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Episode 97: For Farmers Movement

Before Dana DiPrima ever set out to start a movement, she was busy connecting people and communities in every corner of her life…..government, nonprofits, corporations, and even as a soccer mom “on steroids” serving 4,200 kids. What she didn’t know then was that a simple “yes” to backyard chickens would quietly change everything. That accidental farm in the Catskills introduced her to farmers whose work is nothing short of miraculous, yet largely invisible. As Dana began listening to their stories, their struggles, their pride, and their resilience…..she realized that the people feeding us every day were not being valued. Farmers weren’t asking for charity; they wanted to be seen, valued, and supported. And once Dana sees a problem that matters, she doesn’t look away.What followed was the birth of the For Farmers Movement, a bold, grassroots effort built on small actions with big impact. Since 2022, Dana has helped distribute hundreds of grants to farmers across nearly every state, proving that even $1, when multiplied by community, can change lives. Fueled by persistence, heart, and a deep belief that good grows when people are given simple ways to act, Dana has created more than a nonprofit….she’s built a movement rooted in honor, connection, and hope. Her story will forever change the way you think about the food on your table and the people who make it possible.

 

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

Charity Matters: Tell us a little about what For Farmers Movement does?

Dana DiPrima:  Since 2022, we have given grants to farmers across the country in 48 states and one territory and that’s just a small piece of what the For Farmers Movement does. It really started because I felt like we go about our busy lives and we don’t think about the people who are doing things that are essential to our society. We just take them for granted. I sort of crept into the farmer space accidentally through a little accidental farm that I have. That introduced me to these local farmers who were the most amazing people.  I started listening to what they were saying and what they were doing.

 I started the For Farmers Movement because I feel like we need to focus on the people who are essential like this. Farmers are providing us with delicious and healthy food for our families, and they’re knitting together our communities. A lot of our grants are farmer-to-farmer by supporting projects where they’re buying locally, working locally, strengthening their own towns. Every single small farm is a local economic driver. Wouldn’t you rather have one giant farm driving an economy, or 200 small farms doing it? We do grants, but we do a lot of other things too. It’s all about helping people see farmers, value them, and support them in real, practical ways.

Charity Matters: What experiences did you have as a child that Influenced this work?

Dana DiPrima:   I think it’s always been a little bit a part of my DNA. I’m not 100% sure where it came from, except that in my first years out of college and in every job I’ve had every career I’ve had has always been about connecting the dots between people and communities. I’ve worked in government, nonprofits, corporations, and community-based organizations, and the thread through all of it has been moving the needle for good. Even when you’re making small improvements, it’s still an improvement, and I think it’s important to know that in your life the little things that you do that are good, they add up.

Even when I worked in a big corporation with all the media moguls, I was the good girl. I was the head of cause-related marketing.  Where I could show clients how to have a heart and a soul in their work.  It’s been a long and interesting ride, but I think I bring everything to bear here in the For Farmers Movement. Everything I’ve experienced, all of the charities I’ve worked with, all of the innovative ideas, and all of the questions led to this.

I learned a lot from incredible experiences. With St. Jude Thanks and Giving, the one thing I learned from Marlo Thomas is never say die. She does not take no for an answer. And when I worked at Jones Apparel Group, I was so proud that we focused on smaller nonprofits, making a real difference with AdoptAClassroom, teacher fund, and campaigns like Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher. You have to get people’s attention in 100 different ways. You have to be tenacious. You have to never quit. And all of that, it all adds up. It all leads to this.

Charity Matters: What was the moment you knew you needed to act and start For Farmers Movement?

Dana DiPrima: If you look at it from the 35,000-foot view, it might not make any sense at all. Before starting the For Farmers Movement, I was the commissioner for 10 years for the largest youth soccer league in the country.  More like, I was a soccer mom on steroids, with 4,200 kids. It was a community of people who needed support and direction. Around that same time, I had a property in the western Catskills and also lived in New York City, which is a pretty dramatic contrast. I had little kids, and when my daughter asked, “Can we get some chickens?” I said yes without blinking. Then one escaped, I panicked, called the farmer, and he said, “Find your inner predator,” and hung up on me. I hunted down that chicken with big leather fireplace gloves on, caught it, and I never looked back.

From there, things escalated. Chickens turned into goats, then donkeys, ducks, bees, and 17 gardens that I do myself. I just sort of went off the deep end. But through all of that, I started to understand farmers in a real way. They became friends, touchstones, people I learned from. In 2019, I started a podcast called Talk Farm to Me. I was just a microphone and I wanted farmers to tell their stories because they’re amazing.

What they do to get butter to your table is nothing short of miraculous. Your hamburger took two to three years to get to the plate, daily work for that one meal. Then the pandemic hit, farmers were suddenly considered essential, there was this huge spotlight moment, and then overnight it disappeared. I kept listening. In 2022, after hearing a woman speak about community at a conference, everything connected. I went home, wrote a 40-page manifesto, called my coach, and said, “I have to make a presentation to you, and you have to tell me if I’m nuts.”

That led to what I call the six-grand experiment. I started on Instagram and said, “You’ve got to find your local farmers. Tag them to nominate them for a grant.” It was a mess….hundreds of nominations, reaching out to farmers who had never heard of me but we awarded six grants across the country, and it was proof. Farmers can stretch a dollar like nobody’s business. There’s not one farmer who doesn’t have a project on the back burner that could help them get to the next level. The biggest aha for me was realizing that farmers are invisible. We don’t know where our food comes from, and farmers are incredibly proud. They don’t have their hands out for charity. This is not charity. It’s an opportunity to invest in your farmer and your community. That nomination is a permission giver, but it’s also honor. And even if nothing comes from it beyond that moment of being seen, that matters.

Charity Matters: What are your biggest challenges?

Dana DiPrima: The hardest things are like a daisy chain of hardest things. The end of 2025 is the first year I don’t feel like I’m carrying it all on my back. I feel like it’s moving on its own now. There are a lot of people invested in the, For Farmers Movement. Farmers supporters, and people across the country who care about their health, their communities, their economy, and their environment. But people are busy, and they care about a lot of things, so part of my work is helping them understand why they need to care about small farmers. That’s why it’s so important to me to give people small actions that have a big impact. We are built on that.

I’ve given away almost $200,000 in grants since 2022. Every year on January 1 the ticker starts again.  I’ve got to raise more money. But the spirit of this is that $1 from a million people is more valuable than a million dollars from one person, which I would accept, of course. Because when I give a farmer a $1,000 grant and tell them there are 1,000 people standing in their field, recognizing them, applauding them, cheering them on, that is more meaningful than a big corporate check.

Charity Matters: What fuels you to keep doing this work?

Dana DiPrima: On the one side, I get a farmer calling me crying on the phone because she’s so excited. A 10th year farmer that she just got a grant to move her farm. And she can’t believe the community behind her. I can’t tell you how meaningful that is.

And on the other side, I have farmers in my inbox: “I’m so disappointed we didn’t get a grant.” And someone sends me a farm with a huge fire. So what can I do? We have an emergency fund. We have wish lists. We have 97 farmers and growing on the wish list. It’s really easy to click send…work gloves, socks. My daughter sent socks to a farmer and got the delivery message.

So again: go to the wish lists. Find a farmer in your state. Click send.

Charity Matters: When do you know you have made a difference?

Dana DiPrima: Every single farmer I’ve supported with a grant has said it’s about way more than the money. The impact is them being seen, being recognized. That nomination is honor. Farmers are invisible every day. And for someone to honor the work that matters.

Charity Matters: Tell us what success you have had and what your impact has been? 

Dana DiPrima: I count numbers….291 grants, 48 states and one territory. People’s Choice Award: 45 farmers submit videos and we get over 20,000 votes. 97 farmers on the wish list.

But more important than any of that is being seen. And I share facts too: less than 2% of our population are farmers feeding 100% of us. We lost 141,271 farmers between 2017 and 2022 and that’s over 20 million acres we can’t get back. If you shop in your supermarket, 15% stays local, but if you shop at the farmers market, over 70% stays in your local community. I try to build awareness of how important your support is.

Charity Matters: If you could dream any dream for your organization, what would that be?

Dana DiPrima: I’m living a lot of it. Every year we’re doing something different and bigger. We went from that six-grand experiment to 100 grants a year.

In 2026 we selected 20 farms for a $10,000 farm-changing grant. We’ll make that award during National Ag Week in mid-March.

And I want to keep bringing customers closer. Nominate your farmer all year. In February we send postcards, kits of 10 stamped postcards. People tell me how much it meant to say thank you. We have the Voice Awards. We piloted Walk a mile in a farmer’s boots and we’re expanding to 10 markets. And anytime you can shop the wish list. Always opportunities to do something good for farmers.

Charity Matters: What life lessons have you learned from this experience?

Dana DiPrima: Starting a movement is a crazy idea, and it’s really, really hard, and I quit. Tuesdays and Thursdays I basically quit. And I didn’t quit. I didn’t take no for an answer. That failed? I’m trying this.

I’m always trying to give people opportunities to do something good that isn’t painful. Five minutes, forty minutes, $10,000 or $1. The strongest things are the simplest. Everyone can do $1. I’m going to get to a million dollars, $1 at a time. Vote for your farmers. You don’t even have to know them.

Charity Matters: How has this journey changed you?

Dana DiPrima: Oh, I can pick up a chicken. I’m a veterinarian, a zookeeper, an excellent housekeeper and bucket scrubber. But I think I’m very much the same. I love to work, like to figure it out, like the challenges, talking to people and I like to hear why you don’t believe it yet so I can think about what I haven’t done.

The success is built on the small actions. My newsletter every Tuesday, 52 weeks a year. My podcast has gone two full years of not missing a Thursday. And I also have a life….dinner for nine, making my table nice, getting the Christmas tree up.

That is life. That is living. A full, beautiful life is giving.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Dreams for 2026

Since July of 2011, I have been sharing my dreams with you, every single week in one way or another. You are my confidants, my motivation, my cheer section, my diary and my accountability. More than that, you help me dream. I can’t dream without you.

I recently heard Mel Robbins say that if you’re looking at a map, you need to know where you were, how you got there, and where you are now to truly understand where you’re going. That stopped me in my tracks. Because as we stand on the edge of a brand-new year, I realized it was time to pause, look back, and reflect, so we can step forward with intention, pride, and excitement.

So today, let’s take a walk together through where we’ve been… so we can dream boldly about where we’re going.

The Early Dreams: Just Figuring it out

In the very first year of Charity Matters, the dream was simple: to find my voice and learn how to write a blog. That’s it. No grand vision. No master plan. Just the hope that maybe, if I kept showing up, the words would come and the message would matter. Creating a logo, a website those were the big dreams then.

There was no Canva, even a logo was a huge process…it was 2010 after all. Back then, tracking down nonprofit founders wasn’t easy either.  Finding them at all felt like detective work. Yet, like every nonprofit that begins with the hope of helping “just one person” a phrase I’ve heard from nearly every founder I’ve ever met. Charity Matters began the same way. One story. One voice. One post at a time.

Slowly, year by year, the dream grew.

Eventually, something shifted. Founders began coming to me. Today, we have more people to interview than we have time for and that is a gift I never take lightly.

The “All or None” Years

When I started at TACSC, I was asked a question I’ll never forget:
“How will you juggle a family, nonprofit boards, and this blog?”

The suggestion was that something had to give. My answer was simple and honest:
“It’s all or none.”

That belief shaped everything that came next.

By 2013, Sundays became writing days. I spent three to five hours every Sunday transcribing handwritten notes, replaying phone calls, and doing my best to get every word right. It was hard. It was imperfect. And it was sacred.

Looking back now, I smile at that version of myself….determined, tired, and deeply committed to showing up anyway. Who knew then that all of that was training ground for what was to come.

Big Dreams and Paused Ones

In 2018, something extraordinary happened. CBS decided to move forward with a Charity Matters reality show. It was surreal. We worked on it all through 2019, dreaming big and imagining what could be.

When my champion at CBS left in November 2019, we decided to pause and pick things up in 2020.

And then… well, we all know what happened next.

That dream didn’t die….it simply went on hold. And I’ve learned that sometimes dreams don’t disappear; they wait patiently for the right season.

The Podcast Pivot

By 2020, the dream shifted again and this time toward finding an easier way to transcribe interviews. That practical need is what led me to start the Charity Matters podcast. I naively assumed my readers would naturally become listeners.

Some of you did. Many of you didn’t. And that was okay.

What I didn’t expect was that the podcast would create an entirely new audience. One I never could have imagined. Thanks to transcription tools and new technology, the way I worked and the way we connected….all of that changed forever.

Today, the podcast is top-rated. Proof that dreams often unfold in ways we never plan, but always need.

Dreams Written in Ink

In November of 2023, during a podcast interview with Cindy Witteman, I admitted something out loud that had lived quietly in my heart for years: I had always dreamed of writing a book and contributing to a magazine.

On October 1, 2024, that dream became reality.

Change for Good launched and became an Amazon bestseller in five categories before it was even released in paperback. Weeks later, Cindy launched FORCE Magazine, and I’ve been writing a monthly column ever since.

Dreams really do come true and sometimes when you say them out loud to the right person at exactly the right time.

What 2025 Taught Me

2025 was filled with book promotion and public speaking—and I loved every minute of it. Being back in rooms with people, hearing your stories, laughing, crying, connecting… it reminded me of something essential.

Connection is what I want more of. Connection with the founders I interview. Connection with readers, listeners, and audiences who believe that kindness and service can change the world. People need people and zoom just isn’t enough.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As I look toward 2026, I see more public speaking ahead and I want to be better at it. I want to grow as a storyteller. To move people not just with words, but with presence and purpose.

I also want to fully embrace technology. No more fighting it. No more resisting. Technology is a gift that gives us back time and time is precious. I’m taking AI classes, learning new tools, and yes… I still write every word of this myself. (Though maybe that’s something I’ll rethink, too.)

One dream that feels especially bold? A TED Talk. Like training for a marathon, having that goal would push me to grow, stretch, and rise to the challenge.

The Biggest Dream of All

Perhaps the biggest and most vulnerable dream for 2026 is monetizing the podcast.

For years, I’ve paid out of pocket to keep it going by supporting our incredible team of sound editors and social media experts. Money went out every month, but none came in. I told myself I couldn’t accept funds for anything connected to charity, because this was my charity.

This year, something shifted.

If my mission is to help the helpers, then growth matters. Expansion matters. Sustainability matters. And all of that costs money.

So in 2026, we’ll begin partnering with select organizations that align deeply with our values. No selling yoga pants. No “micro-influencer” nonsense. Just meaningful partnerships with people doing good in the world.

And that feels right.

Cheers to the Journey

When I look back at where we’ve been and how far we’ve come together, I feel overwhelming pride. When I look ahead at where we’re going, I feel excited, hopeful, and deeply grateful.

Life really is about the journey and not the destination.

Thank you for being such a powerful part of mine. Thank you for dreaming with me, believing with me, and showing up week after week.

Here’s to where we’ve been and blessings on where we’re going.

Happy New Year! May all your dreams come true!

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

Copyright © 2026 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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What Matters?

It always begins with loss

The 80-mile-an-hour winds blew all night. The noise was deafening. The glass doors rattled so hard it felt like they might explode. We woke to our home phones and cell phones ringing at the same time…….evacuation orders.

It is still hard to believe that one year ago today, we packed up our home along with all of our neighbors, assessed how little really mattered except photos and pets, and we left.

The night before, I had been at book club with girlfriends on the east side of Pasadena when our host’s sister-in-law walked in from Altadena and quietly said, “There’s a fire.” We wrapped up early and headed home. As I drove, trash cans blew across the street and the San Gabriel Mountains glowed ominously above us. None of us knew that glow was only the beginning.

When Everything Changes in an Instant

The days that followed were surreal. Our neighborhood was a ghost town, silent in a way that felt unnatural. We were the lucky ones…..our homes were spared. But 9,400 structures were gone, and more than 6,000 of them were homes. Schools vanished. Neighborhoods disappeared. Markets were reduced to ash. The beautiful San Gabriel Mountains turned charcoal. Our community was in shock. Life, as we knew it, changed on a dime across the San Gabriel Valley.

Loss always marks the beginning of these stories. And this loss was almost impossible to fathom. It’s one thing to hear about devastation on the news; it’s another to drive past it and see Anderson Cooper and CNN broadcasting from your town auditorium, to recognize a street corner where memories once lived, and to see nothing but emptiness.

Like any death, the casseroles arrived. The community arrived. People showed up in force. Clothes were gathered. GoFundMe pages sprang to life overnight. Friends who had lost everything were still in shock, and yet the help was immediate and overwhelming. Thousands volunteered. Thousands donated. Over and over again, we witnessed the absolute best of humanity.

I will never forget watching people who had lost everything themselves volunteer to help their neighbors receive clothes, choosing to serve before standing in line for their own needs. That kind of generosity stays with you forever.

The Wave of Kindness and What Comes After

I spent weekends for months volunteering and started and ran a GoFundMe for dear friends with some reluctance. They were one of thirteen families we knew who lost their homes in both this fire and the Palisades fires. Donations poured in from all over the country. From former neighbors. From strangers. From students. From people with very little to give, who gave anyway. Everyone was helping.

And then, just like after a death, the world slowly moved on.

But many of those who lost everything couldn’t move on so easily. Where do you go when your house is gone? How do you navigate insurance, temporary housing, rebuilding timelines, bureaucracy, and endless paperwork—while grieving? How do you keep going when the adrenaline fades and the silence sets in?

It was, and still is, a grief magnified by its scale. This wasn’t one family, one street, one school. It was thousands of lives upended at once. And grief, like healing, does not follow a timeline.

The Long Arc of Resilience

There is never a death without a rebirth. There is never an earthquake without a new city, or a forest fire without new growth. Nature teaches us this cycle over and over again, even when it feels unbearably brutal. People are still in every phase of loss…..shock, anger, sadness, rebuilding, acceptance. All of it is valid.

One story, though, has stayed with me as a reminder of what resilience can look like.

A close girlfriend lost her home. Weeks later, she was surprised to learn that their garage had survived. At the time, she wasn’t exactly thrilled to discover that all she had left were a few Christmas decorations, understandably so. It felt insignificant compared to everything else that was gone.

But right before Thanksgiving, she and her husband moved into a new home. When I visited a couple of weeks before Christmas, they were beaming. Truly beaming. They had lost everything and yet they had moved forward. Their neighbor bought their burned-out lot. Insurance settled. They found a beautiful new place. And those surviving Christmas decorations? They mattered more than anyone could have predicted.

Their resilience, their positive attitude, their willingness to move onward and upward made my Christmas. It reminded me that hope doesn’t always arrive loudly. Sometimes it shows up quietly, wrapped in gratitude, sitting on a shelf where memories still live.

What Moving On Really Means

Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting. It doesn’t mean minimizing loss or pretending everything is fine. Moving on means learning how to carry grief while still choosing hope. It means honoring what was, while building what can be.

For our community, moving on looks different for everyone. For some, it means rebuilding on the same land. For others, it means starting fresh somewhere new. For many, it means navigating a maze of decisions with courage they didn’t know they had.

What I’ve learned this year is that resilience isn’t about strength in the loud moments. It’s about showing up in the quiet ones. Moments when the volunteers have gone home, when the news cameras leave, when the long road stretches ahead.

A Year Later, Still Holding Hope

I know my friend’s story isn’t everyone’s story. I know there are still families waiting, still grieving, still exhausted by a process that feels endless. And yet, one year later, stories like hers give me hope for Altadena, for the San Gabriel Valley, the Palisades and  for all of us.

Hope lives in the people who keep helping long after the headlines fade. Hope lives in neighbors who check in, in communities that remember, in small acts of kindness that continue long after the fire is out. Hope lives in resilience……the quiet, steady decision to keep going. Even this puppy pictured above found hope and a new home.

One year later, the scars remain. But so does the goodness we saw in people. And that goodness, the kind that shows up in the darkest nights, is what will continue to rebuild not just homes, but hearts.

Because even after everything burns, love, community, and hope still find a way to rise.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

Copyright © 2026 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Causes

Who we met in 2025 and some of the lessons we learned

As we say goodbye to 2025 and prepare to welcome a brand-new year, it feels important….necessary, really to pause. To breathe. To look back with gratitude at the people who crossed our path and the lessons they so generously shared.

This past year, we were privileged to meet some of the most extraordinary humans. These nonprofit founders who opened their hearts, shared their stories, and reminded us what it truly means to live, to give, to serve, and to lead. These are the people who show up when life breaks open. The ones who take pain and transform it into purpose. The ones who remind us that service heals not just the world, but the soul.

What follows is a reflection on just a few of the remarkable people who we met in 2025 and the wisdom they entrusted to us, using their exact words, because their voices matter. Their truth matters. And their lessons deserve to be remembered as we step into a new year with hope.

Mission, Mentorship, and the Courage to Act

We began the year with ICL Founder Kirk Spahn, whose clarity around mission and momentum set the tone for the year ahead. Kirk said, “It goes back to being mission driven, and the idea that when you inspire someone, and someone gets inspired, you want to take action right away.” Kirk spoke about honoring what has come before while still having the courage to evolve. “I have a concept in education that we use at ICL that says, respect tradition, but embrace tomorrow.”

He reminded us that inspiration is not passive, it is meant to move us. And that mentors and teachers change lives not only by what they teach, but by what they see in us. “I believe that teachers and mentors are still what motivates people… It’s also on the flip side, someone that believes in you as an individual, that the world might see the potential in you.”

The lesson? When we believe in people and give them tools to apply their passion to the real world, we don’t just educate. We empower.

Faith, Purpose, and the Strength to Persist

We were deeply moved by KinderSmile Foundation founder Dr. Nicole McGrath Barnes, whose words were a masterclass in purpose-driven perseverance. Nicole said, “To be very honest, what fueled me was my faith and that I was brought here for a reason. This is my purpose.” And when you know your purpose, you don’t quit.

She said, There’s no such thing as giving up… You understand that there will be dark times and there will be light times, but you still persist, because it’s bigger than me. It’s serving a community and it’s creating a legacy.” Her lesson was simple and profound: purpose anchors us when the road gets hard and it always does.

Finding Your Voice So Others Can Find Theirs

Then there was the incomparable Enchanted Makeovers founder Terry Grahl, whose journey from silence to strength reminded us that voices are often born in pain. Terry is a warrior who said, “At the very beginning, I prayed through tears, arms lifted, saying, ‘God, give me a voice, please just give me a voice so I can be a voice for others.’”

Terry shared how she was once told to stay quiet and how God had other plans.“I was painfully shy… I was bullied constantly… But God kept His promise.” Her lesson was unmistakable: “God gave me this voice so I can use it for women, for children, for those who don’t yet believe they’re worthy of being heard.”

Sometimes the very thing that once silenced us becomes the tool we use to set others free.

Lessons From Parents Who Have Lost the Most

When people ask what nonprofit founders leave the biggest impressions and teach us the most? The answer is always the same: parents who have lost a child. Their grief is profound and so is their wisdom.

Choosing Meaning Over Ease

Thrive N Joy Foundation founder Mary Fagnano shared this truth after losing her son Nick: Mary said, “Never to take a day for granted. Every day is precious. Every relationship that is important to you is precious.”

And then, a line that stays with you forever:“I don’t want to live an easy life. I want to live a meaningful life.”

Being Cracked Open by Loss and Love

Susie Shaw, Founder of William’s Be Yourself Challenge, spoke with breathtaking honesty about losing her young son William. “When William died, my entire life changed 100%.” Grief reshaped her identity and expanded her compassion.“We were just cracked open. Everything just came pouring out… I’ve grown so much in my empathy.”

Her lesson was one we all need to hear: “We all just need to slow down.”

Grief, Gratitude, and Love Organized

Penny’s Flight founder Kate Doerge shared words that feel like poetry and truth intertwined. Kate said “I used to search for the ‘one client’ that would let me move the needle; now I see that the needle is people, and the work is love organized.” She reminded us that grief and gratitude are not opposites.“I’ve learned that grief and gratitude can share a sentence.”

And perhaps most beautifully: “It’s our wingspan… how far we’re willing to reach for others… that measures a life.”

Fathers’, Loss, and Clarity

A Brighter Day founder Elliot Kallen reminded us how fleeting life truly is. He said, “Life goes by in the blink of an eye.”His lesson centered on intention and impact:“What truly matters is the people around you, the lives you touch, the impact you make.”

Pain and Purpose Living Side by Side

Finally, Shoulder Check co-founder Rob Thorsen shared a powerful vision of leadership shaped by loss. Rob said, “Pain and purpose live together now.” And with clarity born from heartbreak: “Less time for what doesn’t matter, more devotion to what does.”

His closing reflection says it all: “If my legacy is simply that people checked in on one another more often, that would be a life well-lived.”

Gratitude as We Step Into a New Year

Each guest and lesson is a gift we have been given. It is my hope that we can all carry some of these words of wisdom into the New Year.  There are so many wise people we met this year and far too many people to list. To every nonprofit founder who shared so deeply and so personally…..thank you. Your journeys inspire us to be better, to find joy in loss, to keep moving forward, and to believe, deeply, that service heals.

To everyone who read, shared, subscribed, listened, and cheered us on….thank you for being part of this movement for good. The world needs us all now more than ever.

May we enter the New Year remembering that every small act of kindness makes the world better. Wishing you all a blessed, hopeful, and beautiful New Year ahead.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

Copyright © 2025 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Merry Christmas 2025

“Christmas, my child is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.”

Dale Evans

christmas-love

Today is Christmas Eve at last,
It’s here so quickly…..far too fast.
A sacred pause, a softened night,
Where hearts grow warm by candlelight.

It’s always been my favorite eve,
A night I hold and still believe.
My parents’ table, stretched and wide,
With room for all who stepped inside.

For friends and family, near and stray,
For those with nowhere else to stay.
No questions asked, no need to prove
Just open doors and space to move.

In giving love, our home once grew
More full than walls could ever do.
And now, again, we gather near,
With laughter, joy, and holiday cheer.

This year’s no different, still the same
The love, the noise, the glowing flame.
My heart is full beyond its seams,
Overflowing hope and Christmas dreams.

Yet on this night, so calm and bright,
We pause to honor those not in sight.
The empty chair, the voice we miss,
The ones we loved, remembered in this.

Their presence lingers, soft and true,
In whispered prayers and memories too.
They live in stories, love, and light,
Especially on this holy night.

And still, we’re called to look around,
For lonely hearts that may be found.
A neighbor quiet, a friend alone,
Far from the place they once called home.

A simple act, a gift so small,
Can mean the most, it means it all.
For Christmas lives in what we give,
In how we love, in how we live.

Each time we love, we freely give,
That’s how the truest gifts all live.
My wish this night, both far and near,
Is that all feel love this time of year.

May hope be felt, may hearts feel whole,
May peace and kindness fill each soul.
Merry Christmas, warm and true
May love find its way home to you.

Merry Christmas

 

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

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Raising Philanthropic Children

Charity begins at home….and raising charitable children

charity-begins-at-home

We have all heard the expression that, “Charity begins at home,” a phrase that I wholeheartedly agree with.  However, when people approach me about how to “teach” philanthropy and the beauty of giving to others to their children…my response is that giving isn’t necessarily something you “teach” but rather a value that you adopt and model as a family.

In thinking about the best way to show your children how to care for others and to foster their love of helping others, reflect upon your own values and your families. If that is a goal for your family, then start by creating a culture of kindness and generosity where giving becomes something natural that your family does together.

Some other tips on raising charitable children…..

1. Start young, the earlier the better. For little ones (4 or 5), keep it simple, perhaps canned food for a local shelter or blankets for the homeless. Something that they understand.

2. Be age appropriate. Don’t overwhelm young children with world hunger but rather something relatable to them, perhaps something local in your community.

3. Engage your children in the process, especially the older they get. Find out what they care about? Perhaps they love animals and want to support a local shelter? Have them use their passion to make a difference. I have one son who struggled to learn to read, he ended up reading to children who struggled with the same thing he did when he was in high school.

4. Research together and suggests a few choices. With 1.6 million non-profits it can be overwhelming for all of us. Our family usually picks 3 or 4 ideas and then we vote on a holiday philanthropy project. We have adopted soldiers, fed homeless, adopted inner city families for Christmas. Ultimately it is the kids’ vote that decides.

5.  Be intentional with your own giving. Teach by example. Discuss what causes you care about. Let your children hear and see your volunteer efforts or participate in them if possible.

6.  Make giving habitual by being consistent. Whether its part of your allowance structure, a holiday tradition or something you do at birthdays, be consistent and establish giving as a tradition and habit. It’s no different from any sport, the more you participate the easier and more fun it becomes. Ultimately it becomes a part of who they are.

7.  Emphasize the joy and the experience of giving rather than money. Philanthropy is about being a part of something bigger than yourself. Giving is so much more fun than receiving. Make it a joyful experience for your family and something you share in together. Perhaps, start with entering a 5k walk or charity run or volunteering together.

The benefits of philanthropic children: 

  1. Opens children’s eyes to the fact that others are not as fortunate as they are
  2. Develops empathetic thinking
  3. Fosters an appreciation for what they have
  4. Enhances self-esteem
  5. Correlates to improved performance in school

Like everything we do with raising our children, it takes time , patience, consistency and love.  Chances are you already do most of these things and don’t even realize it and your children do too. This holiday season, enjoy the process of giving in whatever way you decide to participate. You and your children will experience the real joy of the holidays….together.

Charity  Matters.

 

 

Copyright © 2016 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Christmas Came Early This Year

There are moments in life when the universe seems to wink at you.  Moments when all your hard work, heart, and hustle come full circle in the most unexpected and delightful way. Well friends, that moment came early for me this year. Forget wrapping paper and ribbons, because this year’s Christmas gift came straight from Spotify. And let me tell you, it was wrapped in joy, gratitude, and more than a little disbelief.

When I opened our Spotify Wrapped report for the Charity Matters Podcast, I felt a little like a kid sneaking down the stairs too early on Christmas morning ….. excited, giddy, and totally overwhelmed. There it was in black and green: we’re in the top 5% of podcasts in our category! Cue the sleigh bells and maybe a little happy dance around my office.

I have to admit, I blinked a few times, refreshed the page, and maybe even said a little “Wait, what?” out loud. But there it was again. And as if that wasn’t enough Christmas cheer, the stats just kept on coming:

 Our show’s growth outpaced 64% of all podcasts this year.
 Our listeners stayed tuned in 73% longer than the average show.
Our average rating was 75% higher than other podcasts.
And best of all …. our audience grew by 25%, with our followers growing even more than that!

If this isn’t a Christmas miracle, I don’t know what is?

When I started Charity Matters, it wasn’t about numbers or rankings . Charity Matters is  about storytelling, service and kindness.  It was about shining a light on the helpers, the doers, and the givers who are out there quietly changing the world every single day. What began as a blog over a decade ago just me, a laptop, and a whole lot of heart has blossomed into a community, a conversation, and yes, now a top 5% podcast.

That’s not my doing. That’s you.

You, the listeners who tune in each week while driving to work, folding laundry, walking your dog, or just needing a little reminder that goodness still exists in this crazy world. You, the readers who open each week’s story, share it with friends, and send me messages that remind me why I do this. You, the guests …. the amazing nonprofit founders, the changemakers, the dreamers each who share your stories so vulnerably and powerfully that they ripple far beyond the microphone.

This isn’t my Christmas gift … it’s ours.

When I think about the spirit of Christmas and the real meaning behind it ……Christmas is about love, gratitude, and giving. And that’s exactly what this podcast has become: a community built on giving. Every episode, every interview, every listener who takes an idea and turns it into an act of kindness . Each of you are proof that goodness is alive and well.

And maybe that’s why this milestone feels so personal. Because for me, Charity Matters has never been just a show  but rather  a movement for good. It’s about making kindness and service not just something we do when we have time, but something we live.

When I wrote Change for Good, I shared a line that I come back to often: “When we serve others, we heal ourselves.” That’s what I see in each of you. Every download, every listen, every small act of service that was inspired by one of our episodes  those are all little sparks of healing and hope. Together, we are creating something extraordinary.

Now, I have to confess , I’m a bit of a stats nerd (I know, shocking). But these numbers are more than data points; they’re proof of connection. Proof that even in a world obsessed with negativity and noise, people are still choosing to listen to stories about kindness. Proof that you are hungry …no, starving  for good news, for hope, for inspiration.

And you’re finding it here, week after week.

Our little show that started with a microphone and a mission has found its place in the top 5%. That’s not luck, that’s the result of thousands of ears and hearts choosing to tune in. You’ve made Charity Matters part of your lives, and in doing so, you’ve made me believe even more deeply in the power of storytelling to change the world.

Every time you share an episode, every time you leave a review, every time you tell a friend, “You have to hear this story,” you are helping kindness go viral. You are helping to make service contagious. You are proving that goodness is not only alive but it’s growing, one listener at a time.

So yes, Christmas came early this year. But the real gift isn’t the ranking or the growth or even the shiny Spotify badge (though I’ll admit, that’s pretty fun). The real gift is knowing that we are making an impact  together.

It’s knowing that somewhere out there, a listener heard a story that made them volunteer for the first time. Or donate. Or start their own nonprofit. Or maybe just smile at a stranger. Because that’s how kindness works and it multiplies.

And that’s the mission. That’s the heartbeat of Charity Matters.

As we head into the holiday season, I want to take a moment to simply say thank you. Thank you for believing in this movement for good. Thank you for making kindness a choice, not a coincidence. Thank you for showing up  week after week, story after story to remind me that there are helpers everywhere.

Fred Rogers once said, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Well, I don’t have to look far.  I see them every time I open our listener stats. I see them in you.

So from the bottom of my heart and from everyone behind the scenes who makes this show possible …thank you for being the heartbeat of this movement.

Here’s to the year ahead. To more stories, more kindness, more connection, and more moments that remind us that change for good always begins with one simple act …. choosing to care.

May your holidays be filled with joy, love, and gratitude. And if you need a little extra holiday spirit, might I recommend scrolling through our Spotify playlist of goodness? You helped build it, after all.

Merry Christmas, my friends. You are the reason Christmas came early this year and I couldn’t imagine a better gift.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

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Charity Profile

Episode 96: Mom’s Christmas Stocking

Some stories find us when we need them most. Wendy Strauss’s began with a slip of paper discovered in her late mother’s tidy little office. It was a simple note titled “Mom’s Christmas Stocking,” asking her children to keep filling a stocking for Mom by giving it to a woman who needed “a shot of love.” That tender request became a calling. What started as one timid lunch-hour drop-off blossomed into an annual community tradition that now fills hundreds of beautifully curated stockings for women in shelters, prisons, and recovery programs across New York City, each one a love letter, a reminder that someone sees you and you matter.

As we enter the Christmas season, Wendy’s story reminds us what the holiday is truly about….it’s not the gifts we buy, but the love we give. It’s about connection, kindness, and finding ways to bring light to those who need it most. Through Mom’s Christmas Stocking, Wendy has turned her grief into grace, transforming loss into a legacy of giving. Her journey captures the real spirit of Christmas: that joy multiplies when we share it. If you’ve ever wondered whether one small act can change a life…..or if you’ve needed a nudge to turn love into action, then Wendy’s story will fill your heart and remind you that the greatest gift we can give is love itself.

 

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

Charity Matters: Tell us a little about what Mom’s Christmas Stocking does?

Wendy Strauss:  Each holiday season we fill hundreds of Christmas stockings and donate them to a group that distributes them around the five boroughs of Manhattan. Women, often in prisons, rehabs, or shelters receive these beautifully filled stockings to get a “shot of love” and a little holiday joy, women who might not otherwise receive that.

Charity Matters: What experiences did you have as a child that helped shape your giving?

Wendy Strauss:  I was the last of five, so I grew up almost like an only child. My mom had me later in life, and I tagged along as she did a lot of spiritual seeking….yoga and meditation before they were popular. She surrounded herself with younger people, almost mentoring these hippie-type kids who were chanting and meditating. That openness to people who weren’t “the norm” formed my childhood. We were vegetarians when it wasn’t really a thing. She was my role model…open, curious, ahead of the curve. It wasn’t about “giving back” yet; it was about discovery, but that spirit of openness and love was the seed.

Charity Matters: What was the moment you knew you needed to act and start Mom’s Christmas Stocking?

Wendy Strauss:  In 2007 my mom passed away unexpectedly in March. We already had a trip planned for June to see family. We stayed in her house, she’d fixed it up for us and it felt like she was welcoming us even though she wasn’t there. One morning I wandered into her very tidy little office. She was a wonderful writer—so many articles, Historical Society work, family tree research. I picked up a random file folder and a slip of paper fell to the floor. It was titled “Mom’s Christmas Stocking.” It said:

“Every Christmas you have always filled a stocking for Mom. I want you to continue to do so. Choose the very things I would love and those you love to give to me. Find someone to give this filled stocking to a woman in prison or in a drug rehab or a homeless center. This is the most precious gift I could receive or that you could give, sharing the love we know with someone who really needs a shot of love. And in this way, I will continue to share your Christmases and continue to be a part of my wonderful family.”

I made copies for my siblings. That Christmas I took it very seriously. I filled one stocking, Googled where to bring it, and found Women In Need. On my lunch hour I brought it over, explained why, tucked in a copy of Mom’s note, and they said they’d find someone to give it to. I went back to work and felt so good the rest of the day. At my evening workout my friends said, “Something’s up,” so I told them and they said, “Next year we’ll all fill stockings.” The following year we did eight. Then 75. It just grew. People wanted to donate more and know how it worked, and eventually I looked up how to become a nonprofit and did the paperwork myself.

Charity Matters: What are your biggest challenges?

Wendy Strauss: Starting anything is hard, and once I became a nonprofit the pandemic hit. I got my determination letter in 2020 and then everything closed. I was filling stockings by myself….Amazon donations came, but no gatherings. Funding is always a challenge. Spreading the word is a challenge. Space is a challenge. We host an annual stocking-stuffing event at the gym where it all began, Grassroots Fitness Project, and that’s a gift, but organizing, storing, keeping things moving when you’re doing it primarily alone is a lot. I’m good at admin, but the bigger we get, the more time those pieces take.

Charity Matters: What fuels you to keep doing this work?

Wendy Strauss: Loss has been part of my story….after my mom passed, we lost my dad; my husband passed in 2014; my brother shortly after. Everyone we encounter has something going on. I know what makes me feel better. A dear friend, who had gone through something horrific, came to one of our events and said, “Wendy, giving is healing.” That became my motto. It is so healing. Yes, the recipients get something, but we get so much in return.

Charity Matters: When do you know you have made a difference?

Wendy Strauss: The feedback is beautiful…..families who look forward to the event every year, friends who never miss. People who moved away now run their own stocking-stuffing gatherings; Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, Colorado, and now North Carolina. Local New York businesses and schools do their own events and ship stockings to me. That impact and seeing the seeds become their own gardens is how I know.

Charity Matters: Tell us what success you have had and what your impact has been? 

Wendy Strauss: I try to prioritize quality over quantity. I get pushed on numbers….“How many this year?” The need is so great that providers want to honor as many moms as possible. I do my best. But success, to me, is the community that’s grown around this. The families who plan their December around coming, the kids who love it, the businesses and schools who join in, the chapters springing up in new places. In one or two hours at our New York event we’ll fill 400 stockings and it goes so quickly because so many people show up. The impact is the joy and connection we create, the “shot of love” that keeps rippling.

Charity Matters: If you could dream any dream for your organization, what would that be?

Wendy Strauss: A solid team. A couple of “sugar donors,” I always joke. More space. My vision is a year-round space where the stocking operation is always set up and groups could come in any time to fill stockings, from small gatherings to big parties. People could take them to distribute wherever they’re needed. I love working with other organizations and donating to them when I can, collecting items so I’m ready when someone calls and says, “I need size 9 sneakers.” I like to manifest, so I’m putting this out there.

I’m also learning to ask for help. I’m a do-it-yourselfer, but when I finally asked a friend to help, she said, “I’m so happy you did. I love doing this for you.” I’d love a teenage intern to help with social media. A countdown to the event or the season and those little things make a big difference.

Charity Matters: What life lessons have you learned from this experience?

Wendy Strauss:  Discernment. Everybody has a story and we don’t know it at first glance. Being kind to the worker on the street, saying good morning—those small things matter. They also help me; they soften my shell. People say New Yorkers are tough, but kindness makes the shell flexible. I’ve also learned boundaries—soft ones and hard ones—to help me grow in my life and in the nonprofit. We can only give when our cup is full. The need is always greater than we can meet, so boundaries keep us going.

I’ve planted a lot of seeds. My mom was a wonderful gardener; I’m not, at least not with plants—this is how I garden. I’ve seen growth, and it’s meaningful for so many people that they want to help. That’s beautiful. And I’ve learned that we don’t need that much to be grateful. I’m grateful for the tiniest things now.

Charity Matters: How has this journey changed you?

Wendy Strauss:  I’m not the same person I was in 2007…..I hope not. I want to keep growing. I take care of a lot, but I can do it. With focus, there’s more we can do than we expect and while staying within boundaries. My compassion has grown. I’m an empath, and landing in New York City amplified that, but compassion is universal. Once you open up to other people’s stories and to hearing them and serving them, your understanding deepens. That makes you want to keep helping. It gives you gratitude, and gratitude gives you joy.

Charity Matters: Any closing thoughts….

Wendy Strauss: Giving is healing. That’s the heart of this. My mom’s note was her way of comforting us and staying part of our Christmases. Every stocking is a love letter and something a mom would have loved, passed on to a woman who needs that “shot of love.” It began with one stocking, one note, one person. Now it’s families, schools, businesses, and chapters across the country. I’m grateful for every helper who shows up, every year-round donation, every kind word. Christmas should be all year and it can be, if we keep sharing love.

CHARITY MATTERS.

To Support Mom’s Christmas Stocking visit: momschristmasstocking.com

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Thanksgiving 2025

Every November, as the air turns crisp and the days shorten, something shifts inside of us. We slow down, just a little and begin to think about gratitude. Thanksgiving arrives like a gentle reminder, asking us to pause, look around, and take stock of the blessings that surround us. It’s one of my favorite holidays, not because of the turkey or the table setting (though I do love those too), but because of what it represents: connection, community, and grace.

For me, Thanksgiving will always carry a deeper meaning. The holiday became sacred in 2002, the year we lost my mom. That November, grief was a constant companion. My sisters and I were staying in our childhood home while my dad still in the hospital, the world around us still blurry from shock. We were exhausted, numb, and trying to hold one another up. Everyone was dancing around the idea of Thanksgiving, unsure if we could celebrate when our hearts were shattered.

And then, on Thanksgiving morning, the doctor gave us an unexpected gift. My dad could come home. After weeks of fear and heartbreak, we suddenly had something to be grateful for. That day, we ordered take-out turkey, set the table in the home that had always been our family’s heart, and gathered around with our newborn niece. It wasn’t perfect, but it was beautiful. My dad’s chair was filled, even though my mom’s was heartbreakingly empty. For the first time, I realized that sadness and joy can coexist with loss. Even in loss, gratitude can bloom. Our take-out turkey had never tasted so good, and our laughter through tears became a form of prayer.

That Thanksgiving taught me something essential: gratitude isn’t about everything being right. It’s about being thankful anyway. It’s about recognizing the light even in the darkest moments, about seeing blessings wrapped in grief. It was the beginning of understanding that gratitude is not a reaction…..it’s a choice.

Over the years, I’ve come to see how gratitude and service are inseparable. In Change for Good, I wrote that “there is no joy without gratitude.” The two are intertwined, and together, they transform our lives. Gratitude softens us; it reminds us that what we have is enough. Service, in turn, amplifies that gratitude. It’s the natural overflow of a full heart and the way love finds its way outward.

When I began interviewing nonprofit founders for Charity Matters, I noticed something extraordinary: every single one of them, in one way or another, was fueled by gratitude. Some had survived loss or trauma; others had simply been touched by profound kindness. Each story was a living example of what I call “miracle fuel” which is the energy that comes when we stop focusing on what we lack and instead recognize how much we already have. Gratitude propels us forward; it’s the quiet force that turns pain into purpose.

Take Paige Chenault, who realized that her gift for throwing parties could bring joy to children living in homeless shelters. Her gratitude for her own daughter’s birthday became a spark that ignited The Birthday Party Project. Paige’s story beautifully shows how gratitude becomes contagious and how one thankful heart can inspire thousands to celebrate others.

Every story I’ve shared and every interview I’ve done, reinforces what Thanksgiving teaches us: gratitude changes everything. It rewires our hearts, softens our spirits, and reminds us that even the smallest acts of kindness can ripple outward in ways we may never see.

As I’ve learned through my own journey, gratitude is more than a polite “thank you.” Gratitude is a daily practice, a perspective, and a way of life. It’s the decision to look for grace when it would be easier to focus on what’s missing. It’s the steady voice that whispers, you have enough.

And when gratitude overflows, it naturally becomes service. We can’t help but give when our hearts are full. That’s why Thanksgiving feels like the truest reflection of who we are meant to be….not a day of indulgence, but of awareness. It reminds us to see one another, to gather, to care, to serve. Because gratitude without action is incomplete. When we give thanks and then give of ourselves, we honor the very spirit of the holiday.

In Change for Good, I shared how service healed me in unimaginable ways. Grief cracked me open, but gratitude stitched me back together. Service filled the empty spaces that loss left behind. When we serve others that is when we are living the truest form of Thanksgiving. We are saying, through our actions, thank you for this life.

Today, I think about the new table our family will be celebrating around. Joining our daughter-in-law’s family and the blending of two families coming together. I think of my mom and how much she would love all of them. Then I come back to that first Thanksgiving after my mom’s passing. There are still absences that ache, but also new blessings that fill the space. Gratitude, I’ve learned, is cumulative. It grows when shared. Each year, each moment of thanks adds another layer to the tapestry of our lives.

So as we gather this year around big tables or small ones, with family, friends, or even alone I hope we take a moment to truly feel the miracle of the ordinary. The smell of the meal, the sound of laughter, the warmth of someone’s hand, the quiet peace of being alive. These are the things that matter.

Thanksgiving is not about perfection but about presence. It’s about seeing what remains, not what’s gone. The day is about opening our eyes to the beauty that is always there, waiting to be noticed. And when we do, we discover that gratitude isn’t just for one day but it’s the rhythm that can carry us through every season.

This Thanksgiving, may we remember that gratitude isn’t something we feel once a year, it’s something we live. May we find joy in the small things, hope in hard times, and purpose in helping others. Because when we live with grateful hearts, every day becomes Thanksgiving.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Episode 95: Uprising Yoga

 Pablo Picasso said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” That’s the thread running through this week’s episode with my dear friend Jill, founder of Uprising Yoga. Jill’s journey is a full-circle story. From an angry, hurting teenager to a joyful healer bringing trauma-informed yoga and life skills to youth in juvenile halls. She discovered a gift that first saved her own life: breath, presence, and the slow, steady return to self. And then she did the most beautiful thing….she gave that gift away, again and again, to kids who need it most.

In this conversation, Jill invites us into the processing units at juvenile hall, where resistance softens into resilience, where a single breath can become a lifeline, and where hope looks like one small practice done with love. If you’ve ever wondered how purpose finds us in the mess and the miracle of real life, you’ll feel it here. Come listen to how a $10, ten-day yoga pass became a mission, how community shows up when we “look for the helpers,” and how gifts once found…can ripple out to change the world.

 

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

 

Charity Matters: Tell us a little about what Uprising Yoga does?

Jill Ippolito: At Uprising Yoga,the main thing we do is bring trauma-informed yoga life skills to those incarcerated and communities that need it most. That’s the mission. What we’re actually doing currently: we have trauma-informed yoga trainings that we have taught, but right now we have two classes at Los Padrinos in juvenile hall, in the processing units, where youth are taken and detained and moved through the system.

Charity Matters: What were some early memories of service or giving?

Jill Ippolito: I was an angry teenager. Resistance. Always getting in trouble. Defiant rebellion to authority. Refusal to be a part of volunteering. My mom insisted. I have a picture of me wearing a shirt called “Do Something,” and that was the name of one of the organizations she dragged me to. I had a frown on my face. I did not want to help anybody. And she just insisted that, you know what, wherever we are, we can reach out and help anybody in need. She made me do it. There are pictures of me…reluctant.

Charity Matters: What was the moment you knew you needed to act and start  Uprising Yoga?

Jill Ippolito:  In 2001 I was dealing with my own addiction issues. I was in jails and institutions. I was told to go to a program for recovery. Shocking, daunting and defiant refusal again. When I tried to go into some of this recovery, the lights were really bright, the people were smiling, facial expressions hard. I signed up for $10 for 10 days to a hot yoga studio, and it helped me feel safe. It changed everything. I left the class feeling lighter, like my life could have purpose if I went to yoga every day. Just $10, 10 days…I wondered how many times can I go in those 10 days? That’s where something started to shift in my personal recovery.

Fast forward to 2006. I was dating my now husband, Nick. He went to a place called Challenger, a youth probation camp…basically prison camp….named after the astronauts. He came home with a look on his face: horror story. The conditions were so terrible there. I said, “Can I teach yoga there?” By then I had become a yoga teacher. It was a really long time, but we started our first class back in November of 2011.  This month Uprising Yoga turns 14 years.

I started volunteering in juvenile hall; there were a lot of hurdles to get there, but that’s when we aligned with LA County. I called my mom and said, “Hey, we’ve been volunteering in juvenile hall.” She said, “Is that the one I picked you up from when you were a kid?” I had been in juvenile hall as a youth without remembering it. I started to really study trauma and the effects, and how yoga gave me that sense of peace that I wanted to breathe and live life in a healthy way, instead of choosing the darkness I was trapped in at the time.

Charity Matters: What are your biggest challenges?

Jill Ippolito: I never wanted to be a yoga teacher. I fell into it by falling off buildings and landing in: I need this yoga; what do I do? And I never wanted to build a nonprofit. I was working at a yoga college, talking about volunteering, and a close friend said, “Why don’t you file for a nonprofit?” I said, “I don’t know how.” He goes, “You just fill out the paperwork, and if you do anything wrong, trust me, they’ll call you.” That put the seed in me.

I didn’t want to sit at the counter forever. I wasn’t really hireable. Working for someone else wasn’t my personality, so I thought I’d better build something I can run and do. I started playing with names, organization, building it from there, looking around at colleagues. People said, “I want to be a part of this. I want to teach.” They brought resources and education. We wrote a manual. We did a training. We basically became a pipeline to get yoga instructors to share their gifts.

The hurdles are heavy: child sex trafficking, foster youth, gangs. We brought in experts, integrated their knowledge into our trainings. There’s bureaucracy, red tape, security…just to get into prisons and juvenile halls. But we kept going.

photo: Robert Sturman

Charity Matters: What fuels you to keep doing this work?

Jill Ippolito: I know how much it helped me. It turned my life around, from the impossible to a beautiful life. That keeps me going. When the kids come up and say, “Miss, I could feel my heartbeat,” “I can breathe,” “What you taught me helped me sleep last night.” Watching the resistance like I had…being angry at the world and really believing there’s no one who’s going to help me… My main mission has been autonomy: go within. What is there? Find your resilience and trust yourself. Do some re-parenting if you’ve never had any self-love, self-care. It’s never about yoga. It’s all about mindfulness, meditation, self-care. The resilience of: how can I apply these skills directly in my life? If I sit, breathe, feel, connect then when I slow down, the urgency to react and resist softens.

Charity Matters: When do you know you have made a difference?

Jill Ippolito: The stories and the notes the kids bring us. A kid saying, “You’re my hero….you’ve lived this life we’re living and you’ve had triumph.” The one-on-one communications: “How do I do this when I get out?” If I never see this kid again, I want them, in five minutes, to know they can inhale, hold it, and use a longer exhale to regulate their nervous system so they can think clearly. For example when they’re in court testifying against their abusers. Planting a seed: we care about you; there are people out there who care about you; and this is a five-minute thing you can do to calm down.

“Yoga is a gift. No one can take it from you.” Breathing is life. People may take and take; what is something nobody can take from you? Your breath. Your connection to your heart.

Charity Matters: Tell us what success you have had and what your impact has been? 

Jill Ippolito: The thousands of incarcerated youth and community members we’ve served. Bridging people together……working with Indigenous populations and other countries. I loved getting to work with Elmo on Sesame Street for Monster Yoga. My peers invited me to write a book with them called Best Practices for Yoga in the Criminal Justice System. Collaboration with other nonprofits…all of that’s success to me.

I was on Roadtrip Nation with PBS; kids chose their heroes and brought a bus to my class. To have a kid say you’re my hero… just wow! Data matters too: from August to this month….22 classes; 144 kids; twice a week. I’m proud of career pathways: getting jobs for our youth taking our class. We recognize talent. I tell them, “Yoga really likes you.” They brighten up. We’ve helped youth become yoga teachers and then hired them. That’s a huge success.

And I’ll add my personal success: being true to myself and my artistry. I love doing stand-up comedy. I have a persona, “Jill So Chill.” I keep people to chill out, laugh, have fun. After heavy stories that feel like there aren’t solutions, my biggest skill is to laugh and be in the present moment.

Photo: Robert Sturman

Charity Matters: If you could dream any dream for your organization, what would that be?

Jill Ippolito: A dedicated Uprising Yoga Center, where people can go: safe space for healing, nourishment, food. With food insecurity and SNAP issues, there’s more need for impact and fostering community. Partnering with other nonprofits.

One of my biggest dreams is to put our trauma-informed yoga training into a slick, interactive system….like the DMV: read something, take a test; read something, take a test; earn a certificate. We did three in-person trainings a year pre-pandemic in two days, 16 hours, certified. They’re online for purchase now but mostly videos. I want it more interactive trauma-informed community care throughout the system. I trained probation staff in yoga life skills. What if I train volunteers across other programs too?

I was part of something called the LA Model, transforming the whole probation institution into trauma-informed care: chefs, officers, everyone. That impact helped close one juvenile hall and build a Wellness Center. How do we change from punitive to restorative? Those are my big dreams.

Charity Matters: What life lessons have you learned from this experience?

Jill Ippolito: Learn what my teachers taught me. When I went to that $10 for 10 days in Silver Lake, I was not great at yoga, cussing in the mirror when I fell out of a posture. I had no balance. I’d fallen off three two-story buildings, broke my back, did physical therapy. No sense of groundedness. The yoga teachers said, “If you could just sit down….you don’t have to do every posture.” How do you begin to take care of yourself? How do you restore chaos and neglect? Go slow. Take the wins. Celebrate yourself. “Love yourself” is said a lot. What does that mean when I don’t understand it? Break it down so it’s tangible: stop fighting everybody and everything. Surrender.

I have spirituality, a God I connect to guiding me, that I trust. Not the punitive Catholic-school God I grew up with. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Stop the cycle of abuse. Don’t tolerate it. People-pleasing can interrupt healing. It’s messy. It’s not linear, two steps forward, four back. Be patient. Be gentle. This month we’re doing a 30-day self-care yoga challenge fundraiser. Supposed to do yoga every day for 30 days but it’s not fanaticism. If I don’t go that day, maybe I hug a tree. Maybe I write a love letter. Something kind that’s self-care. I need that still, today.

And one more: “Helping” isn’t the same as empowerment. I started seeing all the people wanting to help—and realized there’s a bridge between people who want to help and people who need help. How do I hook them together? That’s what our trainings do. I thought yoga was about me getting in shape, but when I do yoga, I help others in community. Healing community is heart-centered focus: get everybody on the same page and find solutions that work.

Charity Matters: How has this journey changed you?

Jill Ippolito: My whole mindset changed. I didn’t know there are people who really want to help you. I thought other people were enemies. Don’t trust anybody, that’s how I grew up. It took a long time for this broken child in me to look around and go: there are people coming out of the woodwork who want to help….not just me, but others.

We work with a lot of CSEC survivors. At a symposium, an adult formerly trafficked stood up and said to the social workers and helpers: “I didn’t know there were people like you looking to help people like me.” I agreed. I thought the same. Look for the helpers because they really do show up.

So the momentum came from seeing them and then realizing: helping is not service; it’s not empowerment. We want to empower and lift up. I bridge the people who want to help with the people who need help. That’s the work: connect the yoga studio, the foster youth, the prisons, the activists. Blend everyone and offer: let’s find a solution that works. That’s healing community. That’s heart-centered focus.

And I’ll always tell the youth: yoga is a gift. No one can take it from you. You may not have a refrigerator to open. No one may be coming to pick you up. The system may be taking and taking. But you have your breath. You have your heart. In five minutes, you can inhale, hold it, exhale longer calm your nervous system and think clearly. If I never see you again, I want you to know that. That’s how I’ve changed: I trust that simple, powerful truth.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

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Inspiration

World Kindness Day is tomorrow

“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”    Scott Adams

There are certain days on the calendar that remind us of what really matters ….. not the meetings, deadlines, or endless to-do lists, but the small, quiet acts that connect us to one another. November 13th is one of those days. Tomorrow is World Kindness Day, a beautiful invitation to pause and remember that kindness isn’t just something we do. Kindness is something we are.

In a world that can feel divided and heavy, kindness softens edges, bridges divides, and restores faith in humanity ….one small act at a time. But before we talk about what happens when we are kind, it’s worth looking at how this global movement began, and why now, more than ever, kindness truly matters.

 The History of World Kindness Day

World Kindness Day was first celebrated in 1998, born out of a meeting in Tokyo where kindness organizations from around the world gathered to form the World Kindness Movement. Their mission was simple: to inspire a global culture of compassion, empathy, and connection.

Since that first celebration, the idea has spread to over 30 countries. From Singapore to Switzerland, people gather each November to celebrate humanity’s most universal virtue , kindness. In 2019, the United Nations acknowledged World Kindness Day as part of its ongoing efforts to promote peace and understanding among nations.

This day isn’t about grand gestures or polished campaigns. It’s about the small things …. the smile you share, the door you hold, the text you send. It’s a reminder that we can all change the world just by being a little kinder, every single day.

What Happens When We Are Kind

Science tells us that when we practice kindness, our brains release oxytocin (the hormone that helps us feel connected and loved ) along with serotonin, the natural mood booster that lowers stress and increases happiness. Kindness is literally good for our hearts. It calms anxiety, strengthens our immune systems, and even helps us live longer.

But the magic of kindness goes beyond biology. It changes our spirit.

When we are kind, we shift the focus from ourselves to others. We stop asking, “What do I need?” and start asking, “How can I help?” That shift transforms the energy around us. A single act of kindness can create ripples that reach farther than we’ll ever see.

Kindness is contagious. It creates a chain reaction … one act leading to another and reminding us that, at our core, we are connected.

A Ripple Begins: The Kindness Campaign

That ripple is exactly what happened when I first met Andra Liemandt, the founder of The Kindness Campaign in Austin, Texas. You may remember our conversation from January 2020.

We were both commenting on a LinkedIn post about another nonprofit founder, and as sometimes happens in the magical way of social media, our worlds collided. I was intrigued by her story. Andrea is  a mom, a corporate executive turned drummer for a rock band, and now the founder of a nonprofit dedicated to emotional health. Naturally, I reached out. Our conversation left me deeply moved  and reminded me once again that kindness truly can change the world.

Andra didn’t plan to start a nonprofit. Her journey began after tragedy, when a dear family friend, just 12 years old, took her own life after being bullied. That moment shattered her world. As a mother of two young girls, she was terrified. How could she protect her daughters from feeling unseen or unheard?

In her grief, Andra did something extraordinary. She started a feelings journal with her daughters as a way to open conversations about emotions, to create space for vulnerability and connection. That homemade journal made its way to her daughters’ school. Soon, the principal asked for copies for other classrooms, and before long, word spread. By 2015, Andra officially launched The Kindness Campaign (TKC)  a nonprofit organization dedicated to normalizing emotional health through kindness, empathy, and self-awareness.

Today, TKC serves more than 40,000 students nationwide. What began as one mom’s way of healing has grown into a movement giving families and schools real tools to build empathy, self-worth, and emotional resilience.

When Kindness Becomes Healing

Andra’s story reminds us that kindness isn’t just something we give to others, it’s also a way of healing ourselves. Through her grief, she turned pain into purpose. Her friend’s daughter’s life became a legacy that now helps thousands of children learn how to express, connect, and heal.

One of Andra’s favorite teaching tools is the Magic Mirror. When children look into it, the mirror speaks affirmations like, “You are enough.” It’s a simple yet profound exercise that helps kids see themselves with compassion, something so many of us struggle to do, even as adults.

Andra often says, “What if emotional wounds showed up on our bodies the way physical wounds do? We’d all take this conversation a lot more seriously.” Her work invites us to look deeper, to see the invisible hurts that kindness can heal. Because when people feel seen and safe, empathy grows. And when empathy grows, bullying, anger, and fear begin to disappear.

That’s the real power of kindness. It builds connection, restores trust, and helps people feel that they belong. It’s not a surface-level nicety …. it’s the foundation of emotional health.

 Why Kindness Matters More Than Ever

In a time when loneliness is being called a national epidemic, the need for kindness has never been greater. The Surgeon General recently described loneliness as one of the greatest threats to our health …. as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

But here’s the good news: kindness is the antidote. It’s the simplest, most powerful way to fight isolation and strengthen connection. Every time we extend kindness, we are quietly stitching the fabric of community back together one person and one small act at a time.

10 Simple Acts of Kindness for World Kindness Day

You don’t need to start a nonprofit like Andra did to make a difference. Sometimes, the smallest gestures are the most powerful. Here are 10 simple ways to celebrate World Kindness Day …and to keep that spirit alive all year long:

  1. Smile at a stranger.
    You never know what someone is carrying. A smile can be the light they need to keep going.

  2. Write a note of gratitude.
    Text, email, or mail someone who’s made a difference in your life. Gratitude is the heartbeat of kindness.

  3. Pay it forward.
    Buy coffee for the person behind you in line or leave an extra tip. Tiny acts create big ripples.

  4. Listen deeply.
    Put down your phone. Make eye contact. Let someone feel heard. As Andra says, “Everyone wants to be seen and heard.”

  5. Compliment sincerely.
    Tell someone what you admire about them … not just how they look, but who they are.

  6. Volunteer your time.
    Whether it’s a local shelter, a school, or a senior center …. giving time is one of the purest forms of kindness. My favorite:)

  7. Send an encouraging message.
    If someone’s name pops into your head, reach out. It might be exactly what they needed that day.

  8. Be kind online.
    Use your social media for good … post something uplifting, comment positively, or share a story that inspires.

  9. Forgive someone  or yourself.
    Letting go of anger or self-criticism is an act of radical kindness that frees everyone involved.

  10. Make kindness a daily habit.
    Choose one small act every day. Kindness grows through practice and it always multiplies.

 Changing for Good

World Kindness Day reminds us that every act of compassion …..every smile, every gesture, every word of encouragement  matters. Andra’s story is proof of that. What began as one act of kindness between a mother and her daughters has now touched tens of thousands of lives.

That’s what happens when we choose kindness: we create ripples with no logical end.

So today, and every day, let’s follow that lead. Let’s listen, love, and lead with kindness. Because when we do, we don’t just change someone else’s day  that is how we change for good.

Join the Movement

Kindness isn’t a single day on the calendar … it’s a way of life.
Share your act of kindness this week using the hashtag #ChangeForGood and tag @CharityMatters so we can celebrate the ripple together.

Because when one of us chooses kindness, all of us are lifted.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Change for Good: One Year Later

It’s hard to believe that it has been a full year since Change for Good: The Transformative Power of Giving as the Ultimate Cure was released into the world. Like most milestones, this one feels both surreal and sacred. Writing a book is a lot like giving birth…..there is anticipation, fear, excitement, exhaustion, and ultimately, immense gratitude. You spend years nurturing an idea and then one day, you let it go. You release it into the world, hoping it will find its way, touch lives, and maybe, just maybe, make a difference.

When I first began writing Change for Good, I thought I knew exactly what it would be. I had the script all mapped out in my head. the book would be a love letter to service, a guide to kindness, and a collection of stories meant to inspire others to see how small acts can create big change. I imagined how it would be received, what it might spark, and how it might ripple out into the world. But like every parent quickly learns, life rarely goes according to plan. Once the book was out in the world, it became something bigger and more profound than I could have ever imagined. I didn’t dare to dream or ever think it would be an Amazon bestseller in five categories. That one is still hard to believe…

This past year has been filled with gifts I didn’t expect. The book has been a bridge that has connected me to thousands of readers, podcast listeners, and audiences across the country who have reached out to share their stories of how Change for Good touched their hearts. I’ve had the privilege of hearing from people who decided to start volunteering, launch nonprofits, reconnect with their purpose, or simply treat the person in front of them with more compassion. Each message, each encounter, has been a reminder that kindness is contagious and that we are all far more connected than we realize.

What has humbled me most are the stories that have been shared in return. After book talks people often come up to me and say, “I have a story for you.” Then they begin to tell me about the child they lost, the battle they fought, the person they helped, or the act of grace that changed their life. These stories of service and survival, of heartbreak and healing, have been my greatest teachers. Every time I hear one, I am reminded why I wrote the book in the first place. Change for Good reminds all of us that we are not alone. We each have the power to make change for good. That act of giving is truly what binds us together as human beings.

The year has also taught me lessons I didn’t expect…..lessons about patience, faith, and surrender. I’ve learned that once you create something, it’s no longer yours. Like a child growing up and finding their way in the world, Change for Good has taken on a life of its own. The book has been used for book clubs, been quoted in sermons, used in classrooms, referenced in college term papers and leadership programs. My favorite is hearing that the book even sparked discussions at dinner tables. The messages that once lived only in my head and heart is now become part of a larger conversation about service, kindness, and the power of community. That is both humbling and awe-inspiring.

What I didn’t anticipate was how Change for Good would continue to change me. Over the past year, I’ve had to live my own message in new and deeper ways. Writing about kindness is one thing; practicing it daily, especially when life throws challenges your way, is another. There have been moments of exhaustion, doubt, and overwhelm…..times when juggling the nonprofit, the podcast, the blog, and the endless to-do lists felt like too much. But then someone would send a message saying, “Your book inspired me to serve,” or “I needed this today,” and suddenly, I would remember why it all mattered.

The truth is, this book was never just about me….it was about us. It was about shining a light on the helpers, the givers, the people who wake up every day and choose to make the world a little better. It was about telling the stories that too often go untold. And it was about showing that kindness isn’t complicated…..it’s simply love in action.

A year later, I am filled with gratitude for every reader who has shared their journey, for every nonprofit founder who has opened their heart on the Charity Matters podcast, for every person who took the time to send a note, attend a talk, or pass along a story. Each of you has been part of this incredible journey, and each of you continues to remind me that giving truly changes everything.

As I look ahead, I know that Change for Good is still growing, still evolving, and still finding new ways to connect with people. Like any living thing, it’s continuing to breathe and expand through every person who picks it up and chooses to act. My hope is that its message continues to plant seeds of service and compassion that bloom in ways we can’t yet see.

So as I celebrate one year of Change for Good, I’m not just celebrating a book…I’m celebrating the movement it represents. A movement of kindness, of purpose, of community. A reminder that no act of love, however small, ever goes unnoticed. Thank you for being part of this journey, for believing in the power of good, and for continuing to make this world a little brighter…..one act of kindness at a time.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

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Episode 94: Penny’s Flight

Some stories meet you in the deepest places and still lift you higher. This week, you’ll meet Kate Doerge….wife, mother, builder of community……who turned the unthinkable loss of her daughter, Penny, into a living legacy called Penny’s Flight. What began in a cocoon of love and butterflies has become a national movement of students, families, and friends spreading wings for those living with neurofibromatosis. Kate’s pillars; finding beauty in imperfection, choosing positivity in the face of challenge, and having faith over fear…..these aren’t just slogans; they’re the way she gets up, puts both feet on the floor, and keeps going. You can feel Penny’s light in every word.

Frankie Doerge, Chad Doerge, Kate Doerge, Henry Doerge

If you’ve ever wondered how purpose is born from pain, or how one brave family can transform grief into hope for thousands, this episode is for you. Kate’s story is tender and electric, grounded and soaring….all at once. It will remind you that we always have a choice in how we play the cards we’re dealt, and that a single flutter can change the weather for someone else. Come listen, be moved, and like Penny……leave with a bigger wingspan.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

 

Charity Matters: Tell us a little about what Penny’s Flight does?

Kate Doerge: Penny’s Flight exists to keep our daughter Penny’s big, beautiful light alive and to change the future for families living with neurofibromatosis (NF). NF is actually the most common genetic condition in the U.S., but it’s also one of the most underfunded. Roughly 1 in 2,500 people are affected, about 150,000 Americans, yet most people have never heard of it. Penny was diagnosed at four months old, and even then we refused to let a diagnosis define her. She lived joyfully for sixteen radiant years.

When Penny passed on November 11th, 2022, our community wrapped us in so much love that my husband and I knew we had to channel that energy into purpose. Within four weeks, we launched Penny’s Flight. Since then, wings have truly spread: we’ve raised close to $6 million, started more than a hundred student-led chapters at high schools and colleges, and rallied teams and towns around “Play for Penny” lacrosse games, “Pucks for Penny” hockey nights, bake sales…..whatever brings people together to shine a light. Our three pillars guide everything: finding beauty in imperfection, choosing positivity in the face of challenge, and having faith over fear. And our mantra, “It’s your wingspan, not your lifespan” is Penny’s message to the world.

Charity Matters: Tell us a little about Growing up? Did you have any role models that inspired you in this work?

Kate Doerge: My role models were my parents from day one. My mom was a dancer and an absolute beam of light….belly dancing, tap, jazzercise……you name it. She taught me how physical strength fuels mental strength and how movement lifts you out of darkness. My dad was a devout Catholic, a former Marine who once studied for the priesthood. From him I learned faith, service, and the belief that there’s something bigger than all of us.

Our home life wasn’t cookie-cutter. My mom might pick me up in leg warmers while other moms wore turtlenecks. We traveled to Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the 1980s, long before “service trips” were common….so I saw early what it meant to help beyond your comfort zone. That shaped me. In my career in PR and fashion, I was always asking, “Where can I make a real impact?” Those seeds of service were planted well before Penny’s diagnosis, and they sprouted the moment we needed them.

Charity Matters: What was the moment you knew you needed to act and start Penny’s Flight?

Kate Doerge: I always return to my father’s advice the night before our wedding: “You will be challenged. It is up to you how you play the cards you’re dealt.” When Penny’s brain tumor, glioblastoma…..accelerated in her last two years, we chose to celebrate her life loudly. During her final week, instead of closing the doors, we opened the windows and invited everyone in. We created what I call a “love cocoon.” There were butterflies everywhere….her sign to us.

After we celebrated her life, my husband and I looked at each other and knew: we have to do something. My background is launching brands; his is finance. Our community was saying, “How can we help?” Four weeks after November 11th, we launched Penny’s Flight. It felt like Penny was our partner in it…..like she was saying, “Keep going.” Even on the day she passed, we took a family walk, got back in the car, turned the ignition, and “Walking on Sunshine”…her song blared from the radio though it hadn’t been on before. That was our first sign: move forward, one step at a time.

Charity Matters: What are your biggest challenges?

Kate Doerge: Grief and logistics don’t take turns. I had two sons, a husband, a home, a community of Penny’s sixteen-year-old friends who had never lost someone, and extended family…..all hurting. I felt a responsibility to lead with light, to model a path that others could follow. Practically, the challenges are familiar to every founder: building infrastructure while building momentum; sustaining funding; making noise in a noisy world. Add to that the complexity of medical research siloed efforts, niche subfields, and the realities of federal funding. Last year, NF’s federal allocation was cut; we went to Capitol Hill and advocated to restore it. It’s back on the bill for review, but advocacy never stops.

And yet the hardest challenge….turning pain into purpose….has also been our greatest teacher. Every day we choose the light. Every day we choose action.

Charity Matters: What fuels you to keep doing this work?

Kate Doerge: Energy can’t be created or destroyed….it transforms. I feel Penny’s energy, and my parents’ too. I feel it in the butterflies, in the serendipities, in the way doors open at the exact moment you need them to. I also feel powered by the next generation. Students reach out constantly: “Can we host a game? A bake sale? Start a chapter?” Watching young people use social media for good….that’s rocket fuel.

Our community fuels me. Media friends like Norah O’Donnell shared our story on CBS within a week of launch, and Oprah Daily invited me to write about “playing the cards you’re dealt.” Brand partners like Veronica Beard, J.McLaughlin, Roller Rabbit asked, “What can we do?” Their platforms amplify NF awareness in ways research labs alone can’t. That collaboration…science, students, storytellers, brands….keeps me going.

Charity Matters: When do you know you have made a difference?

Kate Doerge:Impact shows up as a human story. A mom DM’d us: her four-year-old was just diagnosed with NF; she’d gone down a dark Google rabbit hole. That same day, she opened her mailbox to a J.McLaughlin invite for a Penny’s Flight event and found a different rabbit hole….hope. Months later, she organized a Blackstone Gives Back team, pitched Penny’s Flight, and won $125,000 for NF research. That’s a life changed turning into lives changed.

Another young woman with NF wrote when Roller Rabbit launched their butterfly pajamas for us. She said, “I never thought my favorite brand would support the condition I’ve lived with. I finally feel seen.” That sentence…I feel seen…that is impact.

And then there’s community: our first Penny’s Flight Family Jamboree drew 650 people….blankets on the lawn, kids running, live music on a summer night because Penny loved birthdays. We didn’t just raise funds; we raised each other.

Charity Matters: Tell us what success you have had and what your impact has been? 

Kate Doerge: In two and a half years, we’ve raised close to $6 million, launched 100+ student chapters nationwide, and activated schools and teams through “Play for Penny” and “Pucks for Penny.” We’ve become a marketing engine for NF, partnering with Children’s Tumor Foundation to complement their strong scientific backbone with our storytelling and awareness. We brought leaders together at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Banbury meeting, a lock-in think tank of global experts because progress accelerates when silos come down.

On the research side, we’re funding work that’s already showing promise. For a disease as heterogeneous as NF, that means convening optic glioma experts next to cognitive researchers, next to tumor biologists, next to data scientists and pushing for shared insights rather than parallel tracks. When we measure impact, we count dollars and chapters and media reach, yes. But we also count new collaborations formed, young advocates trained, and families who no longer feel alone.

Charity Matters: If you could dream any dream for your organization, what would that be?

Kate Doerge: It’s not a dream….I feel it in my bones: we will find a cure for NF. That conviction is why I pour the same determination I once poured into giving Penny the fullest life into this mission. The roadmap is clear: sustained funding, coordinated research, relentless awareness, and a movement of people who believe that wings scattered from a thousand small actions can change the weather.

Charity Matters: What life lessons have you learned from this experience?

Kate Doerge: First, we always have a choice in how we play the cards we’re dealt. That wisdom from my dad has become a daily practice. Choose to move literally. Put your feet on the floor. One step. Then the next. Small, actionable steps carry you through the mud of grief.

Second, look for the signs. They’re real. Butterflies on the window in November. A radio that wasn’t on suddenly playing “Walking on Sunshine.” When you keep your eyes open, you realize our loved ones are with us differently, but powerfully.

Third, collaboration is oxygen. In research, in advocacy, in community building, the magic happens when we invite everyone to the table….scientists, students, brands, media, families. We each bring a wing to the flight.

Fourth, service multiplies. The “butterfly effect” is not just a metaphor….it’s a strategy. A student chapter post turns into a game night turns into a grant turns into a lab experiment turns into a breakthrough. Tiny flutters, big weather.

Finally, positivity is not denial; it’s discipline. Choosing beauty in imperfection and faith over fear doesn’t erase pain. It transforms it into purpose.

Charity Matters: How has this journey changed you?

Kate Doerge: Three years ago, I couldn’t have imagined this life….writing a book, speaking about reimagining grief, launching workshops to help others navigate adversity and midlife reinvention, stewarding a national movement in Penny’s name. I used to search for the “one client” that would let me move the needle; now I see that the needle is people, and the work is love organized.

I am more certain, more grounded, and oddly, more joyful. I feel accompanied by Penny, by my parents, by a community that believes in light. I’ve learned that grief and gratitude can share a sentence. I’ve learned that teenagers can be fierce world-changers. I’ve learned that when you open your doors in the hardest week of your life, you teach an entire community how to love without fear.

Most of all, I’ve learned that it’s our wingspan…how far we’re willing to reach for others…that measures a life.Penny taught me that. Now it’s my job to help the world learn it too.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

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Charity Matters Inspiration

PodcaStars Magazine

Being a cover girl……or even a back cover girl….was never on my vision board. I’m actually laughing as I write this because I have a few girlfriends who were real, honest-to-goodness Cover Girls. You know, the kind with perfect hair, perfect lighting, and perfect poses. Meanwhile, I’m over here absolutely thrilled to be what I’m calling an “Actual Back Cover Girl.” Is that even a thing? Well, I guess it is now…

In full disclosure, discovering that I was featured on the back cover of this month’s PodcaStars Magazine was such an unexpected and truly lovely surprise. It’s one of those moments that makes you stop, smile, and think, Wow, how did I get here? I never set out to be on any kind of cover. I set out to tell stories that matter …. stories about people who give, who serve, who make our world a little better. But life has a funny way of surprising us when we’re busy doing what we love.

A few weeks ago, I received a note from my publisher, She Rises Studios, the same amazing team who published my book Change for Good. They asked if they could interview me about my podcasting journey for their October issue of PodcaStars Magazine. Of course, I said yes ….. I’m always happy to share how The Charity Matters Podcast began and why shining a light on everyday heroes has become one of the greatest joys of my life. What I didn’t expect was to end up on the back cover of the magazine.

Behind this beautiful surprise is a woman whose story inspires me deeply ….. Hanna Olivas, the founder of She Rises Studios. Hanna is a nonprofit founder on a mission to help women find their voice and use it. She’s built an incredible ecosystem of empowerment ……a streaming network, a powerhouse publishing team, and multiple magazines, including PodcaStars. Each one is designed to lift others, to amplify voices, and to encourage women to stand in their power.

But Hanna’s heart for service reaches far beyond media. She also founded The Brave and Beautiful Blood Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit that supports patients and families facing blood cancers. Her organization goes beyond awareness …. it builds personal connections, offers emotional and financial support, and brings hope to families in their darkest moments. Hanna is a mother, a grandmother, a multi-time author, and one of the most genuine, uplifting women I’ve ever met. She is a living, breathing example of what it means to use your gifts to serve others.

So, when someone like Hanna asks you to share your story, you say yes …..because she embodies everything Charity Matters stands for. She believes, as I do, that storytelling has the power to change lives. Every story of kindness, resilience, and compassion has a ripple effect. It reminds us that good still exists …..and that we can all be part of it.

I’ll admit, seeing myself in PodcaStars Magazine made me reflect a little …..  but because it reminded me how far this journey has come. What started as a small blog about philanthropy and purpose has grown into a podcast, a book, and now a movement…..all centered on one simple belief: that giving changes everything.

I know the print is tiny, so if you want to actually see the story, you can grab a digital copy of the magazine here. Or, if you’re like me, you’re probably reading this on your phone or iPad, squinting and pinching the screen to make it bigger. Either way, I’m just so grateful to share this message of service with a new audience.

And of course, I always share everything exciting with you. You’ve been on this journey with me for almost fifteen years …. through family milestones, loss, leadership, and endless stories of goodness. So thank you for being part of this community, for showing up week after week, and for believing in this mission of service.

I often say I don’t have a therapist… I have you. You tell me how you feel, what you love (and sometimes what you don’t!), and you keep me honest, grounded, and true to my mission of helping the helpers. Together, we’ve built something extraordinary …. a community that believes kindness still matters.

So yes, maybe I’m a Back Cover Girl now and I’m pretty sure that won’t make my headstone:) …but more importantly, I’m still right where I’ve always wanted to be: sharing stories that inspire, celebrating those who serve, and reminding us all that the secret to living is giving.

CHARITY MATTERS.

 

YOUR REFERRAL IS THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT,  IF YOU ARE SO MOVED OR INSPIRED, WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO SHARE AND INSPIRE ANOTHER. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please connect with us:

Copyright © 2025 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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