Peace out 2019! It’s been fun!
The year honestly started out slow. I wasn’t sure where The Good People Network was going to go. I put everything into making my 2018 goals of 50 Acts of Goodness and then I ended with… “now what?”
I swapped jobs and focused on my corporate career. I joined the board of a wonderful nonprofit, The Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank, volunteered many hours, and chaired my first big fundraising event. And, I got pregnant with my third child!
Somewhere in all of this focus on “other” life events, I kept hearing the calling of The Good People Network. I kept talking about it with friends and new opportunities kept coming up. This dream of encouraging small acts of kindness, volunteerism, philanthropy among my busy peers still persisted. I fully believe that we receive what we put out into the world and I want to see the ripple effects of good work done in society. Maybe that’s self-serving?
So, I didn’t do 50 Acts of Goodness this year – as a team, we ended with 40 Acts of Goodness and I can say I’m damn proud of that! My husband, David, and my sister-in-law, Emma, have been my sounding board and partners in crime in so many wonderful volunteer events this past year. And, hopefully soon they will also be founding members of our nonprofit board of directors.
Some stats:
⁃ We did 40 Acts of Goodness with so many friends and family alongside us.
⁃ We held 2 signature Good People Network events that brought out 41 people.
⁃ Packaged 18 lunches for the homeless, 22 Placement Bags for kids entering the foster care system, and 20 Goodness Bags to hand out to neighbors on the streets.
⁃ We partnered with 21 nonprofit organizations.
⁃ We met two local celebrities.
⁃ Set up a new website.
⁃ And, filed for non-profit status to make things a little more official.
The last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind of good activities. But it’s also been revitalizing! I feel a tad bit better about the world that we live in after spending a day with Good People who dedicate time to reduce the suffering of others and who live to spread kindness to all. I feel hopeful for the future of my children and society at large. And, I look forward to what goodness 2020 will bring!
Non-Profit Organizations that we worked with this past year:
Central Westmoreland Habitat for Humanity
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation
Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank
The Good People Network 