Episode 14: Nancy Gonzalez - Founder, Mustard Seed Bags of Courage - Domestic Violence Awareness and Resources [Trigger Warning]

Episode 29 - Radioactive - Mental Health Matters - Host Donna Valente details her long absence from the airwaves, recounting physical illness that brought her thrice to the hospital emergency room in six months, and the last time landed her in the hospital for over a week. The deeply profound experience forced her to realize the importance of mental health and self-care. 

With the global pandemic, climate change, and extreme social unrest on many fronts compounding the already high stress levels of living in this world, it makes sense that our collective and personal mental health are affected, even if we don't want to admit it.

We have to learn how to take care of ourselves. So often we are so busy taking care of others that we put our own needs last, and eventually, even if it takes years, that neglect manifests. 

Please be kind to yourself and mindful of your loved ones. So many are suffering in silence and think they are alone in their pain. Every person you meet is dealing with hard stuff at some level because it's part of being human.

We must normalize therapy and prioritize mental health, and close the huge disparities in access to mental healthcare. Thankfully, online therapy services such as BetterHelp overcome some of the major barriers to accessing care--making it easy to find a  therapist that matches your needs; convenient to schedule sessions; eliminates the need for transportation to an office; and offers various means of communicating with your therapist and a host of helpful tools. BetterHelp even offers financial assistance.

Cost of care is still a huge barrier for many people. Even with some financial assistance, it may be out of reach for many.

Click here to receive a free week of therapy with BetterHelp.

If you or someone you know is in crisis:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255 or call 911

Text "NAMI" to 741741

National Alliance on Mental Illness. 800-950-NAMI(6264)  info@nami.org

Connect with Giving Heart Beat! 

givingheartbeat@gmail.com

@donnaleevalente on FB and IG

Use discount code SWEETD to get 20% off the coolest magically-soft handmade tie-dye clothing at PinkGemArt.com

Thanks for listening!! xoxo

Episode 28 - Interview with Amy Rivera - Founder of Ninjas Fighting Lymphedema Foundation, Advocate, Entrepreneur, Mom, Wife, soon-to-be-published Author. Amy was born with primary lymphedema that affected one side of her body, but doctors failed to identify the correct diagnosis until she was 31 years old and required surgery.

Despite being the target of relentless bullying, as a teen Amy entered and won a beauty contest, and went from being "the girl with the big leg" to "the beauty queen with the big leg." Not wanting her big leg to be the focus of her identity, for years Amy wore long skirts to hide it while working at her successful corporate career. After finally getting her diagnosis and learning that there was no cure, and that surgery was the only way to remove the toxic tissue in her leg, Amy vowed that if she were to wake up pain-free from surgery, she would devote her life to helping other people who are dealing with lymphedema and other lymphatic issues. She formed Ninjas Fighting Lymphedema Foundation to spread awareness, educate, advocate and support people living with lymphedema, including helping to defray the cost of essential compression garments. 

Amy's first book called "Drop The Skirt: How My Disability Became My Super Power" is coming out in July 2021, and she is currently writing her memoirs. And, Amy is training for fitness figure competitions! Go Amy Go!!

AmyRivera.com

winourfight.org

GivingHeartBeat@gmail.com

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Episode 27 - Interview with Priti Mehta - Managing Director Foundation Operations, Investors Bank. Priti talks about growing up the daughter of parents that immigrated to the United States from India, and learning the practice of SEVA - giving back, from their example. Priti lends her experience to a number of philanthropic endeavors, including the boards of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and Girls On The Run, and as a grants reviewer for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Quality of Life Grants Program. 

Shout out to County College of Morris (CCM) in Randolph, New Jersey for being the source of so much synergy and serendipity! Donna and Priti both graduated from CCM (many years apart), and it was through CCM's job board that Donna picked out Priti's resume 15 years ago and hired her at the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to help with the Quality of Life grants program after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Priti shares her insight on how COVID affected philanthropy. While food insecurity needs overwhelmingly increased, the COVID pandemic actually facilitated better trust-based communication between funders and grantees. Priti offers sage advice for donors and grant seekers on the importance of being transparent about your most critical needs and passions to find the best philanthropic match.

Priti talks about caregiving and the critical importance of adult day care to provide safe, fun, medically-supervised activities for adults, while providing respite for caregivers who can be assured that the needs of their loved ones are being met. COVID shut down adult day care centers in 2020, and hundreds of families are still coping with the effects of the isolation and depression resulting from this invaluable service being shuttered.

info@investorsfoundation.org

GivingHeartBeat@gmail.com

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Episode 26 - Interview with Lee Woodruff, Co-Founder of the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Author of 3 NY TIMES bestselling books, Speaker, Journalist, Communications Consultant, Advocate. The Bob Woodruff Foundation's mission is to assist injured service members and their families heal from the wounds of war. 

In 2006, Lee's husband Bob Woodruff, television journalist with ABC News, was imbedded with troops in Iraq when the tank they were driving in hit an IED - improvised explosive device - and Bob suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. While Bob was in a medically-induced coma for 38 days, Lee witnessed many severely injured soldiers that received excellent medical care but did not have the privilege of having family members close by for support. She vowed then that if her Bob recovered, she would do everything in her power to make things better for injured service members and their families.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation is a Guidestar 5-Star Charity, and celebrates 15 years of compassionate caring for wounded heroes and their families; raising and distributing over $70 million for innovative, evidence-based programming for wounded veterans and their families, including VIVA, a special program that helps provide funding for wounded veteran families to undergo fertility treatments. Responsive to the needs of veteran families, the Bob Woodruff Foundation traditionally has funded caregiver support, rehabilitation, and emotional support programs. As a result of the COVID pandemic, the most desperate issue now facing veterans and their families is food insecurity, so the Foundation's efforts are currently focused on addressing that critical need.

Please keep our heroes and their families in mind and support your local food pantries. Be kind. It costs nothing and can change the world. Look out for Stand Up For Heroes  information as the year unfolds!! 

Thanks for listening!

xoxo

www.BobWoodruffFoundation.org

givingheartbeat@gmail.com

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Episode 25 - Interview With Jane Elliott - Internationally Known Teacher, Lecturer, Diversity Trainer, and Recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education. Ms. Elliott recalls the origins of the "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise" that she conducted on April 5, 1968, the day after the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This exercise cast her in the national spotlight for educating her all-white students in Iowa about how it feels to be treated on the basis of a physical characteristic one is born with that can't be changed, and it also caused her to become an outcast in her community.  Combining a lesson she had already planned about Native Americans, she used the Sioux prayer "Oh great spirit, keep me from ever judging a man until I have walked in his moccasins" to help teach her students what it feels like to be treated as a person of color in this country. 

Ms. Elliott is considered a pioneer of diversity training. She has spoken at 350 universities  and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show five times.  She is listed on the timeline of 30 notable educators by textbook editor McGraw-Hill, amongst the likes of Confucius, Plato, Booker T. Washington, and Maria Montessori. On November 2016, Ms. Elliott's name was added to the BBC's annual list of 100 Women.

JaneElliott.com

jane@janeelliott.com

GivingHeartBeat@gmail.com

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Episode 24 - Interview with David Jacobsen, Psy.D. - Chief Executive Officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region (RMHC-CR), Albany, NY - The House That Love Built. Dr. Jacobsen is an experienced, mission-driven nonprofit leader. He focuses on implementing best-practice standards to develop self-sustaining, value-evident programs that serve communities one person and one family at a time. 

Ronald McDonald House Charities is an organization that draws on the compassion of the community to deliver and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and families. Prior to joining RMCH-CR, Dr. Jacobsen provided executive leadership to various nonprofit organizations serving children and youth, people with disabilities, immigrant and refugee populations, veterans, and families. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois, is an active volunteer within his faith community, and enjoys spending time with each of his six grown children.

Ronald McDonald House of Albany

David Jacobsen, Psy.D. - CEO

GivingHeartBeat@gmail.com

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Free Giving Heart Beat Facebook Group launching March 17, 2021!!

Next episode features interview with Jane Elliott!

Episode 23 - Interview with Hector Del Valle & Willis Washington: Co-Hosts of Living The Balanced Life, a video talk show that brings in experts from key areas of life to share their knowledge with the community. Hector and Willis are both disability advocates, having met at a national conference on independent living in Washington, DC over ten years ago. Living The Balanced Life is a program of L.I.F.T.  - Legacy Impact Foundation Team - which advocates for affordable accessible housing and provides information on community resources, particularly for people with disabilities.

Living The Balanced Life was started in 2020 in the midst of the COVID pandemic as a way to reach out and connect people who were isolated, particularly people with disabilities. Living The Balanced Life will resume in Spring 2021 with its much-anticipated second season to focus on going forward in all aspects of health: physical, mental, social, financial and spiritual.

Legacy Impact Foundation Team (L.I.F.T.) - www.liflives.org (website under construction as of 3/3/21 - will update once it goes live!

willis@liftlives.org.  mswhectordelvalle@gmail.com

Giving Heart Beat Facebook Group Coming Soon!

Donna Lee Valente  @DonnaLeeValente 

GivingHeartBeat@gmail.com

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Episode 22 - Interview with Heather Ehle, RN - Founder and CEO of Project Sanctuary. Project Sanctuary serves military and veteran families across the USA through therapeutic recreation and education at in-person family retreats, along with a holistic spectrum of services before, during and after. Project Sanctuary is one of the few organizations that addresses mental health for the entire military and veteran family, particularly the children.

Ehle first learned of the unmet needs of military families 14 years ago when she volunteered as a registered nurse at a free clinic in Colorado. After 9/11, she tried to find the organizations that were taking care of military families, and upon discovering there were none, she created Project Sanctuary in the beautiful outdoor recreation paradise of Colorado. 

Project Sanctuary's programs and services are guided by the families it serves to address what they identify are critical needs. Like other organizations serving military and veteran families, Project Sanctuary has a "no wrong door" policy, so they will help to find solutions to unmet needs.

ProjectSanctuary.US

GivingHeartBeat@gmail.com

On Facebook and LinkedIn Donna Lee Valente and Instagram @donnaleevalente

Giving Heart Beat private Facebook Group coming very soon! Reach out if you want in!

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THANKS FOR LISTENING .... AND READING!! XOXO

Episode 21 features an interview with Michael Bethune, Author, Speaker, Minister and Educator with over 25 years of leading and serving some of the most vulnerable populations through the nonprofit sector. He himself is a once-homeless military veteran, whose life's calling and purpose emerged from his own pain. [Trigger warning]

Michael Bethune's book Unto The Least of These - 12 Stages of Genuine Compassion, For Churches That Are Serious About Helping the Less Fortunate breaks down the true meaning of compassion that is so crucial in serving the most vulnerable in our communities who may be homeless and/or addicted and most certainly poor. Through Covenant House, for many years he worked with homeless youth  who had aged out of foster care and were ill-equipped to handle independent living and make up the second largest segment of people experiencing homelessness.

His second book 8 Steps to Getting Unstuck in Life - Lessons My Brother Taught Me After He Committed Suicide provides practical suggestions on how to get past difficult life challenges. Michael wrote the book as a way to deal with his grief and in the process created a useful tool for others.

Michael Bethune has a Facebook group The University of God's Grace & Mercy and just launched Repair the Breach Life Transformational Center which will present live weekly worship and educational sessions. He is available for presentations, workshops and consultations online.

Find out more at https://mikebethune.com/

michaelbethune@ymail.com

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Connect on Facebook at Donna Lee Valente, and on Instagram at  @donnaleevalente 

GivingHeartBeat@gmail.com

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Episode 20 - Caregiver Confidential - Solo provides a glimpse behind the Giving Heart Beat podcast microphone into the life of a caregiver entrepreneur, with a cautionary tale for caregivers. 

Host Donna Valente shares the journey of finding her way forward into an uncertain future, and describes a bit about caregiving for someone with late onset type one diabetes. 

The cautionary tale for caregivers is a heartfelt plea to take care of yourself. The safety instructions on airplanes are true: put your own mask on first and then assist others. 

Turn around the saying "Treat others how you wish to be treated" to "Treat yourself as you would treat others." Be as compassionate with yourself as you are to others! 

Check out the most awesome Nelia Hutt's podcast Giving Starts With You which is all about self-care.

Coming soon: Giving Heart Beat Facebook Group

E-Courses on nonprofit development and philanthropy!

@donnaleevalente

GivingHeartBeat@gmail.com

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