What Living Means

Have you ever wanted to be more self-reliant?  Gardening can be a unifying force. Everyone needs to eat after all.  Community gardening in particular provides a place where generations of people can gather and cultivate both food and friendships.  On this episode, we have two special guests that can speak to the power of planting seeds that reap rewards beyond the dinner table. 

LaManda Joy is a published author, master gardener, educator, and founder of the Peterson Garden Project in Chicago.  Inspired by a photo of a WW2 victory garden hanging in her local butcher shop, LaManda built a community garden on an empty lot on Peterson Avenue and set out to teach thousands of people in her neighborhood to grow their own food. 

We also catch up with Randi Miller, a YES Communities leasing specialist based in Goshen, Indiana, to get an update on a community gardening project that is bringing the residents of Winchester Trails together.

Links:

The Yarden

Peterson Garden Project

Start a Community Food Garden: The Essential Handbook

Produced by Yes Communities

In this episode, we recognize the incredible service that veterans perform each and every day in our own community.  Our two amazing guests reveal the challenges of life on active duty and what makes veterans so valuable in the workforce.

David Glatfelter  is a marine corps veteran and Team Rubicon greyshirt leader for the Denver metro area. David and Team Rubicon utilize veteran military experience to lead volunteer disaster relief projects from wildfire mitigation to battling COVID-19. 

We’ll also catch up with YES Communities’ own navy seal / superhero, Brian Dougherty. He details preparing for the worst, life on active duty, and the sacrifices military families make at home.

May their inspiring words and commitment serve as a testament to the will of veterans everywhere!

Links:

Team Rubicon

Produced by Yes Communities

An investment in education is an investment in the dreams of our children.  Last year in 2020, YES Communities launched the Building Futures Scholarship Program to help fund the higher education of YES residents and staff.  In this episode, we'll catch up with previous scholarship recipients and educators who can speak to the power of investing in a child's future.

We'll also visit with the Arrupe Jesuit High School in Denver, Colorado, to learn how Arrupe's unique work-study program is giving students a leg up in the competitive job market.

Links:

Building Futures Scholarship

Arrupe Jesuit High School

Produced by Yes Communities

In this episode, we’ll take a complete look at a brand new manufactured housing development in New Braunfels, Texas called Dwelling. Dwelling's unique approach to shared amenity space and thoughtful design elements provide quality housing options in the booming central Texas region.

First, we’ll hear from Patrick Revere of MH Insider magazine. He knows the MH industry inside and out and can speak to why Dwelling in New Braunfels signals the future of affordable housing.

We’ll also hear from Cameron Robles and Alaina Parker of MP Studio. They are part of the design team that  created unique multi-generational amenity spaces that makes Dwelling unlike any other development in the area.

And finally, we’ll hear from YES Communities own Trent Wagstaff. He’ll share what it takes to convince local leadership to help solve the affordable housing crisis in our country.

Links:

MH Insider

MP Studio

Dwelling

Produced by Yes Communities

Are you in search of a quick fix to instantly improve the course of your day? Try being the hero for someone else in need. While our situation at times can seem overwhelmingly negative and divided, unsolicited acts of kindness can help spread joy and bring us together. 

Our special guest, Nicole J. Phillips, is the author of Kindness is Contagious, Kindness is Courageous, and The Negativity Remedy. She is also the host of The Kindness Podcast.  Nicole shares her personal experience in maintaining positivity during trying life events.

YES Communities' Ben Leffke employs teamwork to give back to his Dallas/Ft. Worth area community. Ben uses his management skills to highlight some helpful ways to get the most out of donated time.

Links:

Nicole J. Phillips
The Kindness Podcast
Nicole's Books

Produced by Yes Communities

This special bonus episode continues to explore the idea of home as a personal sanctuary. We speak to two industry professionals about how manufactured housing may relieve the financial stresses of high rents and long-term mortgages. Whether you are an empty-nester looking to downsize or a travel seeking millennial, manufactured housing offers solutions that can meet any budget.

Justin Despain is Business Development Manager at Clayton homes, the largest builder of manufactured housing and modular homes in the United States. He’ll walk us through the technical aspects of how factory-built homes deliver incredible quality at a buyer-friendly price point.

Yes Communities' Trina Spindle helps dispel some of the myths about modern manufactured homes, as well as highlight the ways the industry has progressed over her 30 year career.

Links:

Clayton Homes

Yes Communities

Produced by Yes Communities

Do you have trouble staying organized at home? With more days of remote work and virtual school ahead, we’ve got some helpful organization tips that will boost productivity and curb cabin fever.

Our guests Kari and Katie of The Home Sanctuary started their own home organizing business to help busy families achieve balance and find peace at home. If you’ve ever dreamed of maximizing your precious closet space, this episode is for you!

Stick around after the interview because we're also revealing the winner of the YES Communities song contest!

Links:

The Home Sanctuary

Yes Communities

Produced by Yes Communities

Music is an integral part of the human experience, whether you are a classically trained pianist or just belting out tunes to the shampoo bottles in the shower. Even for us that aren’t musically inclined, music brings folks together across language and geographical barriers. Music connects people across time as well. We can feel the heartbreak in dust bowl era blues standards as if it were yesterday.

Human beings are resilient. Even though performance spaces have shut down for the time being, music is still being created every single day. Our guest Andy Lane is a gifted songwriter and licensed professional counselor. He helps his clients navigate heartbreak and loss, and reconnect with their emotions through music. He gives us some helpful tips on how to stay engaged with our creative side and avoid writer's block.

Links:

Andy Lane Counseling
Yes Communities

Produced by Yes Communities

Maintaining an active lifestyle is important for one’s health and well-being. For many of us, this begins with playing organized, youth sports. Sports promote physical activity and competitiveness, while providing other valuable life lessons such as teamwork, sportsmanship, and managing adversity. The inspiration for this episode comes from YES Communities’ resident Danilo Arce, who volunteers his spare time to coach soccer and mentor the kids in his community of Woodland Estates near Houston, Texas. Three experts weigh in to help navigate the long journey from little league to the big time stage of professional sports.

Jon Solomon, Editorial Director of the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative discusses the benefits of youth sports, as well as the many challenges leagues and school districts now face in playing during the pandemic. 

You’ll also hear from Juan Vega, Youth Program Manager for the Houston Dynamo. Juan reveals the team’s wide-reaching recruitment process and the pathway for young soccer players to reach the professional stage.  

Finally, Houston Dynamo legend Ricardo Clark joins us to talk about his personal journey from the suburbs of Atlanta to playing overseas, to now coaching his son on a similar path to stardom.

Resources for coaches, players, and parents can be found in the links below.

Links:

Aspen Project Play

Dynamo Youth Soccer

Ricardo Clark Foundation

Meet Danilo

Yes Communities

Produced by Yes Communities

After-school programs have numerous benefits for developing children, including improving classroom behavior and providing positive role models. What Living Means takes a trip to the Atlanta area to visit Path Project, an after school program housed in the Valley Brook manufactured home community. Path Project works to improve outcomes for K12 residents, such as increasing high school graduation and college enrollment rates. Founder Jim Hollandsworth shares with us how he started the program and why programs like Path Project are crucially important for the development of children.

Links:

• Path Project
• Jim & Melinda Hollandsworth
• Yes Communities

Produced by Yes Communities