, accepting, and unified Clarkston, GA is. 

Mayor Ted is currently serving his second term as the Mayor of Clarkston, GA. I’ll be completely honest, y’all. When I think of progressive, diverse, a place where refugees and immigrants are celebrated and accepted, my mind doesn’t immediately go to most places in the South. But this small city of 13,000 people just outside of Atlanta is trying to change the way you and I think about the South. Clarkston boasts “the most diverse square mile in America” where 50% of its residents are foreign-born having moved there from over 50 countries across 6 continents. Amazing, right? In our chat, we talk tolerance, the South, loving your neighbor, conversing with people with whom we disagree, and so much more. 

Follow Ted on Twitter and check out the city’s website for more on the history of Clarkston and to see all they’re doing to continue building a beautiful, diverse city!

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Becca Heller is the co-founder of IRAP—the International Refugee Assistance Project. They organize law students and lawyers to, essentially, help refugees and displaced persons. 

“IRAP serves the world’s most persecuted individuals and empowers the next generation of human rights leaders.”

Do you remember just a few days after Trump became President when he issued the first version of his Muslim travel ban? While many of us were irate and didn’t know what to do to help, Becca and a few other organizations rallied thousands of lawyers in just a few hours to go to airports to assist refugees as they arrived in the US. I was glued to Twitter during those days as these lawyers tirelessly served thousands of refugees. I had no idea Becca Heller was one of the masterminds behind that incredible effort!

You’re going to love Becca. She’s a firecracker in the best possible way! Her passion for making her world a better place in infectious. Follow Becca’s work on their website, on Twitter, and on Facebook. Make sure you watch her interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah—it’s fantastic!

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

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NOTE: We do not own the audio of Becca Heller's interview with Trevor Noah. This audio belongs to The Daily Show's Youtube channel.

Ruthie Lindsey has experienced a lot of loss and pain in her life—including daily chronic pain from a threatening accident she was in several years ago. Additionally, she has learned how to find beauty and joy in the midst of pain and suffering. I’m terrible at this most of the time, to be honest. When things aren’t right in our society or in politics, I let it affect me way too much. I was eager to chat with Ruthie and learn from her. And I did learn from her! So much. I hope you will, too.

Ruthie is a writer, speaker, social media influencer, and an all-around badass woman. I could have talked with her for hours! I’m going to be that you’ll feel the same way after you hear our conversation.

Follow Ruthie on Instagram and check out her website. 

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Jason Adkins raises chickens, goats, pigs in the middle of Nashville! No joke. He also grows mushrooms, many types of vegetables, and many types of plants right in the middle of Nashville. Essentially, he and his team at Trevecca University have created a food oasis in the middle of a food desert. Truly amazing! You see, Jason teaches environmental justice, urban farming, and so much more to undergrad students in Nashville, TN. 

In our chat, Jason and I discuss the impact the foods we consume are having on the planet. We discuss the state of farming in America and around the world. I ask the question, “Have you screwed up the earth beyond a point of no return?” Jason gives a grim but hopeful answer. I truly enjoyed my chat with Jason. I hope you’ll listen, become a little terrified, but leave full of hope that we can and should do something about the foods we eat and how we get those foods.

If you come to Trevecca University and pursue a major in Social Justice, you’ll get to sit under the leadership of Jason Adkins as he teaches classes like Urban Restoration Ecology, Environmental Justice, etc. 

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Tori Samples got a degree in Harp. Yep—harp! But that is not what she’s doing today. I mean, I wouldn’t mind if she made a living being a harpist cuz I love me some harp. BUT she went on to co-found Leaf Global Fintech—Virtual Banking Beyond Borders. There are 70m refugees around the world at this moment and 100m more people on the brink of becoming refugees. Tori and her team at Leaf envision a future where all refugees are able to spend money, receive money, and save money safely and so much more. This is a beautiful vision and I’m so thrilled I got to spend a few minutes with Tori learning about her story and a little more about who refugees are, what their needs are, and we explore how Leaf plans to accomplish this rather huge task.

Follow the work Tori and her team are doing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and on their website.

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Clara Daly is a teenager from Calabasas, CA. She was recently returning from an East Coast trip with her mother, Jane, when the flight attendant asked if anyone knew sign language. You see, there was a blind and deaf man on the flight with whom the flight attendants were having a difficult time communicating. Clara’s willingness to help changed everything on that flight. Several passengers took photos and videos and before long, this story of a damn-giving teenager went viral. No, seriously, google “Clara Daly” and you’ll get pages and pages of results. 

I wanted to spend a few minutes highlighting Clara’s willingness to help as an encouragement to all the young people out there. Clara is proof that there are opportunities for everyone to love and serve others on a daily basis. It’s up to us to see them and respond. “I’m too young” is not a valid excuse.

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THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR:

We are wrapping up a 7-week sponsorship with our friends at Scout Books. All LGAD listeners can get 15% off an order of Scout Books by using the code GIVEADAMN during checkout at scoutbooks.com. I love Scout Books! They're amazing. Check them out.

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

“Every child deserves to be warmly greeted, to have their name used positively, and to be hugged, high-fived, hand-shaked, or at least smiled at by their teacher, daily. This is the bare minimum.” My guest today tweeted these words recently. I, a father of 3 children, couldn’t agree more.

Dwayne Reed is a teacher in Chicago. While most teachers were preparing their beginning-of-the-school-year letter for their students, Dwayne decided to make a music video, instead. That video has been viewed over 1.5M times. Big brands and collaborated with him since then. Additionally, a few famous people also saw and loved the video. Pharrell even tweeted about it the other day!

But Dwayne is more than a viral music video. As displayed in the tweet above, he loves and cares for his students so deeply. And this love and care has changed these kids! You’ll hear much more about his story and his work in our chat.

Follow Dwayne on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with the great work he is doing!

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THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR:

Our dear friends at Scout Books sponsored this week's podcast episode. All LGAD listeners can get 15% off an order of Scout Books by using the code GIVEADAMN during checkout at scoutbooks.com. I love Scout Books! They're amazing. Check them out.

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” — Aesop

During a not-so-great season of work over 9 years ago, Ashley Reale began leaving notes of encouragement inside magazine covers, inside public restrooms, and a variety of other public spaces. Several years later and a thousand notes later, she realized she was onto something and wanted to share her vision with a larger community. Since 2014, she and hundreds of others have left 20,000 notes of encouragement and love all over the U.S. and all over the world!

Learn more about Ashley’s work and vision at Love Everywhere’s website. Buy a pennant, pin, key chain, or t-shirt to support their incredible work. With each purchase, you’ll receive a few hand-numbered and hand-stamped notes for to you leave at your local coffee shop or wherever. 

THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR:

Our dear friends at Scout Books sponsored this week's podcast episode. All LGAD listeners can get 15% off an order of Scout Books by using the code GIVEADAMN during checkout at scoutbooks.com. I love Scout Books! They're amazing. Check them out.

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

You know how when bad things happen around the world and you decide to say something about it on social media, express concern, or raise some money for that cause? Then along comes a troll that says, “If you care so much about it, why don’t you move there?” Has that ever happened to you? It happens to me quite often. Well, my guest this week did just that. 

Today, you’ll get to hear my convo with Carlos Rodriguez who moved his family to Puerto Rico last week so they can more proactively help and serve the amazing, resilient Puerto Rican people as they rebuild. 

We talk about his family, his faith, the “Love Thy Neighbor” t-shirt he sent me last week, Happy Sonship, The Happy Givers, and what he aims to accomplish by moving to Puerto Rico. Also, he wants you to visit. No seriously, you’ll hear more details in our chat but he clearly wants some of y’all to take him up on that offer. 

Learn more about Carlos at Happy Sonship. Buy a tee, tote, or hat at The Happy Givers to support their incredible work. And make sure to pick up a copy of his book, Drop the Stones: When Love Reaches the Unlovable.

THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR:

Our dear friends at Scout Books sponsored this week's podcast episode. All LGAD listeners can get 15% off an order of Scout Books by using the code GIVEADAMN during checkout at scoutbooks.com. They're amazing! Check them out.

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.

Have an amazing week, friends! Love y’all!

Zach served two tours in Iraq and engaged in other military assignments throughout Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Zach has seen and done it all. Upon returning from deployments, he noticed that veterans are not served well as they try to integrate back into civilian life. He decided to do something about it. Years later, the results of his resolve to do something are Hirepurpose, HeadStrong Project, and Task&Purpose. Zach and his team(s) are doing so much good in the world! You’re going to love our conversation.

Sign up for the Task&Purpose newsletter! Lots of great content. If you’re interested in hiring veterans, contact Zach’s team at Hire Purpose. 

THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR:

Our friends at Scout Books sponsored this week's podcast episode. All of the listeners of this show can get 15% off an order of Scout Books by using code GIVEADAMN during checkout at scoutbooks.com. They're amazing! Check them out.

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Follow Let’s Give A Damn on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter to keep up with all that is going on. We have so much planned for the coming months and we don’t want you to miss a thing! And if you want to follow our host Nick Laparra—Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.

Support Let’s Give A Damn by contributing the monthly amount of your choice on Patreon. 100% of the money you contribute will go to making more podcasts. Not a dime goes into our pockets! Or you can leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts! Every little bit helps. Thanks for all your help.