Channel Kindness

by Born This Way Foundation Reporters

  The most effective tool so far has been the app of the same name, which helps do exactly that—allow people to instantly share their stories of being harassed. They can post online, noting the specific place and time that the incident occurred. This helps warn nearby users and creates a network of people with similar experiences. Those being harassed can easily post their story, checking options from a list of harassment variations, including:

  Verbal abuse

  Sexual gestures

  Inappropriate touching

  Being followed

  Indecent exposure

  Homophobia

  Transphobia

  Racism

  Sizeism

  Colorism

  Ableism

  Other

  One recent post described a situation as follows:

  * * *

  There are these racist straight white couples incessantly harassing me. This one extremely racist woman would not leave. They were in a car at the bus stop. They were glaring at me and muttering things under their breath for like 25 minutes threatening me.

  * * *

  Emily May explains, “Sharing info on Hollaback! reduces trauma. People stop perceiving it as a horrible thing that happened to them personally.” Instead users can understand that the problem is societal. When a thirteen-year-old was harassed for being overweight and was also threatened with sexual taunts, she was able to tag her entry with hashtags like #MeToo, #ListenToWomen, and #EverydaySexismHasGotToStop.

  Emily is on a crusade. She recognizes that what is so insidious about street harassment, in particular, is that however innocuous a small comment like “Hello there, beautiful” might seem, for someone who has experienced sexual abuse, it can trigger a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, like “ripping a scab off.”

  Hollaback! has recently launched campaigns to curb online harassment, which has been an increasingly pervasive problem, especially in this current political climate, with extremist rhetoric and hate crimes sharply on the rise. Emily describes the disturbing trend of female leaders stepping back from having a visible, vocal online presence—all because of extreme online harassment.

  Action is needed, and Hollaback! offers guidance. After all, says Emily, “The Internet is just another form of public space,” and so applying bystander intervention online is just as effective as in the off-line world.

  For any young person who wants to become a member of this social movement against harassment, there are easy, tangible steps that can be taken. Bystander intervention classes are available, offered by Hollaback! and other community resource centers. Empowering yourself with knowledge as to what harassment looks like for different communities is important, as is the choice to reject the kind of behavior too often excused as normal that makes harassment acceptable in our society.

  Be brave for yourself and anyone you witness being bullied, berated, threatened, or harassed. The kindness component is basic. It’s all about giving a holla and having someone’s back and knowing someone else has yours.

  We all deserve to feel comfortable, safe, and welcome and in a world where that is not the reality for far too many people. Hollaback’s work is essential and I’m grateful to you for sharing it with us, Sofia. Maya, our executive director, has long boasted about her friend Emily, the movement she built, and the important work that they do, and I’m so glad that you explored it firsthand. To learn more about Emily’s mission to end harassment, please check out Hollaback!, and don’t forget that your voice matters—as a bystander, as a resource, and as a community member.

  34

  UGLY FOOD NEEDS LOVE

  ELYSE NOTARIANNI

  Entrepreneur magazine defines social entrepreneurship as being “driven not so much by profit as by societal needs that the entrepreneur has identified and is passionate about.” A wonderful example of a passion-driven social entrepreneur is Evan Lutz, the CEO of Hungry Harvest, a business he started in his dorm room at the University of Maryland in 2014 after having a radical idea. Evan had been grappling with how he could do something to solve the problem of food waste.

  Around 40 percent of all food in the United States goes to waste, and much of that happens before we even buy it. Grocery stores can be incredibly picky when accepting produce from farmers. If a food item does not look like it conventionally should—if it’s too big or too small, for example—then it could get thrown away.

  At the same time that Evan wanted to fight food waste, he also wanted to address another societal need, which was to provide more fresh produce to individuals living in communities without easy access to healthy foods. Such places are known as food deserts.

  His radical idea arose from a simple premise:

  What if, instead of throwing that unqualified food away, he sold it?

  In no time, Evan had set up a small farmers’ market–type table on campus and sold his first batch of imperfect produce. He soon used that momentum to create a full-fledged business with five hundred customers, which he increased to almost five thousand after making a deal with Robert Herjavec on the entrepreneur-focused television show Shark Tank in January 2016.

  Hungry Harvest sells rescued vegetables to subscribers in Washington, D.C.; Virginia; Maryland; Philadelphia; Southern New Jersey; and (soon) Miami. But don’t let the word rescued scare you. Rescued produce includes fresh fruits and vegetables that are perfectly fine to eat but would otherwise have been thrown away due to aesthetic imperfections or logistical inefficiencies. This could be for something as silly as not fitting into the right-size containers or being an incorrect quantity than what’s desired for wholesale purchases. All these exclusions fall under the heading of “ugly food.”

  Hungry Harvest customers have the option to receive weekly or biweekly mini, full, or super harvests of rescued product. Users can receive all-veggie, all-fruit, or all-organic orders, delivered right to their door. The most popular option is the Mini Standard Harvest (5 to 7.5 pounds of produce for between $15 and $17).

  Every week, the Hungry Harvest team sends an e-mail outlining the contents of each box and why the items were rejected—

  * * *

  Eggplant too small to sell in stores? The HH Team thinks they’re cute.

  Don’t like eggplant anyway? No problem!

  * * *

  Customers create “Love It” and “Never” lists to identify what they do and do not want to buy. And if the box isn’t enough, they can choose add-ons ranging from rescued avocados to baked goods and jams.

  This process not only reduces food waste; as a social entrepreneurship, Hungry Harvest finds ways to give back to the community—providing regular produce for food-insecure families and hosting subsidized farmers’ markets in neighborhoods without access to fresh food. They’ve joined with the Baltimore City Public Schools to create Produce in a SNAP—a partnership aimed at promoting healthy eating and fighting hunger in food-insecure neighborhoods.

  Evan and his team at Hungry Harvest believe in the model of doing well by doing good. Their business grows and prospers while they also address issues of concern in communities they are helping improve. As they grow as a company, they help others along the way.

  The practice of giving love to ugly food and buying rescued produce is being built on an idea whose time is ripe. It supports farmers who now have a chance to make up revenue that otherwise would have been lost. It decreases food waste and helps eliminate the problem of throwing away perfectly good food because of cosmetic issues. It lets families in need buy food at a lower cost. And, if nothing else, it saves you a trip to the grocery store.

  We can all do our own part to avoid food waste. As consumers, we have a responsibility to shop more consciously. It’s true, as they say, that every dollar you spend is a vote for the world you want to live in.

  What’s more, the choice to use your power as a consumer to create a kinder, healthier, less wasteful world is not a radical idea at all.

  Yet another wonderful reminder to not judge anything
or anyone based on how they look—fruits and vegetables included. I love Evan’s innovative approach to reducing waste, supporting food-insecure families and community programs, and infusing kindness into your grocery list. Hopefully soon, we’ll remove the word ugly from the way we talk about people, food, and our communities—I think you’re all cute, too! Check out Hungry Harvest, and if you’re experiencing food insecurity, please visit Feeding America.

  35

  LUPUSCHICK

  MARIA MONGIARDO

  The immune system has been described by experts as one of the most miraculous systems in the human body. Every day, through a vast and intricate communication network, its cellular army fights off a constant onslaught of the most vicious foreign invaders that would do us harm. Every now and then, however, the immune system misidentifies a part of itself as a foreign invader and overreacts—causing damage to the very organs and body it’s designed to protect. That overreaction is what happens in most autoimmune diseases.

  One activist in the study of autoimmune disease is Marisa Zeppieri—a journalist, blogger, and founder of the nonprofit LupusChick. Marisa runs her nonprofit, all while dealing with lupus herself.

  As a chronic autoimmune disease that causes your immune system to attack itself, lupus is usually brought on in response to a combination of factors, including hormones, genetics, and the environment. Some symptoms of lupus include fatigue, joint pain, fever, and a butterfly-like rash.

  LupusChick’s Facebook page is incredibly active, with more than thirty-nine thousand likes and with posts that have reached more than six hundred thousand people—on a monthly basis. Marisa provides advice, posts uplifting quotes, has given five college scholarships to lupus patients, and is a huge inspiration in the autoimmune community.

  Marisa’s daily reminders run the gamut, from #LoveYourself to #SpreadLupusAwareness. And she was most gracious in giving Channel Kindness an in-depth Q&A interview.

  Q: Can you talk about the acts of kindness you do every day?

  A: I believe kindness can be shown in a variety of ways, big and small. It starts with a caring and compassionate heart. I’ve always had the desire to help people, especially those who were struggling in some way. Whether it is helping an elderly person put heavy groceries in his car or rescuing a stray and finding it a loving home, putting yourself out there doesn’t require much and the reward is great—you’ve just made the world a better place in some small way and you loved on someone with no expectation.

  Q: With your diagnosis, do you have time for putting yourself out there?

  A: In my world of LupusChick, my acts of kindness typically revolve around spending time with men and women who are just diagnosed and frightened. Giving them a chance to talk about their fears and ask questions is so cathartic to them, and it brings me great joy to share the experiences I have had knowing they might be able to help someone. We also raise money to help patients—for someone needing money to afford prescription medication, helping a woman find shelter, raising money for a college scholarship program. These are a few examples; the kindest act is just being there. Time is such a precious commodity. To be willing to give up your free time to serve others and expect nothing in return can fill your heart with a joy that is almost unexplainable.

  Q: Why is being kind important to you?

  A: Doing things for others takes you out of your reality, if even for a moment. It causes you to focus less on yourself and your situation and gives you a glimpse into the life and/or situation of another person. Showing kindness can also be life-changing for someone—it may be the first time anyone has treated them in that manner.

  Q: What’s one act of kindness you performed that you believe has affected many people?

  A: I think creating LupusChick has been my “greatest” act of kindness in terms of reach. These are autoimmune patients, their caregivers, spouses, etc. We serve as a safe space for people to ask questions, share experiences, help one another, plus we provide resources, free giveaways and products that help patients, scholarships, and more. It is a great example to show others that … taking a leap of faith and creating something that can help someone can have a much greater effect on society than you ever imagined!

  Q: What are ways you suggest to people who want to perform acts of kindness?

  A: Volunteering is always a great way to show people kindness, help others, build relationships … the key is being willing to take time out of your day and be willing to give of yourself and expect nothing in return. Whether you take a meal over to someone who is sick, offer to babysit for a single parent who you know could use a break, or visit the elderly who are in a nursing home, the opportunities are endless. You can also look for a need that isn’t being met.

  Looking for an opportunity to fulfill a need that wasn’t being met, in fact, was what Marisa did with LupusChick years ago. Social media and blogging were just getting popular and, as she noted, “It was the perfect time to create a community of support and encouragement when most patients felt alone.”

  There are so many ways to be proactive when you have an autoimmune disease—including taking precautions to avoid triggering attacks and adopting nutrition plans that help minimize inflammation. Similarly, you can be proactive in pursuing ways to be kind to yourself and to others who are going through the same thing as you.

  This disease hits very, very close to home for my family—thank you for profiling Marisa and her work at LupusChick, Maria. LupusChick sounds incredible. Thank you for building a community for lupus patients, caregivers, and loved ones to ask questions, find resources, and connect with one another for support. I love how you said the kindest act is just being there, sitting next to someone, together on the good and bad days. I hope that we each find that, and I encourage you to learn more about chronic illness by checking out LupusChick. Be sure to also check out another organization near and dear to my family, the Lupus Research Alliance; I’m so proud of my father, who sits on the board!

  * * *

  LupusChick believes you should

  be creative, look past yourself, and keep your eyes open to occasions where you can pour into the life of another.

  * * *

  36

  GOGIRLGO!

  NICHOLAS MCCARDLE

  Ask anyone growing up in a community without privilege or much access to opportunity what it’s like to be raised without role models—when you don’t see anyone successful who even looks or sounds like you. Most will repeat the adage that it’s very hard to become something you can’t see as possible.

  This is as true of rural, impoverished communities as it is of marginalized communities in urban inner cities. Dr. Breanna Nolan, a pediatrician who graduated from the West Virginia University School of Medicine, had her first chance to plant seeds of possibilities for others when she returned to her hometown of Reader, West Virginia. There she implemented an after-school program at Short Line Elementary, the grade school she attended as a child.

  The program she created, GoGirlGo!, is an initiative of the Women’s Sports Foundation, an organization founded by tennis legend Billie Jean King. Dr. Nolan, a WVU Pediatric Residency Rural Scholar, first learned about this project through her research on various after-school programs she could implement in rural communities.

  She was impressed with the statistics supporting its success and liked that the program would be free to those who wished to participate. Designed to focus on girls ranging from ages five to thirteen, GoGirlGo! begins by making sure participants are engaged in thirty minutes of physical activity followed by an additional thirty minutes of health education. Some of these education topics include nutrition, body image, self-esteem, substance abuse, bullying, leadership, diversity, and dealing with difficult emotions. The curriculum is all-encompassing, covering all areas of health, including mental, social, emotional, and physical well-being.

  Nothing like that had ever been offered to Dr. Nolan as a little girl. But as a believer that brave new ideas can change live
s and improve entire communities, she championed the program—convinced it could make a difference.

  It is no secret that physical activity is a great way to deal with stress, anxiety, and depression. Adding to that principle, Dr. Nolan adapted a form of “walk-and-talk” therapy that combines physical activity with talk therapy, which has been shown to be highly effective. The approach helps promote positivity through the forward motion of walking. By merging exercise with a health education curriculum, Dr. Nolan was excited to create a positive and uplifting environment for her participants. In a safe, supportive environment, she was convinced young girls would be empowered to share their feelings and articulate their dreams and plans.

  “I want to give back to the community that gave so much to me as I grew up,” Dr. Nolan said. “I think that middle school can be a tough time full of transitions and changes, and I hope that the girls will use these lessons to help them cope and even thrive throughout this integral time of adolescence.”

  The project is intended to offer girls more opportunities for physical activity outside of competitive sports. Such opportunities were not readily available to Nolan when she was younger, and there were few safe places for children to walk and play outside. Girls may resist the more competitive component of physical activity and miss out on the fun—a pattern Nolan looks to replace. Hopefully an after-school program that encourages girls to have a wonderful time while being active with friends will be of benefit to everyone at school, in their families, and in the town.

  Tracy Mason, a teacher at Short Line Elementary, talked about how valuable an effective program could be. “I see girls in my class struggle every day with self-esteem,” she noted. “Some of the problems that they encounter are bullying and cliques. Another problem is socioeconomic status. Certain girls feel less than adequate because their opportunities may not be the same as others’.” This also applies to materialistic items. Can one after-school program make a difference?