Feel Good Friday - Ten Year Anniversary

Today we’re celebrating TEN YEARS of Feel Good Friday! 

I started this blog back in 2012 as a way to share weekly stories of people and organizations making a positive impact in their communities. Ten years later and I haven’t stopped because there are still many more stories to be told.

As I did in the five year anniversary post, I’m going to take a trip down memory lane and recap the most viewed story for each of the last five years, starting with 2018.

2018 - Sacramento Tree Foundation

Focused on building healthy, livable communities in the Sacramento region by growing the best urban forest possible. Sacramento Tree Foundation offers education, advice, training and support for people planting trees in the community.

http://www.heymissk.com/2018/11/feel-good-friday-sacramento-tree.html

2019 - La Clinica

A health clinic founded in California over 50 years ago, their mission is "to improve the quality of life of the diverse communities we serve by providing culturally appropriate, high quality, and accessible health care for all."

http://www.heymissk.com/2019/01/feel-good-friday-la-clinica.html

2020 - COVID-19

In March, 2020 when people in the U.S were first being asked to stay home for what we thought would be a few weeks, many zoos, theaters and museums made their content available online. Revisit this blog to see what adventures you can have from the comfort of your couch. The live jelly cam from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium is a favorite of mine.

http://www.heymissk.com/2020/03/feel-good-friday-covid-19-zoo-cams-and.html

2021 - Pay Away the Layaway

With a mission to “inspire hope and spread kindness” Pay Away the Layaway raises money year round. Volunteers then go to stores and use that money to pay off layaway balances for families during the holiday season.

http://www.heymissk.com/2021/12/feel-good-friday-pay-away-layaway.html

2022 - Volunteer Match

As the web’s largest volunteer engagement network, the mission of Volunteer Match is to make it easy for good people and good causes to connect. You’re a good person, why not connect with a good cause today?

http://www.heymissk.com/2022/01/feel-good-friday-volunteer-match.html

Whether you’re reading these stories for the first or second time, thank you for being a part of the Feel Good Friday community! Your comments, likes and shares make me feel good about telling these stories, so keep them coming. Stay in touch by following the blog at Hey Miss K or  connect with me on LinkedIn. 

Here’s to ten more years. See you next week!

Feel Good Friday - Pay Away the Layaway

The countdown to Christmas is on so in today’s Feel Good Friday, we’re going to highlight an organization that helps gets presents to children, Pay Away the Layaway. 

Founded in 2011 by Lee Karchawer, and headquartered in New York, the mission of Pay Away the Layaway is “to inspire hope and spread kindness.” They do this by raising money and using it to pay off layaway balances for families during the holiday season. 
 
Geared towards shoppers with lower incomes, layaway programs allow people to make a down payment on an item, which the store then holds for them while they pay the remainder of the price in installments. It is a popular way to make sure the item you want will be there for you when you finish paying for it.
 
Lee was inspired to create Pay Away the Layaway after seeing a news story about a donor who paid off $25,000 in layaway balances right before Christmas. This allowed people to collect the gifts they had on layaway for their children. Lee had just spent months putting effort in to winning a year’s supply of burritos and realized his ability to rally people around a cause could be put to better use. Watch him tell his story in this TedX link.
 
In their first year, Pay Away the Layaway raised just over $1,000 which Lee used to pay layaway balances for people at a K-Mart store in the Bronx. Since then, the organization has expanded across the United States and includes both major retailers like Walmart and Burlington Stores and also Army, Air Force and Navy Exchange stores. In a recent promotion with Good Morning America, Pay Away the Layaway raised $328,565 in the 3 days before Christmas!
 
You can watch videos at this link to see people’s reactions to having their balance paid, or click here to watch donor testimonials. If that inspires you to get involved you can become a Layaway Angel. When there is a payoff event in your city, you’ll arrive on-site and help greet families, deliver the surprise news, and help the partner store associates with day-of logistics. 
 
Other ways you can support Pay Away the Layaway are by making a donation and sharing their story on social media. Like their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter @PayAwayLayaway and Instagram @payawaythelayaway.