Giving Back

How's everyone feeling on this first Friday of the school year? Exhausted? Cranky? Ready for a night of sleep without the alarm going off in the morning? We hear you.  But, imagine if this exhaustion and crankiness were the...

I am not a mom. Nor do I play one on TV. I did, however, write a book about one. Her name was Shelly Bridgewater, and I know you’d like her. Everyone did. She was only technically a mom...

During the school year, 22 million children receive free or reduced-priced meals through the National School Lunch Program. When school is out for summer, only 2.7 million children receive free or reduced-price meals. This gap of 1 in 8...

Updated March 14, 2021 Are you looking to channel your inner Marie Kondo? Take a quick look in your dresser: if your clothes are neatly folded and filed upright, you already know the answer. For whatever reason you are de-cluttering,...

Back to school was always such an exciting time when I was a kid–getting a new backpack, new school supplies, and always a new pair of gym shoes that were so shiny and white on that first day back. At...

On Monday, we celebrate the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There are several service activities planned in the area to commemorate Dr. King’s dream for racial and economic justice.  MLK Day Unity in the...

“Care. Love. Be outraged. Be devastated. Don’t just give up. The world needs good humans today.” This source of inspiration the day after the Las Vegas shootings came from an unexpected source: a post on The Ellen Show’s Instagram account....

Food is an important part of our family. We grow it. We enjoy making meals from scratch. We enjoy dinnertime, especially on the rare occasions we can all sit down together. Even in our toughest times, we made nutritious...

I’ll never forget the first time I gave my now 10-year-old son a bottle. He was nearly four months old and had been placed in our care by the Department of Human Services. Since his home environment had been so...

It’s that time of the year when Facebook news feeds are flooded with ’30 Days of Thanks’ countdowns, people announcing their RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness), and viral stories of strangers making a difference in the lives of others....