Remarkable Patriotism Podcast

#GivingTuesdayMilitary is a movement to bring the focus of Giving Tuesday back to acts of kindness. The goal is for military families, service members (active duty and reserve), veterans and their families and patriotic American to do 1 MILLION ACTS OF KINDNESS on December 3rd (Giving Tuesday).  

Use the #GivingTuesdayMilitary to share your act of kindness and to be added to the official count!

Our Extraordinary Guest is Samuel Bistrian Founder and CEO of Roma Boots (RomaBoots.com)

1. Samuel grew up in Communist controlled Romania with his family which included 11 brothers and sisters. They immigrated to the United States when he was 8.

2. He said his parents encouraged faith and gratitude in the house which spurred him and his siblings to live lives of service (one sibling moved back to Romania to open an orphanage). 

3. Roma Boots (Roma is Amor, which means love, spelled backwards) was inspired by a meeting Samuel had with Blake Mycoskie founder of Toms. He emulated that buy one give one model and started by making rain boots because of their versatility and longevity and started giving pairs away in Romania. 

Spirited Stories

Our first story comes Marietta Georgia where Floyd Martin is retiring from his neighborhood route as a mailman after more than 20 years.  To help him celebrate, people on his route decorated their mail boxes, and a local journalist followed him on his last route tweeting all the expressions of love she heard.  Then Twitter magic happened, a Go fund me was set up and people across the country celebrated Mr. Martin by donating so he could fund a trip to Hawaii.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/a-mail-carrier-in-georgia-retired-strangers-across-social-media-celebrated-—-and-theyre-sending-him-to-hawaii/ar-AABRx8u

Next we celebrate the thousands of Americans who honored fallen service members this Memorial weekend in their communities.  It was amazing to veteran cemetaries across the country share images of hundreds and even sometimes thousands of volunteers placing flags to respectfully remember our country’s service members who died. In Boston more than 37,000 flags were on display in Boston Commons – one for every Masachusetts service member who died since the revolution. In Artlington the Old Guard of the Army and volunteers put a flag on each of the 250,000 gravesites.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/handyman-offers-free-help-to-single-moms/ar-AAB6B7h

Freedom's Ring USA

1. Follow Freedom's Ring @FreedomsRingUSA 

2. Share your story of service in your community with #ExtraoridnaryActsForOthers

3. Enter the ring, become a FRiend and join the FRamily at FreedomsRingUSA.org

Extraordinary Guest: Jessica Rambo (USMC veteran) founder of Painted Buffalo (paintedbuffalostudio.com)

1. Jessica who is an art student in North Carolina, has found great therapy in art, and is using art to connect with veterans and allow them to use art in very therapeutic ways.

2. Jessica is also a mother to two boys, who are learning service right along side their mom as they watch her grow Painted Buffalo and volunteer in many of the programs.

3. Jessica is also committed to living tiny.  She has recently purchased a school bus and is making renovations on it to turn it in to a traveling art studio complete with a family living area. (You can watch the progress on their social media channels -- Painted Buffalo Studio on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube).

Extraordinary Stories:

1. Our first story comes Michigan where Sophie Kilsman gave Doug Harvey a hug.  This hug is extraordinary because Mr. Harvey was a soldier in the 84th infantry division during WWII and Ms. Kilsman was a girl in the Salzwedel camp which Harvey was there to liberate the camp. Ms. Kilsman was thrilled to be able to have Harvey over to share picture of the family she started when she immigrated here to the US.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/michigan-holocaust-survivor-ex-soldier-who-helped-free-her-have-emotional-meeting/ar-AABkyoY

2. Next we follow Tyler Carach who is on a mission to thank every police officer in America.  In two years, Tyler (who is 11) has delivered 75,000 donuts to police stations in 41 states.  This all started cause he saw 4 officers in his local grocery store and wanted to buy them a snack—their overwhelming gratitude spured him to thank as many as he could.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/handyman-offers-free-help-to-single-moms/ar-AAB6B7h

3 Ways to Support Freedom's Ring

1. Follow @FreedomsRingUSA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)

2. Join us in service -- when you serve use #ExtraordinaryActsForOthers to share the goodness

3. Enter the Ring, become a FRiend, & Join our FRamily www.FreedomsRingUSA.org

(membership is always free and earned by your service in your community)

Extraordinary Guest: Carol McCloud author of "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?"

1. "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" offers imagery for happiness and emotional well-being. In essence, we all carry an invisible bucket and the bucket is there to hold the good things that happen to us. When our bucket is full we are happy and when our buckets are empty we are emotionally drained and generally unhappier.  You can fill other people's buckets by doing things that increase their happiness (hugs, nice notes, pats on the back, doing things that make others happy)

2. The concept is simple as Carol McCloud often teaches it to elementary schools, but it can be applied anywhere. The message is important for our families, our workplaces, our schools, and our organizations.

Spirited Stories

Our first story comes from St. Louis Mo where Hilary Mackin flew out Sister Arombo from Uganada to see her get married. The two had met at the convent Arombo was serving displaced and refugee children when Hilary was on a mission trip 6 years ago and remained pen pals.  During that time Arombo was also going blind.  When she arrived in the United States, Hilary arranged for Arombo to get lasik surgery where the doctor, touched by the story, offered to do it for free. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/she-has-a-heart-of-gold-st-louis-woman-helps-ugandan-nurse-pen-pal-see-again/ar-AABb4Wi

Next we go to San Diego California where Kevin Saldivar, a handy man, has helped single mothers with household needs every may for the past four years. After being raised by a single mother, Kevin said he wanted to use the skills he had to help others who were in situations where they needed work to be done but not necessarily money to get them done. He volunteers his time after work and on the weekends in honor of mothers day.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/handyman-offers-free-help-to-single-moms/ar-AAB6B7h

Get Involved:

1. Follow @FreedomsRingUSA (facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

2. Tag us in good news stories -- they will be shared as our spirited stories of the week.

3. Use the #ExtraordinaryActsForOthers when you do good in your community and we will celebrate them

Thank you so much for coming back to listen to this bonus episode of the Extraordinary Acts For Others Podcast made by Freedom’s Ring. We here at Freedom’s Ring strongly believe every extraordinary acts for others creates an even more extraordinary America and that is why we are so proud of our service in our communities and celebrating others who serve and give back through their own life, business and organizations.  Service to the well-being of our country, however that may look is patriotism in action.

I am the host Sara Hunold and founder of Freedom’s Ring and this week we continue with our conversation with Leslie O’Bryant and Susan Newell.  They are our extraordinary guest because just over a year ago Susan’s daughter and Leslie’s sister, Shauna who was a navy veteran became part of the statistics that 22 veterans a day commit suicide.  In the aftermath of the loss, Leslie and Susan founded Shauna’s Sweet Tea, a nonprofit with a mission to support mental health issues that youth and veterans face as well as to bring comfort to family members experiencing loss because of suicide.

Before we get to part two of our conversation with Leslie and Susan, here is how Freedom’s Ring is focusing on and addressing mental and emotional health and well-being.

1.      First, we are committed to growing our sense of community.  I’ve talked about it before, by I grew up in a town with a very tight nit community and when we PCSd nearly 3,000 miles away losing that sense of community was devastating.  That is what motivated me to learn more about how to build that up and those finding is our mission – getting out and engaging in our communities and building relationships in and around our communities.  This is essential to our temporary lifestyles as military families because relationships allow us to get more rooted.  Stronger the roots, the more resilient we become to life.

2.      We use service as our vehicle to building community because the research is clear on how extraordinary volunteering is for us. When we volunteer, we see that our actions are useful and we feel better when we know that our lives have a bigger purpose than just serving ourselves. When we serve a greater cause, we feel a greater sense of connection to the people we serve, the people serving along side of us, and greater sense of connection to the positive contributions we bring to the people around us.

With that we invite you to become a Friend and join our FRamily  dedicated to service.  Membership is always free at FreedomsRingUSA.org. And now here is our conversation about the extraordinary work of Shauna’s Sweet Tea .

 [Interview with Susan and Leslie]

Thank you so much Leslie and Susan for sharing about Shauna and for the inspirtation of using the pain in your life to proactively reach out to serve others and promote kindness towards ourselves and others.  If you want to learn more about Shauna Sweet Tea and the mission Leslie and Susan are on in Shauna’s memory, visit shaunaSweetTea.org.

Now its time for spirited stories of extraordinary acts for others that happen across our extraordinary country. We celebrate the goodness around us because research has shown when we appreciate goodness we are more likely to act in goodness. When you see goodnews stories tag @FreedomsRingUSA or use the #ExtraordinaryActsForOthers and we will spread and celebrate the extraordinary goodness of America.

Our first story comes from Santa Clara California where 500 kids who are battling cancer will gather for a day a way from cancer this mothers day. This day will include free admission in to an amusement park and a picnic lunch organized by an organization called Courageous Kids which was founded by a 2 time cancer survivor. The entire day is designed for the whole family to take a break from thinking about cancer and just enjoying themselves.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/families-get-day-away-from-cancer-at-california-park/

Next we go to Manchester where a police officer is credited with helping a man he has arrested four to five times.  Officer MaGuire told this man if he would get sober, he would take him golfing after he figured out they shared that in common.  As the man was going through rehab, donations started coming in, a set of golf balls, a set of clubs, and giftcards for rounds of golf. In all Mark has been sober over 100 days now and as promised Officer Maguier and he have hit the links.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/police-officers-promise-to-homeless-man-gets-him-off-streets-onto-golf-course/ar-AAAMnsi

Now its our turn to make our own goodness.  As we heard in the stories of extraordinary acts for others above, the most heart warming stories of giving is all about ordinary service with extra love.  So we encourage you to do the same and when you do you service to others or volunteer in your communities share it with us – you can email your story to [email protected], DM us  the story on social media or our preferred way is to post your story with the #ExtraordinaryActsForOthers.

Thank you again for listening to the extraordinary acts for others podcast. Its been amazing to see it grow.  If you want to do something extraordinary for us, you can subscribe, rate us and leave a review, and spread the word by sharing on your social media.

We really believe people are extraordinary and have the ability right now to do something extraordinary for someone else. 

We invite you to join us follow us @FreedomsRingUSA and sign up for FREE membership on FreedomsRingUSA.org. Be extraordinary and enter the Ring,  become a Friend and join our FRamily.

Extraordinary Guests: Leslie O'Bryant & Susan Newell of Shauna's Sweet Tea (ShaunaSweetTea.org)

1. I am joined by a fellow military spouse, Leslie O'Braynt and her mom, Susan Newell, who founded Shanua Sweet Tea after Susan's daughter and Leslie's sister, Shauna (a Navy veteran) committed suicide last year.

2. Their mission focuses on mental health and well-being as well as providing support for family members experiencing loss after suicide.

3. They have a product, a Sweet Tea, they are working on canning and distributing to schools in their efforts to target youth, because suicide is the second leading death for people under the age of 24.

Three Things to Know about Freedoms Ring (FreedomsRingUSA.org, @FreedomsRingUSA)

1. Hard Work of Freedom Tour is 2 weeks away, starting in NYC at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  There are 20 service events lined up across the country between May 10 Military Spouse Day and 4th of July.

2. Quantico, VA is establishing a chapter that will be ready to roll and ready to serve in June.  If you know anyone in the Northern VA area, have them get in touch and volunteer with us.

3. If we aren't in your community yet, there are virtual opportunities.  You don't have to be geographically with us to serve with us.  Join our FRamily freedomsringusa.org (membership is always FRee for everyone!)

Extraordinary Stories

1) Our first story comes from Oxford Alabama where three young men were dining out when they noticed an elderly woman eating at the same Barbeque restaurant alone.  they hated seeing her Alone, so he went to her table asking if he could keep her company and together they shared a meal.  It gets extraordinary because Elenor, the woman is an 80 year old widow and the rest of her family lives out of town. She think this was a godly intervention and these young men said they just wanted to show the world it’s alright to be kind.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elderly-widow-who-was-invited-to-eat-with-strangers-i-think-it-was-a-god-thing-2019-04-26/

2) Next we go to Huntsville Alabama where David Green teaches history and raises his 16 month old daughter. Six months ago his daughter was diagnosed with cancer and his collegues rallied together to donate their own personal sick days when he ran out.  The Green’s were blown away by the response as they were hoping that he could get enough to be with her once a week for treatment, but ended up with over 100 days donated to him. Mrs. Green said “It’s a huge blessing and we can’t wait until we are in the position to give back and help others.”

Extraordinary Guest: Krista Simpson Anderson co-founder and CEO of The Unquiet Professional

1. Krista Simpson Anderson is both a Gold Star and Blue Star Spouse, meaning her first husband (SSgt. Michael Simpson) died in 2013 from injuries sustained in combat and has since remarried (to Gus Anderson) an active duty soldier.

2. After SSgt. Simpson's death, she co-founded The Unquiet Professional as a way to honor her husband's death but also to give back to the military community that had helped her family after his loss.

3. The Unquiet Professional honors both Simpson and Anderson as they not only remember and honor the fallen, but also serve those who are still living through their programs.

3 Things to Know about Freedoms Ring

1.      Our communities need us to be engaged.  There is always opportunities for our communities to be better and often times the solutions are out there needing volunteers to step up and offer their time and talents and skills to make a difference.

2.       Service is empowering and gives extraordinary benefits for our personal well-being.  When we give back we recognize that we do have abilities to make a positive contribution to others.  That we have so much to offer this world and that it feel really good when we do know our worth and help others.

3.       Community engagement through service helps us build the community around us and feel more connected.  This is why we target military families with service.  Not only is service a family value and we are inclined to serve our country, but often times we move every 2-3 years causing a major disruption to our sense of community. When we serve in our communities, we make connections and make our temporary duty stations feel a little more like home each time we engage in the community. We get to know new places, meet new people, and deepen the relationships with the people we already know.

Spirited Stories

1. Our first story comes from Grand Rapids Michigan where police officer Lynema saw Thomas a young boy who had just missed the bus chasing after it.  With permission from his mother, he gave the boy a ride to school. The story only gets more extraordinary from there.  During the ride to school, Thomas said he feared no one would come to his birthday party that night.  Officer Lynema showed up to the party but was the only one there. The next day he threw a party for Thomas when he got off the bus that included a singing quartet and a birthday cake.  Thomas said it was his favorite birthday yet. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/police-officer-throws-9-year-old-boy-party-after-no-one-showed-up-to-his-birthday/ar-BBVSTuB

2. Next we go to Musgeon Heights, Michigan where a 12 year old boy is helping fill the cities pot holes. This started after a pot hole destroyed his mothers tire and axel and he wanted to make sure that it didn’t happen to anyone else.  One quote from the story that stood out was when Monte the 12 year old said, “ I tell myself: I have a responsibility to do something to help the community out.”

#ExtraordinaryActsForOthers

So now its your turn to take responsibility to do something to help our communities out and do extraordinary acts for others which is ordinary service with extra spirit like these stories above.   When you do you service to others or volunteer in your communities share it with us – you can email your story to [email protected], DM us  the story on social media or our preferred way is to post your story with the #ExtraordinaryActsForOthers.

Subscribe, Rate and Review, Share

Thank you again for listening to the extraordinary acts for others podcast. If you want to do something extraordinary for us, you can subscribe, rate us and leave a review, and spread the word by sharing on your social media.

Extraordinary Guest: Vanessa Hornedo Founder of Inspiring Hands (Myhandsinspire.org  @InspiringHands)

1. Mission is to support economic opportunities for women in rural undeveloped countries (focused right now in the Dominican Republic). 

2. Vanessa's inspiration came from a service trip she did in college to the Dominican Republic and her time serving here at home in AmeriCorps.

3. Vanessa is also a mother of young kids and shares with us how she runs her nonprofit while also raising her sons.

Spirited Stories

Our first story comes from Connectictut  Where rapper 50 cent just sold his 51 bedroom mansion.  Yes 51 bedrooms.  Whats extraordinary about this 2.9 million dollar sale is that it was 87% below asking price and 50 cent was happy about it.  He’s happy because it was the first purchase he made when he made it and he is giving the money from the sale to his G-Unit Foundation  which finances nonprofits that benefit disadvantaged communities across the country. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/50-cent-sold-mansion-for-charity/

Next we go to Central Florida where a Florida Man is in the news for all the right reasons. Johnny Fluitt lived homeless most of his life, but he is using his experience to give back with an organization that served him well, Food Brings Hope. Currently Johnny is a high school senior who is duel enrolled in a community college, works part-time, has an internship and still finds time to volunteer and give back providing nourishment to other homeless youth in the community. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/once-homeless-teen-now-gives-back-inspires-volusia-community/ar-BBVCrpJ

1. It's National Volunteer Week -- share with your service by using #ExtraordinaryActsForOthers

2. Unite with us www.Freedomsringusa.org, membership is always free.  its earned with your service.

3. Follow us on Facebook,Instagram, Twitter @FreedomsRingUSA