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Although their lives may be different, they all wonder about the possibilities that lie ahead.

Homecoming photos were all over my social newsfeeds this weekend. I saw beautiful, smart young ladies laughing and having the time of their life. Perhaps the evening talk was about the immediate future, first kisses, more dances, sports, an overload of back to school homework… For some, it’s one of their last high school dances, and perhaps the talk turned to where their lives are heading.

Every young girl has a dream for her future.

Even the girls halfway across the world, who are not in fancy dresses for a school function. You can bet they are still dancing with friends and sharing secrets and future hopes. As I look back at photos of them and their smiling faces, I want to reach my arms halfway around the world and hug them.

Tell them all will be alright.

Unlike my youngest daughter who is finishing her last years of high school, our teen girls were pulled from the streets / abusive homes to be given a chance. My daughter has had her chance. It was given to her at birth, and she’s running with it and excelling. I get to hug her every night and tell her how proud I am.

I am proud of all my children, especially my teen girls in Uganda, who work just as hard as my daughter. The difference, they are not in high school. For these girls, their second chance comes as skilled-set training courses.

They are killin’ it. The girls work with our advocate teachers to guide them to the best vocational fit. Seamstress, cook, beautician, service industry all viable trades that allows the girls to lead an independent life.

Help me help girls halfway around the world, not just dream of their future, but live it to the fullest.

Give a girl a chance at an education, and you have given them the key to freedom and future success.

Peace and Hugs
Cristen

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Be Kind - Hope for Hearts

Today we’re continuing our celebration of Admit Your Happy Month by celebrating another important milestone – The BIG 3-0! This week Be Kind to Humankind Week turns 30. It was created by Lorraine Jara in Toms River, New Jersey in 1988. She was just 30 years old at the time. If you hop on over to her website, bk2hk.org, you’ll find the tragic story that started it all.

She read an article in the paper about two young men who nearly drowned when their rowboat overturned. Two ladies saw them clinging to the rowboat and pulled them aboard their vessel. With no motor or radio to call for help, they were at the mercy of the boaters passing by. Unfortunately, a few ignored their cries for help, and by the time someone actually stopped, one of the young men had died.

It’s devastatingly unfortunate that stories like this happen more often than you would think. Psychology calls it the Bystander Effect. People are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. It’s safe to say that each of the boaters passing by figured they can’t be bothered and someone else will be coming by shortly to deal with it. What they didn’t know is that time was at play. Had someone who had the chance to stop sooner shown a little kindness to their fellow man and done so, maybe there’d be an extra life in the world today.

It’s with this story in her mind, and heart, that Jara started Be Kind to Human Kind week.

Be Kind - Hope for Hearts

“People need people; it’s as simple as that! In order to have the power to make the world a better place, we must first change our attitudes for the better. We can create our own good news if we choose to do so!” – Loraine Jara

The aim is simple, spend a week focusing on the little things you can do to help your fellow man. She offers a theme for each day to focus on different areas of life including:

  • Motorist Consideration Monday
  • Touch-A-Heart Tuesday
  • Willing-To-Lend-A-Hand Wednesday
  • Thoughtful Thursday
  • Forgive Your Foe Friday
  • Speak Kind Words Saturday
  • Sacrifice Our Wants for Others’ Needs Sunday.

And she’s been doing this for 30 years. Let’s just take a moment to add this up. Seven acts of kindness each year for 30 years. That’s 210 acts over 30 years. That may seem like a small number, but that’s potentially 210 people touched by one person’s kindness. And that number gets greatly expanded the more people who participate, and the more often they participate.

Just remember the starfish story. You may be able to save only one starfish at a time, but it will make a world of difference to that one, and inspire other people to follow in your footsteps.

So how will you Be Kind to Human Kind this week? Please keep the orphans in our schools in mind and consider making a donation to our Happy Jar at hope4hearts.org/donate.

Kindly,
Cristen

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We are in the midst of National Friendship Week, a time to celebrate the family we choose to be in our lives. Friends are essential to helping us fill our happiness bucket. They’re there for us in good times, and they help us get through the bad times by bringing a smile back to our face.

Friends at St Elizabeths Girl School in Uganda - Hope for Hearts

The teens at St Elizabeth Academy don’t always know each other in the beginning but become fast friends. They each have a relatable story on how they…

  • ended up on the streets
  • came to find our program
  • struggle and triumph in everyday life
  • empower and lift each other onto a new path

By the time they cycle through our training program and age out of the orphanage, they become lifelong friends. So this week, let’s take some time to reflect and nurture our friendships.

Call/Text Your Friends

It’s easy to get caught up in the business of our everyday lives but set aside a few minutes each day to call or text a friend – old or new – to let them know you’re thinking of them.

Make a Date With Your Best Friend.

Especially if you two haven’t had one-on-one time in a while. Schedule coffee, drinks, brunch, dinner – whatever you like to do. The key is making sure you are alone so you can dedicate time to focusing on each other and catching up on life.

Send Your Best Friend a Gift

Show your best friend you’re thinking of them by making a donation to our Happy Jar Campaign on Facebook in their honor. Tag them and let them know they are special.

Make a New Friend

Expand your circle of friendship by making a new friend, and encourage your kids to do the same. The lunchroom is a great place for both adults and kids to strike up conversation.

Organize a Friendship Day Party

As if you needed an excuse to get your group of friends together, here’s the best one! Get your group of friends together for some food and fun to do what friends do best – live, laugh, and love! This is also great to do with your kids. Who says birthday parties and scout meetings are the only excuses to get a group of kids together?

Make a Friendship Photo Album

What better way to celebrate friendship than to memorialize it with a photo album! Going through old photos will help fill your happiness bucket as you reminisce. Apps like Shutterfly and Apple photos will help you do this with ease and are fairly inexpensive. Plus when you’re done you have a great gift for a friend!

Dedicate a Song on the Radio to a Friend

Call up your local radio station and dedicate a song to a friend this week. Bonus points if you call the radio station they listen to and request one of their favorite songs or a song that is special to you both.

We get by with a little help from our friends.

Yours in Friendship,
Cristen

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Smile Week

It’s never too early to bring a little Christmas cheer around with this classic quote from “Elf.” Especially when it’s National Smile Week. Buddy the elf had a predilection for smiling. Which worked out because his smile was contagious and brought happiness everywhere he went.

When Buddy first came to New York, the main people in his new life were all unhappy for one reason or another. From Jovie, the lonely department store employee, to Walter, Buddy’s biological dad, who was so tied up in the stress of his job he felt he had no room for anything else, which in turn caused his family to be unhappy. By the end of the movie, Buddy’s infectious smile brought happiness and more smiles to everyone he met. And, they were able to ultimately spread that Christmas cheer to everyone and save the day for Santa Clause.

Smile Week

Ok, I get that this is a made up story – but the power of the smile still holds. Many historic figures known for changing the world in one way or another had an infectious smile. Despite years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela emerged with a smile that changed the world by ending apartheid in South Africa. Princess Diana of Whales was known for her brilliantly white smile that could give hope and comfort to the downtrodden and those in need.

In many photos and depictions of Mother Teresa you can almost always find her smiling. She was perhaps the smile’s biggest advocate with poignant quotes like:

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”

“Peace begins with a smile.”

And, one of my favorites – “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.”

A smile is the simplest, free gift we can give to the world. And while it’s true that we don’t know quite all the good it can or will do, we do know some benefits. Smiling is the first facial expression we have with babies smiling in the womb and at early stages after birth due to feelings of comfort. As they grow they learn to smile as a response to stimuli from the outside world such as seeing a family member. And as we continue on in life smiling continues to provide us with several health benefits such as boosting your immune system and reducing blood pressure. A smile towards another person can bring them comfort and joy. In the workplace, a smile may be more likely to lead to a promotion as it projects confidence and several other key qualities employers look for in a strong candidate. I encourage you to watch Ron Gutman’s TED Talk for more interesting research and facts about the power of a smile.

So this month as we’re focusing on happiness, remember to smile more. Take this week to focus on the power of your smile. Challenge yourself to smile more often and notice the responses you get from yourself and others. I guarantee you’re going to like what you see.

You can also take part in National Smile Week by putting a smile on the face of all of us here at Hope for Hearts. When you make a donation to our Happy Jar, you brighten the already beautiful smiling faces of orphaned children in Uganda. These children are filled with hope and working toward change in their lives by getting an education. Their smiles are contagious.

Thinking Happy Thoughts,
Cristen

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Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly

All this month we’re talking about happiness.

This week is National Simplify Your Life Week. This is a serendipitous great start to “Admit Your Happy Month.” Sometimes life can get so crazy, chaotic, and out of control that it can wear on our overall happiness. But that’s nothing that can’t be fixed by simplifying things a little bit. Here are some ideas to help you get started in leading a simpler life and boosting happy thoughts.

Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly

The first step to being happy is being ready to receive happiness. This means clearing out the negative energy in your life. Throughout life, you should always schedule “Me Time” to spend time focusing on your health and emotional well being to make sure that you’re coming from a place of light and ready to receive happiness into your life. Whether your “Me Time” includes taking a bubble bath, going to the gym, seeing a spiritual advisor, making sure you actually go to those doctor appointments you’ve been meaning to schedule, reading a book. Large or small, make sure you take the time to focus on you.

Next, you need to focus on your immediate surroundings. Are the places where you spend the most time bringing you happiness? If not, it’s time to clean up, declutter, and organize! Our friends at Graceful Spaces can help you bring a little feng shui and peace into your life. Also, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Marie Condo’s methods for decluttering your home and creating joy in your surroundings presented in her book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up” are truly magic.

Once you’re ready to receive happiness, it’s time to take a look at what you allow into your life and evaluate if it really makes you happy or not. One thing we often hear people complain about is how much we’re letting technology get in the way of living our lives. Technology has grown at such an incredible rate in our lifetime that we went from not being able to communicate with someone unless we were face-to-face, or able to catch them while they happened to be home and near their phone. Math, learning, even the simple act of reading, were all done by hand with paper or thumbing through books in a library.

The advancement of technology has made more information than ever available all at our fingertips 24/7, but with that comes the burden of feeling like you have to spend every free second contributing to, and ingesting that information. Simply put: You Don’t. Take a break from technology for a week and use this time to evaluate what you truly miss, and what you can do without. This will give you more time to focus on the things that bring you happiness.

This concept doesn’t just apply to technology, you can use it with any aspect of your life. Do you have a friend who you think is toxic to your life? Are you part of a social or volunteer organization that you’re just dragging yourself to go to without true enjoyment? Don’t participate for a week. See how you feel after. Perhaps there are a few things in life that need reevaluating.

Lastly, when you complete your week of simplifying your life, don’t forget to show a little gratitude for your accomplishments. Share the wealth and help someone else simplify their life.

With Gratitude,
Cristen