Inspiration can come from anywhere!
Open up to new ideas. Allow your curiosity to guide you.
Whether it’s performing acts of kindness, volunteering your time, or donating your skills, you have the power to create positive change in your community.
“When words are both true and kind, they can change the world.” — Buddha
Let’s look at a few stories that inspire us to make space for empathy and kindness.
- An organization dedicated to helping people facing food insecurity
- Volunteers finish handwork projects of deceased loved ones
- A hairstylist brings joy to children with free haircuts
- An innovative program provides holistic care to African-Australian youth
Weekly Uplifting Stories – September 9th, 2024
This organization is taking big steps to reduce the food waste problem in the US.
Nearly one-third of all food in the United States gets thrown away.
Anything that isn’t sold gets dumped in a landfill. This includes food that is still safe to eat.
ExtraFood rescues excess fresh food from supermarkets and gives it to local nonprofits and pantries.
The ExtraFood team rescues more than 300 lb. of food each day!
These food rescuers help people in need while also keeping food waste out of landfills, which otherwise would have contributed to increased greenhouse gas emissions.
“We have the food. We need to feed more people. We just have to waste less,” said Will Dittmar, Executive Director of ExtraFood.
Volunteers ease grief and inspire generosity by finishing handwork projects of those who have died.
Masey Kaplan and Jen Simonic created the Loose Ends project to help people preserve the memories of their loved ones who have passed.
The organization is made up of a generous group of people who finish the last handwork projects of those who have died.
From scarves and sweaters to personalized quilts and rugs, volunteers give their time and effort to protect the creative legacy of the original crafters.
Each project is a tangible reminder of the original crafter’s love and care.
Loose Ends has over 26,000 volunteers from 64 countries!
“It’s like they’re getting a piece of their loved one back to them. That person had started by touching this garment and creating it with them in mind. So it’s very moving. We get a lot of really touching and beautiful stories about things that are returned,” said Macy Kaplan.
Hairstylist builds meaningful connections with children in orphanages.
Children living in a Jakarta orphanage aren’t allowed to go outside on their own due to safety reasons. They have limited opportunities to interact with the society.
Getting a haircut might be a regular thing for most people but for these kids, it is a special occasion.
Hairstylist Yamazaki Minami does what he can to bring smiles to the faces of these children and contribute to their social well-being.
He has been helping these children for two years now.
“I’m happy if we can make kids feel they’re not alone. I can’t do anything major but I’ll try to help little by little,” said Yamazaki.
Program for African Australian youth is improving community engagement and academic performance.
The Junior Black Rhinos program is designed to help young African Australians feel connected and supported.
Created by Melbourne-based not-for-profit Afri-AusCare, and RMIT University, this program combines mentoring, basketball, and life-skills development.
Students get all the help they need with their homework, leading to increased school attendance and better grades.
Families are also encouraged to come along and get involved.
Community connections provide a sense of belonging, and emotional support to these children coming from migrant backgrounds.
“What we see in the media, there’s a lot of focus and attention on African young people and how badly they’re doing. It’s actually the opposite. There are a lot of African young people doing really well. There’s a small percentage of young African people committing offenses. We still need to support them but we do need more early intervention programs to ensure that we can provide better support to young people so they can have better life outcomes in the future,” said Abraham Kuol, Afri-AusCare Project manager.
Have a Great Week Everyone!
And there you have it!
Don’t forget – we are always looking for more Uplifting Stories! If you have a tale to tell, or want to submit one for a future article, connect with us in the comments below, or through our Instagram page. We’d love to hear from you.
Have a great week everyone!
