Top 4 Websites for Good News

It seems that lately, there really is nothing good reported on by the news. Even the exciting stuff is attached to  a political agenda or met with so much skepticism that there leaves almost no hope in what could be further achieved. 

To combat all of the despair, here are the CCE's top 5 sites for getting exciting and hopeful news:

1. GOOD Is
What It's All About: "GOOD is a global community of, by, and for pragmatic idealists working towards individual and collective progress."
Pros: Also marketed as a social networking site, GOOD IS connects you to ideas, articles, infographics, and people who might be overlooked by mainstream news channels. 

http://www.good.is/

2. Huffington Post: Good News
What It's All About:Blogs, articles, videos, pictures, etc. all on happy, uplifting news in the traditional Huffington Post style we all know and love.
Pros: This site delivers a healthy mix of great ideas and cute pictures to relieve you from the stress of reading the everyday news.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/good-news/

3. Good News Network 
What It's All About: "The mission is to provide a "Daily Done of News to Enthuse." The Good News Network® is a clearinghouse for the gathering and dissemination of positive compelling news stories from around the globe. Daily stories will confirm what we already believe: good news itself is not in short supple; the advertising of it is."
Pros: This site does an amazing job staying on top of the most recent great news that is out there. As a bonus, they are getting a new site!

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

4. Happy News
What It's All About: "Real news. Compelling stories. Always positive."
Pros: Graphically stimulating, they feature up-to-date news and a variety of sub topics that include Healthy Living and "Happy Products."

http://www.happynews.com/happyproducts.aspx

The 1001st Awesome Thing

There is a blog out there called 1000 Awesome Things (http://bit.ly/19P3lWJ). It's a neat site that offers 1,000 things that are just awesome. Some are simple such as #734: When the free bread they bring you at the restaurant is warm.; some are funny, like #886: High fiving babies; and some are personal, as pointed out in #438: Your almost name.

What is fun about this blog is how easily it points out that we can think of 1,000 things that are awesome in our everyday living. The rules are simple. Count to 1,000 and on each count recall a joyful memory and why it makes you happy.Odds are, by the time you get to the 1000th we are on such a roll that you could probably think of another 1000 without stopping.

Bu apart from being a fun game, there is something more to it. At the height of the blog's popularity, it's author, Neil Pasricha, presented at Ted Talks on the 3 A's of Awesome (http://bit.ly/11Z22iH) in which he reveals the 3 secrets to leading an awesome life (hint: all three secrets begin with "A").

Though the video gives us hope that we can all lead an awesome life, the real power of this blog comes from the fact that we are already leading awesome lives and what we are finding is that the awesome things happening to us are happening to other people who find them similarly just as awesome and to share that is remarkable.

So what does this mean as someone who wants to go out into the world as a Social Worker? Connection. We are connected, we have similar likes and dislikes, similar interests, and our senses are tickled in similar ways. Yes, yes, we are all different. But we are also alike. We sometimes forget this. We forget that what healed us may also heal another, that what lifted us to try our best may help someone else achieve their goals too. Knowing that another person finds wonderful the same things you do, even if it is just one thing, can do a world of good to how you feel. Think about that from the perspective of someone suffering.

I'd like to add my own 1001th awesome thing. #1001: Someone, who I have never met, talked to, or seen their Facebook profile, thinks something is as awesome as I think it is.

So, while we are on our own hunt to make our life more awesome with the three "A's" let's not discount strangers who may think it's awesome too.

8 Things To Look Forward To

Today marks the end of training week for our Puentes al Futuro (Bridges to the Future) Camp Counselors. This is the third year that the Center for Community Engagement and Eastern are hosting this camp and we are so excited to have these counselors with us! 

For the past four days, they have attended workshops on: working with middle school students, how to engage English Language Learners (ELL), and how to meet a child where he/she is at in his/her academic development and guide him/her towards an academic milestone. They have spent hours putting together enrichment and elective activities for the kids to play. Many an icebreaker has been played, and there has been much reminiscing about their own childhood camp memories. 

Puentes is unlike your typical camp. Specifically tailored to at-risk ELL youth, the focus is shared between providing academic support with giving a forum for the students to develop their individual identity though exploring their cultural heritage(s). The program also runs after school sessions during the school year which families can elect to enroll their children in. Thus, Puentes allows for the kids to build meaningful relationships with the Puentes staff. The Camp Counselors, all Eastern students, are given the opportunity to volunteer in the after school program during the academic year or re-apply as Camp Counselors during the summer. The kinds of positive change that occurs in the students, whether they participate in either the camp or the after school program is incredible to watch, let alone be a part of.

So, on their last day of training, we asked a few of the Counselors what they were most excited for. Here are their responses:

•   "As an alumna, I look forward to working with these students every summer. I can't wait to see their smiles!"

•   "I am looking forward to getting to know the students I'll be mentoring over the summer." -Bryan

•  "I am looking forward to the kids coming and learning new things."

•  "I am looking forward to a great and fun experience with the kids."

•  "I am excited to learn about the different cultural experiences that will happen over the summer."

•  "I hope to guide the students towards finding a passion that they really love and steer the students away from negative influences."

•   "Three days instead of two, and almost double the amount of kids that we had least year! Trained counselors ready to pour all their energy into making this camp a great experience for the kids in our community. I can't wait for the first day of camp! It is going to be great. I expect that the kids, counselors, and staff will have an unforgettable experience." -Rosie, Camp Director

•  "I'm excited to see young people from our community growing academically through our camp while learning and exploring  their own and their friends' cultural identities." -Luis, Assistant Director of the Center for Community Engagement

Be sure to check back for some upcoming posts about what everyone at the camp is up to!