This episode’s theme is the value charity. Robin tells a story about leading a charity activity for students and realizing she needed to think deeply about the recipients of the charity, not just those doing the act of charity. Anna and Robin discuss the Hebrew word for charity, tzedakah, which shares its root with the word for justice (tzedek), and infer that the value we imbue to our children should be charity that leads to greater justice. Robin brings a game about celebrities known for their charity.

Our Guest, Michelle West, is small business owner and restauranteur. Along with her husband and children, Michelle leverages her restaurant Bittersweet Kitchen in Media, PA, to support her community through many acts of charity and activism. She talks about being careful to avoid white saviorism in her own acts of charity, but especially when engaging her children in those acts. She shares examples of how she has helped the community with her business by hosting political candidate meetings, community education sessions, and delivering more than 1,100 meals to frontline workers during the pandemic. Finally, Michelle talks with Anna and Robin about the humbling experience during the pandemic of becoming a person who was in need of help from her friends and community as her restaurant felt the economic strains of lockdown.

At the end of the episode, Robin commits to using the money she typically spends on Starbucks for one week and contributing to her son’s tzedakah box (charity savings). Anna commits to have an in depth conversation with her daughter about new ideas she has for helping schools with less resources than her own and how to ensure that her charity goes toward what the schools need most. Listeners are encouraged to share their commitments, too, through email, Facebook and Twitter.