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We have a network of contributors from across the country who’ve been there, done that. Each week, we’ll share a tip or a best practice from them, something you can apply in your own community work.

Need a break from the news cycle?

Treat yourself to 30 minutes of programming that will uplift and inspire you—and also offer some practical advice for how to get out there and help your community. Consider downloading one of these podcasts:

The Kindness Podcast is a guaranteed mood boost. Host Nicole Phillips, who is based in Ohio, explores how kindness can be used to solve problems and help others. Listen to half-hour episodes every week produced by WOUB Public Media. In a recent episode, guest experts discuss how mindfulness and self compassion can help those who are recovering from addictions.

TED Radio Hour provides the same inspiration as a good TED Talk, but in a convenient audio format. The podcast explores big ideas, inventions, and creative problem solving. Co-produced by TED and NPR, the episodes are an hour long and come out weekly. A recent episode explores health and wellness and how everyone can access it.

People Helping People is a podcast designed to inspire greater social change in the business world. Host Adam Morris interviews small business owners who are using their organizations to make a difference. The conversations center around how to create social change and practical advice on entrepreneurship. Episodes range from a half hour to 45 minutes.

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is hosted by Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project. The podcast continues the goal of her book: to provide practical advice for how to create good habits and live a happier life. Episodes range from around half an hour for the regular weekly episodes, with shorter “Little Happier” episodes peppered in between.

READ MORE: 7 apps that make it easy to do good

We have a network of contributors from across the country who’ve been there, done that. Each week, we’ll share a tip or a best practice from them, something you can apply in your own community work.

Some of our most important history lessons are rooted in conflict and trauma. As we mark Black History Month, especially with the young folks in our lives, how can we acknowledge our past while helping to shape a hopeful future?

Historical empathy—understanding how people’s actions were shaped by what was happening in their world—can be a powerful way for us to examine the past and can be a powerful way for us to examine the past and imagine our own role in today's world.

For some tips on exercising our historical empathy, we look to examples from educators who have shared their stories with us. Here are a few ways we can specifically help young folks explore history in a more engaging way.

Highlight lesser-told stories. This is a great way to create more inclusive and empathetic learning environments. Educators like Dr. Khalid el-Hakim, founder of the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, regularly uncover artifacts of Black history that are not taught in school. He recently shared a historic letter he found written by three civil rights icons that reveals a key moment in Black history that helped pave the way for the U.S.’s first Black president.

Share stories of young people from history. The nonprofit Facing History and Ourselves has a lot of great resources for this. They’ve shared stories about student activists like Charles Mauldin, Lynda Blackmon Lowery, and Linda Brown, whose landmark case Brown v. Board of Education ended school segregation.

Pair history lessons with primary source readings and artifacts. Teachers across the country are using creativity and the arts to celebrate Black history in their classrooms. At Barrett Elementary School in Homestead, Pennsylvania, second grade teacher Ms. Bost is launching a school-wide “living museum.” With help from DonorsChoose.org, she hopes to raise funds to purchase items, such as musical instruments used in African traditional music. And if you’re lucky enough to catch the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, you can see firsthand some of the rare and stunning items Dr. el-Hakim has collected to enhance your understanding of America’s painful past.

Read more: How to use historical empathy to help students process the world today

We have a network of contributors from across the country who’ve been there, done that. Each week, we’ll share a tip or a best practice from them, something you can apply in your own community work.

If you live in a community where homelessness is ever-present or if you’ve ever traveled through one, you may have asked yourself what you can possibly do in the face of such a humanitarian crisis.

There are small, medium, and large ways to devote your time and resources: from helping the individual one-on-one, to donating to local nonprofits, all the way to participating in your local government.

1. Give socks. How can you address the immediate needs of people who are living unhoused? Ask them. Nita Lelyveld, the city beat columnist for the Los Angeles Times, did just that in her community. Lelyveld set out to connect with a few of the estimated 59,000 homeless people living in Los Angeles County. Through her conversations, she gained new insights into what items people should donate. “A lot of us have trouble with our teeth. We need aspirin,” Shannon Soole told Lelyveld. Other items in high demand: new socks, pet food, feminine hygiene products, and blankets.

2. Contact your local shelter. We’ve spoken with several nonprofits that provide housing and resources for people experiencing homelessness and asked what is the best way to help. Most recommended that donors ask first, because not every facility can handle an overflow of donations. Most shelters have Amazon wish lists, a sort of gift registry where you can simply purchase items the organization needs, and Amazon will ship it straight to them. Read on to find out what else nonprofits need.

3. Volunteer for your housing authority. Public housing programs across the country offer millions of people stability and security, especially in cities where affordable housing is scarce. But, like many public institutions, public housing agencies don’t always have the time, staff, or financial resources to tackle every need in their community. Writer Christian MilNeil put his planning and communications skills to work as a volunteer for the Portland Housing Authority in Maine. He wrote an essay for CityLab that talked about what propelled him to join and how he’s helped the city accomplish a long-term goal of opening up more low-income housing.

READ MORE: This organization helps keep seniors in their homes by providing free repairs

We have a network of contributors from across the country who’ve been there, done that. Each week, we’ll share a tip or a best practice from them, something you can apply in your own community work.

Looking for a high-impact community project—and a good excuse to get your hands dirty?

Launch a green space project in your neighborhood!

You can’t do it alone. You’ll need the support of your community to get started, but why not also learn from folks who’ve already built similar projects elsewhere? We look to the community resource nonprofit ioby for guidance. It put together this handy tip sheet that lays out three different ways you can build a green space in your community. Here’s an excerpt:

Idea No. 1: Plant a community garden. This is a classic green space project that has the potential to not only feed your neighbors, but it can also reduce heat buildup and air pollution. Ioby’s tip for getting started: Break it up! An ioby campaign in New York City wisely broke up the tasks of building a garden from scratch into chunks and phases, beginning with a small vertical tomato garden. A couple of years later, organizers established four gardens and raised over $3,500 on ioby to buy soil, seedlings, and gardening tools—and to pay their resident-gardeners a wage for their work.

Idea No. 2: Repurpose an existing lane into a bicycle and pedestrian path. National Street in Memphis is a former trolley line with a wide median that runs through the center of the city’s Heights neighborhood. While it had long been used simply as a thoroughfare for cars, residents could see the street’s potential as a community connector and green space for gathering. In 2017, they banded together to stage a pop-up demonstration of what National Street could look like if transformed into a 1.75-mile multi-use path and linear park, complete with planters, benches, solar lights, and a welcoming “Heights Line” banner. Their pilot project sparked a large public engagement campaign that is informing the design of the eventual, permanent transformation of the street.

Idea No. 3: Build a multipurpose community space. Avital Aboody had been working in San Diego’s Logan Heights neighborhood for several years when she started looking for vacant lots that could be repurposed into green space. After plenty of sleuthing, she located the owner of one particularly apt lot and found him receptive to the idea of opening it up for community use. She invited a local community development corporation and an architecture and design firm to help envision the revitalized space, including the construction of raised garden beds, a three-story treehouse, an amphitheater for performances, and an outdoor movie screen. When the time came to break ground, local students, artists, police officers, and even Navy volunteers came out to lend a hand!

Read more: How to start a car-free weekend street closure in your neighborhood

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

Storytelling is a powerful tool for action. And many of us are telling stories about Black lives—but with a major blind spot.

“Philanthropy often celebrates the stories of Black people, but only in a self-serving way that convinces donors that their plight can be overcome through grants and donations,” Carmen wrote in her essay for Living Cities. “This toxic practice relegates an already marginalized person to a box outlined by that single experience.”

Too often, stories centered around the Black community focus on a one-dimensional narrative absent of the joy, resilience, and progress they deserve to have recognized.

Carmen wrote about four ways that communicators can reflect Black joy when sharing stories related to the Black experience. We excerpted her essay below, but you can read the full version here.

1. Publish photos of Black people smiling—and celebrating—in confidence, in peace, and in joy.

Black people are humans, like anyone else, who experience a range of emotions beyond just sadness, seriousness, and anger. Digital storytelling in philanthropy and the public sector should embrace diverse images representing the range of emotions experienced by Black people, inclusive of happy and empowering emotions.

And, your stories should exhibit variations of Blackness in hair texture and styles, eye and skin colors, and abilities.

2. Incorporate positive statistics in economic development stories.

We get it. Racism has caused a deficit in Black wealth—and yet—the Black community has prevailed against all odds. Progress is a significant part of the Black narrative and is far too often omitted from stories of economic development centering Black people.

When talking about the Black economy, it is imperative to source stories of advancement to accompany the statistics that highlight the disparities Black people face. Philanthropists and the public sector communicators might emphasize how:

• Among Black students, Black women hold the largest share of associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in the United States.
• Black entrepreneurship is soaring and so are their profits.
• And how at least $7.4 million was spent with Black businesses through the 15-day national #MyBlackReceipt campaign, an initiative founded by a Black woman.

3. Support Black people in sharing their own stories.

Black voices are necessary. It is imperative that philanthropists and the public sector empower members of the Black community to narrate their own stories. For example, orgs might produce a video through the lens of the person. Black people are the experts of their own experiences. By providing a platform to elevate Black voices, Black storytelling is made more equitable and resonates with the audience in a more compelling way. To support a Black narrator, you can prompt them with a question like “What brought you joy this week?”

4. Encourage authenticity in stories.

Check your biases and times when you are attempting to censor a story to fit your organizational voice/brand/goal/intentions. It is common for a Black person to understand the necessity of code-switching when integrating in groups of non-Black people. There is an understanding that by acting less Black, white people are disarmed, thereby making the Black person “safer” to be around. This action can create/surface internalized ideals about Black people that white people come to subconsciously subscribe to.

While a holiday like Juneteenth (which was widely recognized by organizations and employers for the first time this year) inevitably highlights some of this country’s egregious mistakes, it is nicknamed “Jubilee Day” to center the resilience, aspirations, and joy of the Black experience. Just as there have been calls over the last few decades to recognize Black history and futures beyond Black History Month in February, Juneteenth 2020 has brought awareness to bringing humanity into these stories and uplifting Blackness.

READ MORE: Here's an all-ages reading list of memoirs by Black authors

We have a network of contributors from across the country who've been there, done that. Each week, we'll share a tip or a best practice from them, something you can apply in your own community work.

Discussing complicated issues that affect our communities is a critical part of a healthy democracy. But it can be difficult to broach some of the most important topics—such as how we educate our children or how we access healthcare—turning productive dialogue into a screaming fight.

These resources, compiled by Facing History and Ourselves, can help people of all ages foster healthy conversations:

Guides | How Do We Talk about Issues that Matter and Fostering Civil Discourse

Engaging in civil discourse means bringing your mind, heart, and conscience to reflective conversations on topics that matter; it does not mean prioritizing comfort. As political discourse becomes more polarizing, use our guide to foster rich dialogue in your community.

Tools | Better Arguments Project

“American civic life doesn’t need fewer arguments; it needs better arguments,” says The Better Arguments Project. This national initiative—a partnership of the Aspen Institute, Allstate, and Facing History and Ourselves—is designed to help Americans discuss issues that matter. Register here for a free training with the Better Arguments team. The virtual sessions take place Oct. 21, Nov. 18, or Dec. 9. 

Webinar | Election 2020: Teaching in Unpredictable Times

In a time of multiple and overlapping crises—the COVID-19 pandemic, a national reckoning on race and injustice, political polarization, and threats to voting rights and access—teaching the presidential election is challenging. This webinar will explore approaches that build students’ civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Lesson plan | News Article Analysis

Our current times have made it more difficult than ever to differentiate news, feature, and opinion. Use our teaching strategy to help students grasp these differences and think more critically about the information they encounter.

Resource | Emoji Emotions

As much as adults may decry our children’s use of emoji, they offer people young and old a chance to express their feelings in today’s digital environment. In this resource, we explain how to leverage emoji for emotional processing in the virtual classroom.

Have a suggestion to add to this list? Email the editor at: margaret@TheRenewalProject.com.

We have a network of contributors from across the country who've been there, done that. Each week, we'll share a tip or a best practice from them, something you can apply in your own community work.

Personal time is precious, and there's rarely any left over to dedicate to giving back.

Turn a personal passion into a mission for good.

Urban gardener Tim Rinne transformed his own home into a neighborhood project. After 20 years of maintaining a conventional lawn on his corner lot in Lincoln, Nebraska, Rinne dug it all up and planted an “edible landscape.” One by one, his neighbors followed suit, and now the Hawley Hamlet neighborhood garden is a model for homeowners who want to reduce their carbon footprint while providing fresh, high-quality produce for their families and neighbors.

How do you inspire your neighbors to join in? “The best thing you can possibly do to promote the idea of gardening in your block is to show what can be done on your own property,” Rinne says. “Modeling edible landscaping in your yard will give your neighbors something to ponder—and an opportunity to ask questions. And, trust me, people will have them, because very few of us nowadays have any experience whatsoever at food-growing.”

Your new garden has an added bonus: “It turns out that there’s nothing like food to start building community,” Rinne says. “Unlike when you’re pushing around a noisy lawn mower and are pretty much unapproachable, being down on your knees planting, watering, and weeding is a magnet for conversation.”

What’s your passion project? Share with us how it’s making a difference in your community: margaret@therenewalproject.com. Your story could be featured in a future Renewal 365.

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

COVID-19 has intensified America’s racial divide, affecting communities of color disproportionately, from health to financial stability. Black business owners are also feeling the effects from the crisis. One study from the New York Fed observed that they shut down at twice the rate as businesses operated by white owners.

The National Bureau of Economic Research uncovered similar findings: From February to April 2020, the number of active business owners in the U.S. dropped at a record rate of 22%, or 3.3 million businesses. Black- and immigrant-owned businesses were hit especially hard, dropping 41% and 36%, respectively. These figures represent the largest drop on record over a two-month period, and losses were felt across nearly all industries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted everything from how we do business to how we send our kids to school.

But even as the country hunkers down, there’s been a spike in civic participation surrounding the fight against racial injustice, following several tragic killings of Black men and women at the hands of police. Centuries of systemic racism have come to bear in a national conversation about race and equity. Americans are protesting injustice in the streets, talking about diversity and inclusion at work, and donating to Black Lives Matter and civil rights organizations in record amounts.

One way consumers are voicing their support for Black communities is by supporting Black-owned businesses. Doing so not only helps support those most severely affected by the pandemic, but it also presents a tremendous opportunity for the economy as a whole.

Research from the Center for Global Policy Solutions has shown how much we stand to gain when we support entrepreneurs of color. It found that if the number of firms owned by people of color were proportional to their distribution in the labor force, these firms would add about “9 million jobs and about $300 billion in workers’ income to the U.S. economy.”

For our own part, there are many ways we can contribute to an inclusive economy. Here are just a few:

• Look for the “Black-owned business” label on business profiles in Google. The search engine also offers women-led and veteran-led labels for owners to self-identify.
• Browse a curated Black business database, like this one from Five Fifths, which features Black-owned Amazon and Etsy brands.
• Download an app, such as EatOkra and Black Wallet to find Black-owned businesses and services, such as restaurants, salons, and daycares, near you.
• Shop Black-owned food products online. The Food Network put together this list of food and wine companies started by Black entrepreneurs.
• Invest in entrepreneurs of color. Donate to grant-making organizations and accelerators, such as Camelback Ventures or City Startup Labs, that invest in entrepreneurs.
• Subscribe to newsletters like The Plug, which features stories about Black founders and the Black innovation economy.
• Educate yourself on ways to reach out to Congress to advocate for Black-owned businesses. This petition, for example, calls on Congress to take specific measures to protect Black business owners.

Have a suggestion to add to this list? Email me at: Margaret@TheRenewalProject.com.

For the new workforce, words are not enough.

As protestors young and old take to the streets, raising their voices in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, businesses are weighing how and when to step in. Forward-looking organizations and the leaders within them have an opportunity to create real change, both within the company and within the broader community.

That’s the message from a bevvy of recent research that examines the views of a significant portion of the workforce—Millennials and Gen Z. These young people are looking to the organizations they’re a part of to reflect their values and make a difference. They are prepared to take a stand; they expect the organizations they belong to—their colleges and employers—to do the same.

A recent Business Insider survey of college students, ages 18-32, revealed how college students think their universities should engage in the Black Lives Matter movement. Fifty-nine percent said if their school remained silent about issues of racial inequality, it would impact their perception of the school. Even more students, 72%, expect their schools to address these issues.

Once these students graduate, they’ll also expect their future employer to speak up. Workplace social network app Fishbowl surveyed more than 16,000 employees from across the country in June 2020 and found that 69% expect their employer to publicly speak out about the Black Lives Matter movement—and that number was even higher for people working in human resources, tech, and marketing.

While that survey focused on working professionals broadly, it’s no secret that younger workers prioritize diversity in the workplace.

In a recent Monster survey, 83% of Gen Z candidates indicated that an organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is important when they’re choosing an employer.

A 2018 survey from Deloitte found that two-thirds of Millennial and Gen Z employees believe that business leaders are not committed to building an inclusive culture at their organizations and, instead, are simply paying lip service to key issues of diversity and inclusion. For the young employees who do see their senior management teams as diverse, 69% also believe their working environments are motivating.

Organizations wanting to support the Black Lives Matter movement can take several steps beyond just making a statement, including offering time off for employees to participate in demonstrations and reviewing the firm’s official policies surrounding racism. And for organizations looking to boost their diversity and inclusion bonafides, focusing on data and taking the pulse of your workforce can help you get started.

READ MORE: For the first time, America may have an anti-racist majority

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

The COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented and tumultuous, and our emotions are following suit. Many people are understandably struggling with mental health. We're feeling sad, stressed, and helpless in trying to fix the situation. How can we feel better?

We spoke with Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, and an expert on human happiness. In her research, she looks at the power of behaviors that increase happiness, like performing random acts of kindness or expressing gratitude. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation with professor Lyubomirsky.

Hi Sonja, as a happiness expert, what would you recommend for people to do to maintain their happiness levels?

I really think that feeling connected is the key to happiness and is what makes life worth living. It’s very important for us to stay connected. The truth is that people are really doing that. We have some new data that we’re about to submit for publication that shows that people have not shown as big a drop in the sense of connection as we would expect, given the circumstances. People are connecting over video, calling much more. They’re reconnecting with old friends.

Human beings have a need to belong, so we really need to satisfy that sense of feeling like we belong and we can connect to others. Anything that helps us strengthen and maintain our relationships and the sense of connection is really important.

There are behaviors that are scientifically proven to increase happiness, like performing random acts of kindness and expressing gratitude. Is there a reduced effect when these things are done over digital channels?

That’s a really good question. My lab has actually been interested in that question for a while, which is very relevant now: The differences between face-to-face versus digital kinds of interactions. So we actually have done a couple of studies already, and basically, the data would say the bottom line is yes, it’s better to have face-to-face conversations, which is not surprising.

Human beings are hardwired to interact face-to-face and to read all those cues. Many people find that Zoom meetings are a lot more exhausting than face-to-face meetings. There’s something about your brain having to read all those cues and just put more effort into paying attention, because it’s over a screen. My general take-home message is that digital interactions are impoverished, relative to face-to-face interactions, but they’re still rewarding. They’re still beneficial, so we should still do them.

How can people practice gratitude when so many upsetting things are happening?

There’s research on people who have cancer, for example, and how do they practice gratitude—it’s difficult. When an adverse event happens, it’s really hard to describe it, and you have to spend all your mental energy just processing it. It’s OK to feel really terrible, despondent, or anxious. Usually, gratitude comes a little later when you can see the big picture.

Right now, unfortunately, the big picture is really bad. It’s almost the opposite from standard bad events, and people might feel worse when they look at the big picture now. But just do it in little pieces. You focus on the little things. A lot of gratitude exercises are about focusing on the little things as you get through your day.

At my lab, we have a thing where each week, we go around and share something positive from last week that happened. One of my students said, “I got these leggings with pockets. There’s not a lot of things that I’m happy about right now, but I got these leggings with pockets that I really like and they were really cheap.”

Do whatever you can to focus on the little things, and that gets you through the day.

READ MORE: How to embrace kindness and gratitude in the time of COVID-19

Meet five of the 15 finalists for the 2020 Renewal Awards—we are sharing their profiles over the coming weeks. Five winners from this group will receive $40,000 each from The Atlantic and Allstate.

College to Congress: For budding civic leaders, earning a coveted congressional internship on Capitol Hill is the summer job of a lifetime. But most college students don’t have the right connections, much less the funds to be able to live in such an expensive city on an intern’s wage, to even dream of such a position. Enter College to Congress, a D.C.-based nonprofit that provides an opportunity for high-achieving students who otherwise would not be able to accept such an internship. Founded in 2016 by Audrey Henson, a former intern herself, College to Congress is helping to create a more inclusive government by providing financial support to cover an intern’s transportation, housing, meals, first professional wardrobe, and various needs while living and working in Washington, D.C. Donate to College to Congress here. 
 

Hello Neighbor: Establishing connections when you join a new community is important, but it’s especially important for refugees. Pittsburgh nonprofit Hello Neighbor works to build and foster those connections between recently resettled refugee families and volunteers who serve as both a friend and a guide, helping them adjust to their new lives. Founded by Sloane Davidson, the nonprofit offers connections between mentees and mentors, as well as help finding jobs and housing, and even assistance signing children up for school. Donate to Hello Neighbor here. 
 

Creative Reaction Lab: Based out of St. Louis, this nonprofit works with Black and Latinx youth and encourages them to develop new ideas and design new ways to bring equity to their community. Born in the wake of Ferguson in 2014, Antoinette Carroll saw firsthand the need for a movement that would address the effects of the racial divide within the community. She started Creative Reaction Lab to promote cultural healing, safety, and collective mobilization. Donate to Creative Reaction Lab here. 
 

Huntsville Community Drumline: Teach kids how to drum and you teach them how to thrive. That’s the ethos behind Huntsville Community Drumline. The Alabama nonprofit was founded in 2010 by Angela Walker, a retired school teacher who had previously volunteered as a drumline instructor at her church. For her, drums had always been a tool with the potential to teach lifelong skills. Huntsville Community Drumline provides instruments, lessons, and even transportation for kids in the community. Donate to Huntsville Community Drumline here.
 

Magpies & Peacocks: Based in Houston, Magpies & Peacocks works with local students, up-and-coming designers, and artists to create unique, curated up-cycled collections. The money raised from the sale of their collections supports the organization's programs and community grassroots causes. Sarah-Jayne Smith founded Magpies & Peacocks in 2011 after moving from London to Houston and observing the culture shift surrounding consumption and waste in the United States. Sara-Jayne implements sustainable practices in her own work as a designer and provides mentorship and support for emerging designers. Donate to Magpies & Peacocks here.

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

For so many community organizations, there's no pause in service. In fact, quite the opposite. How do you safely organize a volunteer corps right now?

Eric Burger of VolunteerHub, a volunteer management software company, says many organizations that are providing support during the pandemic are facing volunteer shortages—on top of the immense challenges of adapting to life in a crisis. It can be hard to know where to start, which is why we found his tips to be a helpful guide. Here’s what he says:

1. Streamline your recruitment process.

Your organization needs to make it easy for volunteers to identify and register for opportunities. Currently, many organizations are experiencing a volunteer shortage. Your nonprofit can mitigate a shortage by optimizing the registration process for volunteers and sharing your list of opportunities across multiple channels (email, social, website, paid advertising).

Has your organization considered allowing volunteers to self-register? Organizing and streamlining your recruitment and registration process will allow your nonprofit to quickly track opportunity enrollment and identify major areas of need.

2. Make safety the main priority.

Responding to COVID-19 is challenging nonprofits to put safety protocols into place to protect staff, volunteers, and clients. Is your organization making safety a priority when planning and executing your program’s response to this pandemic? The measures that your nonprofit puts into place should go beyond normal safety best practices and include social distancing. Here are some additional steps your organization can take to protect your team:

• Limit the volunteer opportunities your organization is filling to essentials only.
• Send home volunteers or staff who are sick.
• Require volunteers and staff to wash hands for at least 20 seconds (before, during, and after shifts).
• Provide volunteers and staff with essentials and resources (hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes).
• Be mindful of volunteers and staff in high-risk categories (seniors, people with pre-existing conditions).
• Offer virtual volunteer opportunities, activities people can complete online from the safety of their homes.

Communicating often and effectively is crucial during the pandemic. Your nonprofit should be transparent and provide supporters with information about how your organization is responding, the safety protocols you have put into place, and opportunities for community support (fundraising, volunteerism). Being transparent with internal and external stakeholders during times of uncertainty is one way that your organization can build trust and keep up momentum.

4. Provide support to volunteer managers.

Keep in mind that this is a stressful time for volunteer managers trying to navigate how their programs can respond quickly, efficiently, and effectively to the pandemic. Your organization’s volunteer manager (and all staff) are also human and may be concerned about their own safety during this time of crisis. It is important for nonprofits to realize that this is an emotional time for everyone, and we all need support to get through it. Make sure that your organization is providing support, tools, and resources to volunteer managers. Providing resources for volunteer managers can help alleviate their stress and concerns and improve program response rate.

READ MORE: How to organize volunteers during the pandemic

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

We are all experiencing disruptions to some of the most important communities and relationships in our lives-friends, classrooms, teachers, teams, coaches, churches, extended families-the people we trust the most. The people we count on to help us get to the other side of this crisis and build resilience for whatever the future may hold.

So what can we do about this?

We can make our homes and eventually our schools places that inoculate us and our children against the intolerable stress of the scary, uncertain world we now live in. How? Turnaround for Children put together this guide, which focuses on the Three Rs: relationships, routines, and resilience.

Relationships

Let’s start with ideas for strengthening and maintaining relationships at home. Relationships are the “active ingredient” in any environment—classrooms included—because they boost oxytocin—the love/trust hormone—and activate the learning centers of the brain. In fact, trust is the antidote to stress, and relationships are the medium through which we experience trust.

• Exercise together for at least 30 min. a day—running, walking, dancing. Rhythmic activities calm the brain.
• Schedule one-on-one conversations with teachers, coaches, and advisory groups so children stay connected.
• Prepare meals together where kids help choose the menu or even do the cooking.
• Call relatives, friends, and neighbors who may be alone—helping others promotes the release of neurochemicals that boost the immune system.

Routines

Routines are something we have some control over in this uncertain time and can make our home environments feel safer and calmer. Our brains are prediction machines that like order and knowing what is coming next. When our environments are orderly, the brain is calmer and able to learn.

• Build a daily schedule with your kids that includes regular time for lessons, reading, movement, journaling, healthy meals, and room for hanging out together.
• Make or hang a visible chart or calendar with schedules and lists of successes to celebrate.
• Plan activities to look forward to, such as playing cards, Twister, or music, maybe over Zoom with a classmate.

Resilience

Building resilience is likely the most important task we have for ourselves and our kids. You might think that resilience is something you have or you don’t, but it can be built up just like a muscle. It starts with knowing the strengths we already have from our life experiences and bolstering the skills and mindsets we possess to regulate our emotions, our actions, our behavior. We can do this through co-regulation in activities with others. Think of soothing a crying child, running or walking side-by-side, or coaching a teenager to prepare for a test.

• Choose and practice healthy habits, including a well-balanced diet, at least eight hours of sleep, and regular exercise.
• Limit exposure to media—and use the time to call a friend or relative.
• Try meditation, mindfulness practices, or dancing, walking, or throwing a ball to a repetitive beat.
• Express confidence to children that this crisis will end, knowing that we must work at managing ourselves and our fears and frustrations every single day.

READ MORE: Turnaround for Children’s full guide to the Three Rs

We have a network of contributors from across the country who've been there, done that. Each week, we'll share a tip or a best practice from them, something you can apply in your own community work.

You have an idea for a business that will fill a need for consumers, plus you want to change the world. Where do you start?

Our friends at Causeartist commissioned a fellow social entrepreneur, Maxime Dücker, to share wisdom from her extensive network. Below is a snippet from the dozens of entrepreneurs who she’s spoken with who have all shared their best advice for launching a social venture that will change the world. Read Maxime's full story here. 

“Stay true to your core mission and values—even when it’s costly, even when it’s disruptive, even when it’s the longer, slower road. We practice radical transparency, which means being honest, even when it’s difficult.” — Mark Abrials, co-founder of Avocado Green Mattress

“Having an ‘accountability partner’ can be so helpful. This is someone you talk to regularly to help move your business forward. Rather than a mentor or coach, this is a peer (perhaps another entrepreneur) who is tackling similar challenges.” — Marianna Sachse, founder of Jackalo

“If you have an idea, make an imperfect startup plan, and then get out and test it. You won’t know if it works until you try. In my experience, many skilled and experienced people out there are willing to help and give advice, so don’t be shy to reach out to people, even those you might think are too important or out of reach.” — Julie Weig, co-founder of Ruby Cup

“COLLABORATE!!!!! I cannot tell you how important it is to share information, share experiences, share opportunities, and people will want to do the same with you. It is hard when you are trying to do everything on your own. Help others out wherever you can. Support businesses in your area and get involved in community events.” — Sarah Freeman, founder of The Clothes Library

“Listen to criticism but learn from it and move on.” — Megan Shepherd, founder of Lovesay and Mo

“Define your values from the beginning, and make them public. When you’re starting out, nearly everything you do is behind closed doors with little scrutiny. It’ll be up to you to make the right choices, and it makes it easier when your fans know your intentions and are able to call you out if you don’t.” — Andrew Gibbs-Dabney, founder of LIVSN Designs

READ MORE: 14 social entrepreneurs on how to recover from failure

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

Data privacy is a black box for many people—you know it exists but what it entails is both mysterious and complicated. But with more and more of our time being spent online due to restrictions related to COVID-19, it’s important to know how to protect yourself.

“We’re living through this era now where our digital assets, which is our very personal, private information, has become the most valuable asset—even more than our house and car,” says Shatabdi Basu, senior vice president of Marketing at Allstate Identity Protection. “If you think about it from that perspective, most people find it difficult to wrap their head around how to manage it effectively.”

We spoke with Shatabdi recently to learn ways people can boost their digital security. She also offers advice to small businesses and nonprofits on how to stay secure and thrive, especially in this moment when digital services are so crucial. Below, we’ve excerpted takeaways from our conversation, but you can read the full version here.

Takeaway No. 1: Think beyond just credit monitoring.

“[A] common mistake that people make is they think of identity protection and privacy protection with tunnel vision, focusing just on credit monitoring and financial security. But an identity breach can expose you to a bigger spectrum of danger,” Shatabdi told us. “Think beyond free credit monitoring, because it doesn’t monitor you the way a full-fledged identity protection product does.”

Shatabdi says it’s worth investing in an identity protection service: “In this day and age where we have a car alarm, we have a house alarm, but we don’t think about an alarm for our online security. Our digital asset is probably now the most valuable asset that we have and hold, so secure it.”

Takeaway No. 2: Adopt best practices such as two-factor authentication.

Shatabdi offers three easy ways you can protect your identity right now. First is activating two-factor identification or biometric authentication on your accounts. This way, you’ll get an alert on a device like your phone every time you—or a hacker—signs into your account.

Second, create separate passwords for each account, and even create separate email accounts to separate your critical accounts, such as banks and other financial institutions, from less serious ones like shopping rewards programs.

And third, check your social media privacy settings “to make sure you’re not giving access to folks who shouldn’t be viewing things that you’re posting.”

Takeaway No. 3: Talk to loved ones—young and old—to ensure they’re using these best practices themselves.

Of course we want to talk to our kids about online safety. But don’t forget to consider our older loved ones who may be navigating new platforms online. Make sure that our parents and grandparents are using all the best practices mentioned above.

“The additional risk that we have with the elderly that we don’t have with children is that kids are at least not doing financial transactions,” Shatabdi says. “I think that exposes the elderly to an additional risk.”

Takeaway No. 4: Small businesses and nonprofits must consider additional layers of protection.

There are a few things that small organizations should keep in mind, says Shatabdi. “First, don’t store clients’ private information unless you absolutely need to, because you’re exposing yourself to liability. Second would be to not share your own, your employees’, or your customers’ private information, like a social security number, over emails. That’s a big no-no.”

And, if possible, she recommends investing in cybersecurity training for the entire staff.

All of these steps will ensure customers and employees remain secure. For nonprofits, who may be working with a more vulnerable population, it’s even more vital to be able to protect themselves and the people they serve.

Read more: Protecting your privacy when donating online

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community. This week, we're sharing a resource that could help keep someone you love safe.

During a global health crisis, when public places like schools and businesses close, domestic violence survivors have few places to escape to. The social isolation and additional financial stressors can create opportunities for abusive partners or other perpetrators of violence to take advantage of their victims, including:

• Withholding necessary items, such as hand sanitizer or disinfectants that are essential during the coronavirus outbreak.
• Sharing misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic to control or frighten survivors or to prevent them from seeking appropriate medical attention if they have symptoms.
• Withholding insurance cards, threatening to cancel insurance, or preventing survivors from seeking medical attention if they need it.
• Using social distancing or shelter-in-place orders to justify an escalation of their isolation tactics.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing any of these signs, here are some steps to help:

• Create a safety plan that will help during this stressful time. A safety plan is a personalized, practical plan that includes ways to remain safe while in a relationship, planning to leave, or after you leave. Safety planning involves how to cope with emotions, tell friends and family about the abuse, take legal action, and more. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can help survivors walk through a potential safety plan.
• Practice self-care.Life during this pandemic is already stressful; this additional anxiety can be overwhelming. Be gentle on yourself and pay attention to your health and wellness needs. Rest if you need to, eat regular meals, and find activities that give you joy, such as reading, meditating, or baking.
• Reach out for help. It’s important to stay connected with family and friends, even if it’s online or on the phone.
• Be an ally. Check in on neighbors and friends who may not have access to their regular network of allies. If you see something or suspect someone is experiencing abuse, say something. Make a difference.

Please share this information with anyone you think may be at risk.

Remember that you are not alone. There is always support available, including during this health crisis.

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

Among the voting age population in the United States, the younger you are, the less likely you are to vote. How do we ensure that first-time voters–especially those who have just turned 18–are empowered to take one of the most important steps in civic engagement?

One place to start is by applying the principles of design. 

“Could design—a practice that allows us to navigate ambiguity, learn from others, give form to ideas, experiment, and learn along the way—help first-time voters find agency in a system that frankly, was feeling more and more out of control?” said Lisa Kay Solomon, a Designer in Residence at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University.

Solomon and a team of educators and designers at Stanford sought to find out, and so they launched Vote by Design in 2019.

Here are two takeaways from a recent Vote by Design digital event, where Solomon led a dozen Gen Z potential voters through the design process, with the goal of inspiring them to vote in this year's election.

1. Start by reframing the problem.

Based on low young-voter turnout, you could conclude that young voters are apathetic—that they don’t care. But Solomon says that’s not necessarily the case.

“Young voters care a lot, but they are confused,” said Solomon. “They haven’t had the practice to think about themselves as voters, which, turns out, is a very different mindset than thinking of themselves as students.”

Many first-time voters approach an election thinking they need to know everything about the policies they care about. They feel unqualified.

To invite students to think like a voter, ask them what makes a great leader. Ask them what kinds of leaders they want to represent them. Solomon said it will help give voters the ability to look more holistically about who it is they’re voting for.

“Students see themselves as active participants,” she said. “They can actually be proactive in either asking different questions or understanding what it is they need to be focused on in order to participate.”

2. Take the time to define what you’re trying to solve for.

Here’s a powerful exercise for first-time and long-time voters alike: act like a hiring manager. Start by reviewing the president’s job description, as laid out in the U.S. Constitution.

By defining the very core role of the job, less experienced voters will recognize that they too have opinions on who should be “hired” for the job of president. Some of the responses from the teens at the event, when asked what qualities they would like to see in a president, included: empathy, resilience, flexibility and adaptability, and someone who is a strong communicator.

“We’re infusing their sense of growth, of being able to voice their opinions,” said Solomon. “It’s been extraordinary what we’ve heard [from students]. We hear them say: I used to think I was unqualified [to vote], and now I think about how to go forward.”

There are many more lessons and reasons to feel inspired by Generation Z. Find them by watching this video of Lisa Kay Solomon and Citizen Film co-founder Sam Ball sharing their insights at a recent event hosted by the Commonwealth Club.

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

End of year is a time to reflect and take stock, but also to look forward to a new year full of potential. It’s not too early to plan a resolution or two. Why not resolve to talk more with those with whom you disagree?

The Better Arguments Project offers several resources to help you get started, including this guide to the principles of a better argument, workbooks that can be used in the classroom or the boardroom, and even step-by-step instructions for hosting your own virtual dinner where guests are invited to debate each other.

Finally, you can register for one of these free trainings:

• Jan. 27 at 3 p.m. ET
• Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. ET
• March 24 at 3 p.m. ET

In these free training sessions, attendees will learn in detail the principles of a better argument and how to put them into practice in their daily lives. The idea isn’t to argue less, it’s to argue better.

All sessions will be virtual. And everyone is welcome—community leaders, business executives, educators, and even students.

We hope to see you there!

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community. This week, we're sharing a self-care resource we hope you will enjoy on your own or with family.

We all could use a positive distraction right about now.

Listen, there’s no shame in your newfound cable news fixation or being glued to your Twitter feed. We get it. But if you’re looking for new ways to keep yourself and your household occupied (especially if you already packed your winter gear and this happens), we’ve compiled a list of resources to help you access free or affordable books.

Listen to an audiobook

Listening to stories is a great way to get your reading in while you cook meals and do other chores. It can also bring a whole family together as you listen and experience a book together. Audible Stories offers many free audiobooks for children and family listeners, such as classics like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Anne of Green Gables. Bonus? These titles are available in six different languages.

Penguin Random House Audio is offering free downloads of certain classic stories until April 30. Spotify also offers a number of free audiobooks, including classics like Pride and Prejudice and Slaughterhouse-Five. LibriVox has many free audiobooks to choose from, and you can also take a turn as narrator. Warm up your pipes and volunteer to read a book for the site, no experience required.

Embrace an e-book

Perhaps you’re hoping for your reading to bring you some peace and quiet. Thankfully, e-books are also an option. Project Gutenberg has 60,000 free books available. The nonprofit organization has titles available in a multitude of different languages—no special app required. FreeBooksy is exactly what it says—a website that posts a daily selection of free books available for download, offering up different genres each day.

Support your library

Here at The Renewal Project, we love libraries. While your local library’s physical location is probably closed, there’s still a way to put that library card to use. Sites like OverDrive and Hoopla Digital use your library card to access a database of audiobooks and e-books, as well as other forms of entertainment, such as movies and music. Your local library might also have its own database and online portal available for you to peruse, so check them out and start reading.

Pick up a physical book

Maybe reading just isn’t the same to you and your family without the familiar feeling (and intoxicating smell) of paper. Nonprofit First Book is working on delivering 8 million books to children in need during the coronavirus crisis. Reading is Fundamental is another nonprofit that is working to get books to children who are in quarantine.

If you are able to afford some books, consider supporting local and independent bookstores using sites like Bookshop and IndieBound. The money spent on reading materials from these sites goes back into communities across the country.

READ MORE: 10 books teachers think their students should read

We need the support of our community even more during a crisis. Tell us what you and your neighbors are doing to support one another. We’d like to share these stories of hope here each week. Drop me a line at margaret@therenewalproject.com.

During a high-stress time, it’s natural to look for comfort and safety in the familiar—our home, our family, even our daily routines. For kids who are missing a parent, the emotional stress caused by the COVID-19 crisis can be overwhelming. The OK Messages Project is one nonprofit that uses creative ways to connect kids with their parents who are separated by incarceration.

In normal times, the OK Messages Project films parents in 12 different prison facilities around Oklahoma. The incarcerated parent reads books and shares positive messages with their kids. This past fall, for example, the nonprofit filmed hundreds of Christmas videos in prisons across the state. The program provides a bridge between parent and child, and in some cases, the only interaction a child will have with their parent in prison.

“Many don't realize how crucial it is, in these already precarious times, to keep building bridges and connections with these children and families—and let them know they are seen, heard, and valued,” OK Messages program assistant Ali Plum wrote to us. “We will continue to do whatever it takes to help mitigate the damages and trauma of the separation they are living through.”

With prison facilities now on lockdown, the nonprofit can no longer film, but they still want to show these kids that they are not forgotten. So they launched Stories and Smiles, in which they send a book donated from a special Amazon Wishlist to a child whose parent was signed up to be filmed this spring. Each book comes with an encouraging letter.

Some of their kids have been receiving DVDs of their parents since they were very little. You can help them continue this tradition by sponsoring a child for $150 a year—which pays for two packages of DVDs of the parent reading, plus the book—or by donating $10 for one book. Donate here.

We have a network of contributors from across the country who've been there, done that. Each week, we'll share a tip or a best practice from them, something you can apply in your own community work.

Jayne Siou of Hillside, Illinois, asked: Do you have any tips on recruiting volunteers or getting businesses to organize volunteer work days? I run a community garden, and advertising and promotion is expensive and time consuming.

Here’s 10 from fellow readers:

1. Find your super volunteer. Art Roche suggests recruiting a “volunteer Volunteer Coordinator.” This person would be tasked with recruiting and managing volunteers. Write a job description and share it with your network. “It worked for us when I was board president of a women’s shelter organization,” Art said. “It’s tough to find the right person, but when you do, it’s a happy day for your organization!”

2. Assemble a one-pager, then distribute this to local businesses. The one-pager should include volunteering needs and what a volunteer can expect, plus facts about the nonprofit such as mission, vision, history, says Lucy Bloom. Contact companies in your area and ask for Community Relations, or visit your local Chamber of Commerce and ask them for their recommendations for promoting your volunteer opportunity.

3. Take advantage of social media. Eric George recommends joining a local Facebook Group based around gardening. You can also put the call out for volunteers on sites like Nextdoor, where neighbors post about everything from lost dogs to block parties.

4. And local papers, too. Susie Reynolds advises sending an announcement to the local newspaper’s calendar of events. “Most newspapers let you post items for free.” (Editor’s note: As a former local newspaper editor myself, I can confirm that we happily promoted local clubs and nonprofits in our weekly calendar of events.)

5. Reach out to local schools. Marie Bond says, “Invite middle school students and they will bring their parents.”

6. Don’t forget colleges. John Rodriguez recommends reaching out to local colleges and universities. "As long as the individual is focused, kept engaged in the process and is provided partial ‘ownership’ of the project, age usually does not matter.”

7. You can also tap the organizations within those colleges. Jake Sinatra says Greek life coordinators or student life staffers at local universities would be more than willing to help spread the word. “The students also typically enjoy getting to connect with and serve those in the community.”

8. Offer something in return. Debra Ann Romano suggests putting in a free Craigslist ad offering something such as "free veggies for all who volunteer.” She says, “turnout is often overwhelming!”

9. Show appreciation. Of course, once you find all these volunteers, don’t forget to thank them. Doreen Davis of the Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation says that her organization hosts a monthly volunteer luncheon. “I take a few minutes to indicate that the lunch is our feeble and humble method for thanking the volunteers for their invaluable service.”

10. Read more from like-minded folks. Beth Raps of Living Room Conversations highly suggests The Grassroots Fundraising Journal.

What’s working in your neighborhood? Share your solution with our editor: margaret@therenewalproject.com. Your story could be featured in a future Renewal 365.

Meet the fifteen finalists for the fifth annual The Renewal Awards, a project of The Atlantic and Allstate. This year’s finalists represent 12 states and Washington, D.C. Among their services, they empower artists in Native American communities in South Dakota, assist farmers with emergency services in south Florida, and provide influential opportunities for high-achieving, low-income students to serve on Capitol Hill.

Five winners from this group—one designated as an Allstate Youth Empowerment Award winner—will each receive a grant of $40,000 from The Atlantic and Allstate to further their work.

Without further ado …

Alice’s Kids (Mount Vernon, Virginia): Provides anonymous short-term financial assistance to children with immediate needs, all over the country, who have been referred by a teacher, social worker, or counselor.

Choose 180* (Burien, Washington): Engages youth in critical moments, like when facing jail time or school expulsion, and empowers them to make positive life changes.

College to Congress (Washington, D.C.): Levels the playing field and fosters bipartisanship for congressional interns, providing both financial support and mentorship across the aisle.

Creative Reaction Lab (St. Louis): Educates and engages Black and Latinx youth to apply a health, racial equity, and design lens to community challenges to impact life expectancy.

Custom Collaborative (New York): Equips women from low-income and immigrant communities for careers in the sustainable women’s apparel industry.

Facing Homelessness (The BLOCK Project) (Seattle): Integrates 125-square-foot detached dwellings in residential backyards to reduce homelessness.

Families & Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children* (New Orleans): Invests in community-based alternatives to the juvenile justice system to end the cycle of violence against Black youth and reform the education and juvenile justice systems.

Farmworkers Self Help Inc. (Dade City, Florida): Supports approximately 15,000 area farmworkers by offering emergency services, facilitating self-development, and teaching leadership skills.

First Peoples Fund (Rapid City, South Dakota): Recognizes the power of art and culture to bring about positive change in Native American communities and aims to change the perception of artists by recognizing them as economic engines and catalysts of social change.

Hello Neighbor (Pittsburgh): Supports recently resettled refugees with mentorship, educational training, and community events.

Huntsville Community Drumline (Huntsville, Alabama): Provides free music education, after-school programs, instruments, equipment, and transportation to kids, using drums as a tool to help them grow into contributing members of society.

Magpies & Peacocks (Houston): Disrupts the cycle of waste in the fashion industry through the collection and sustainable reuse of post-consumer clothing, scrap textiles, and accessories.

More than Words (Waltham, Massachusetts): Empowers youth in foster care, court-involved, homeless, or out of school situations by helping to run a bookstore.

Refresh Collective* (Cleveland and Cincinnati): Lifts up communities by giving youth the opportunity to create their own music and apparel designs.

Youth Rebuilding NOLA (New Orleans): Engages youth in the betterment of their community by fixing up blighted and abandoned homes that are then sold to teachers for less than the appraised home value.

*Allstate Youth Empowerment Award Finalist

We need the support of our community even more during a crisis. Tell us what you and your neighbors are doing to support one another. We’d like to share these stories of hope here each week. Drop me a line at margaret@therenewalproject.com.

We’ve heard from many of you, like Ed Costello, who is sheltering in place but wants to continue being an active volunteer. Ed and his wife Karin, who are both retired, have remained in their Los Angeles home for nearly two weeks now, but they wanted a way to keep serving their community. Ed, who is 80, told us that his first thought was how he could comfort others who can’t leave their homes, but who are alone, and so he called his local Meals on Wheels.  

It was perfect timing because the nonprofit had just announced cutbacks on the number of visits volunteers make to homebound residents. To keep everyone safe, drivers are delivering the same amount of food, but in fewer trips per week, to minimize physical contact. Ed proposed he and folks like him could fill the gaps of human contact, only over the phone. “If they’re like most older people, scared by this crisis, they’re probably trying to stay out of other people’s way,” Ed told us. “I’m trying to get something going nationally where old folks like ourselves who are reduced to the telephone and social media during this quarantine period would be willing to get out of their comfort zone and call people."  

Meals on Wheels West, Ed’s local chapter, has since set up the Phone Reassurance Project. After completing the proper training, volunteers are then connected with clients via the phone. “It’s not just to combat loneliness and isolation. It’s also to do a light wellness check,” said Jennifer Kappelman, the organization’s volunteer coordinator. She told us that so far they’ve received a lot of interest from new volunteers. Folks are finding new ways to help out during this unprecedented time. “We’re still here for each other, to support our community and keeping the line of communication open,” she said.

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

Americans are eager to start growing their own fruits and vegetables to create a “new generation of victory gardens” But if turning your backyard or balcony into a garden is new to you, here are a few words of encouragement—from a neighborhood gardener and an urban farm professional.

First, keep it simple, says urban gardener Tim Rinne.

Tim started growing fruits and vegetables on his lawn in Lincoln, Nebraska, 11 years ago. He was 53 and “an absolute ninny” when it came to cultivating and maintaining an urban garden on his property, which is in Lincoln’s city core. But one by one, his neighbors joined him in tearing up their lawns for gardens. Today, the Hawley Hamlet, as their block is known, has about 85 yards of a football field in agricultural growing space.

“I knew nothing about this—and you know, I'm not arguing that I know a whole lot more now—but I have 11 years of labor and practice and trial and error under my belt. And so anybody can do this,” he told us.

His advice for people who are just getting started now is to skip the seeds and buy starter plants. Given that garden supplies are in high demand right now, check out your hardware stores, nurseries, big box stores, and even some grocery stores. Local farmers may also have some for sale. When it comes to timing: “Most people can put out their tomato plants, green beans, pepper plants, cucumbers, zucchini … after the last frost date,” he said. In Nebraska where he lives, that’s around the first of May.

“Don't make it any more complicated for this first year and given the circumstances,” he said.

Tim first got interested in growing his own food because of his realization that climate change was going to have an impact on our food supply. “I have been thinking about the risk to our food system from the very beginning of our working on the Hawley Hamlet. I didn't really think about the pandemic angle, but the principle is the same,” he said. “Either way, you've got some sort of external agent impacting the security of our food supply.”

Another piece of advice: Look to your community for help.

Every county in the U.S. has an agricultural extension office, and they are more than happy to provide local gardeners with the information most relevant to their region, said Pete Charlerie, a farm management specialist for the nonprofit F.A.R.M.S. These offices are funded by the USDA and operated by your state’s land grant universities.

Pete is the son of a farmer who grew up in Trinidad and studied agricultural economics at the University of Maryland. He started SunSplash Farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in 2011. He also has a passion for teaching.

There are many benefits to engaging with your local extension office—they provide everything from master gardener courses to 4-H programs. “Part of their mandate is to engage all of the public, young and old,” he said. “They are always looking for more ways to engage with public stakeholders in the community.”

Pete even said they would be inclined to do a Zoom call. Anyone want to try doing that and report back to us?

Both Tim and Pete are passionate about sharing their knowledge and encouraging others to get their hands dirty.

“Urban agriculture is going to have its biggest decade ever,” Pete said. “Farmers are going to be rewarded for the blood, sweat, and tears they've put into this. I’m excited for small farmers.”

READ MORE: 3 ways to combat food waste in your own kitchen

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

The stress of daily life in "normal times" is hard enough. How do I even begin to address pandemic life with the young folks in my life?

The most powerful tool we have to manage stress and to help our kids manage stress is through human relationships, says Dr. Cantor, “because relationships that are strong and trustful release the hormone oxytocin and oxytocin can restore a child’s sense of safety.”

Read Dr. Cantor’s explanation of how anxiety and unrelenting amounts of stress affect our brains and bodies and how the hormone oxytocin can protect against it. In the meantime, here are her tips for adults on how to reassure children in this unsettling time.

1. Keep calm and be real. It’s not going to be easy to be cool today. Young people read adults well. They read their faces and emotions. Before you talk to a child or teenager, prepare yourself to be as calm, collected, and confident as you can be. Know what you want to say. Most of all, be truthful and be authentic.

2. Initiate a conversation. about coronavirus Don’t wait for your kids to bring the subject of coronavirus up to you. Ask what your kids are feeling about the outbreak right now so you can respond to their concerns and their fears truthfully and assure them that you will create ongoing opportunities to talk and connect.

3. Be honest about being worried. Do tell them that you are worried, but at the same time, convey why you believe it will be OK. You need to be convinced and convincing. Prepare them for the fact that this virus is going to be with us for a while, that lots of people are going to get sick, even die, or lose their jobs. Tell them it’s going to take time to produce a vaccine and medicines to fight it but that we will eventually come out of this.

4. Limit exposure to media. One of the things we learned after the Sept. 11 attacks is that parents had to regulate the amount of time that children were looking at television news. Images of the hijacked airplanes hitting the towers were repeated over and over again and had a re-traumatizing effect. From the perspective of dosage and stress response, we have to regulate children’s exposure to some of the frightening things that are being communicated in the media without enough context, and that includes via social media channels.

5. Give them the facts. Make sure to give young people factual information so they know what is true and so they’re hearing it from someone they trust. It may be very different from what they’re hearing from their peers, from the media or elsewhere.

6. Communicate often, at least once a day. Don’t be surprised if you hear the same questions, questions you’ve answered over and over again. Answer them patiently and completely.

7. Take care of yourself so you can care for others. Remember, you are the most important adult in their life. Taking care of yourself, including exercising, eating and sleeping well, and using reflective practices, such as meditation, will help you care for others.

READ MORE: How to care for at-risk youth during the COVID-19 crisis

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

Most teens ended their 2019-2020 school year remotely—no class parties, no proms, and for seniors, no processions across the stage to receive their diplomas in person. For the students going back to school this season, there are more no’s and, what’s worse, a lot of not sures.  

On top of worrying about their grades, teens are entering this unprecedented school year with increased anxiety and are more worried about their future than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey from The Allstate Foundation revealed.

The survey, conducted in mid-July, polled 1,000 teens, ages 13-18. It found that this generation is aware of the monumental social and political challenges in the world—and it’s leading them to rethink their place in it.

According to the results, 78% of teens are worried about COVID-19 and 68% are worried about racism as they head into the school year after a summer defined by quarantines and historic protests calling for racial equity. The survey also shows teens are just as worried about the 2020 presidential election as they are about getting good grades.

Teens’ worries about mental health (56% responded that this was an issue for them) outpaced their worries about their physical health (49%).

The pandemic is also forcing teens to re-evaluate their future. Nearly three-fourths said they are more worried about their future now.

In the middle of so much uncertainty, one thing is clear: for young people to thrive despite crisis and disruption, prioritizing social and emotional needs is critical.

More than two decades of research shows that SEL, or social and emotional learning, helps young people build important life skills like empathy, stress-management, and resilience so that they can thrive in an ever-changing world.

So how can parents and families use SEL to help young people right now?

The Allstate Foundation and its nonprofit partners compiled free resources that families can use to build important life skills, support each other, and prepare children to handle anything that is thrown their way.

Below are three ways parents and families can use SEL to help young people. And there are more resources and ways you can implement SEL at home and in the classroom. Read the full story here.

1. Practice staying present. A daily mindfulness practice—the practice of paying attention to the present moment—can teach young people techniques to handle difficult emotions, such as stress, anxiety, anger, and more. The Allstate Foundation works with?Inner Explorer?to bring audio guided mindfulness exercises to schools and families. Parents can download the free Inner Explorer family app, and begin practicing as a family every day.

2. Take a virtual “field trip.” Soar with Wings—a partnership between?Wings for Kids,?Discovery Education,?and The Allstate Foundation—was created to equip educators with digital resources focused on social and emotional learning in the classroom and beyond. Now, families can bring SEL home with a virtual field trip and accompanying activity guide that lets kids in grades K-5 hear about the benefits of SEL from their peers, and gives families tools to practice these techniques together at home.

3. Talk about racism. While worry about COVID-19 runs high among teens, those surveyed said that racism is also a major concern. Parents can play a role in combating racism by engaging in constructive dialogue about privilege and prejudice to help young people process complex feelings and turn their concern into positive change. The Allstate Foundation’s partner CASEL (The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning) offers key takeaways from their recent webinar Owning Your Power To Raise Kids Who Challenge Racism, including recommended reading for parents to build their own understanding of race and racism in the U.S.

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

COVID-19 has robbed us of certain rituals that help us celebrate our friends, families, and communities.

Even though we can’t gather like we used to, we can still salute our graduates and loved ones who are marking a special occasion. Take a cue from some of these local celebrations.

In Vanceboro, North Carolina, West Craven High School principal Tabari Wallace celebrated his graduating students by holding a personal parade for each of his 220 seniors, all in one day. He also presented each senior with congratulatory lawn signs bearing their photos and gave speeches honoring them.

To recognize her 30 graduating seniors, principal Farica West of Poplar Springs High School in Graceville, Florida, lined up their portraits along the school’s road. “They’re missing a lot of the memorable moments that we all hold near and dear to our hearts throughout our whole lives,” said West of her students.

Principal Matt Wright of Apex Friendship High School in Apex, North Carolina, commemorated graduating students with a video tribute. He hand wrote all 590 students’ names with permanent markers on a blank wall inside the school. Signs with the seniors' names also lined the school yard, and when the seniors arrived to see it, their teachers cheered them on.

A principal in South Fulton, Georgia, made sure his seniors wouldn’t be forgotten by showcasing their photos on billboards throughout South Fulton and Atlanta for four weeks. Principal Jamar Robinson told the local TV station 11 Alive, “We knew we had to do something huge to make up for that they are still recognized and still loved so you drive up and down the streets and you see these gigantic billboards highlighting everything. Our students up there as well.”

READ MORE: Michigan photographer takes family portraits at a distance to lift spirits

This week, we’re trying something new in this section. Instead of our usual best-practice tip, we are sharing some of the wisdom and insight we’ve learned from talking to mayors from across the country.   

For the past several months, The Renewal Project has been talking to the folks who are tasked with being their communities’ biggest advocates—mayors. We asked them about their cities’ most pressing challenges and how they’re engaging residents in defining the solutions for those challenges. We also asked them about what makes their hometowns unique.

Now, this is the fun part: We asked each mayor to recommend their favorite spot in town where they like to visit when they’re not performing their official duties. From parks and biking trails, to restaurants and even a river, here are a few recos for your next road trip.

Ithaca, New York: Mayor Svante Myrick recommends a watering hole in his town that he says is “an excellent little bar that’s really on the cutting edge of nightlife safety.” The Watershed trains its entire staff to recognize and then act upon potential harmful situations for patrons.

Rochester Hills, Michigan: It’s been a mild winter up in suburban Detroit, so hopefully Mayor Bryan Barnett has been able to enjoy his favorite spots, the Clinton River Trail and the Paint Creek Trail. He says: “They’re just beautiful places and I like to run so I’ll take my dog at least once a week to escape and enjoy Rochester Hills.”

Eugene, Oregon: When she’s not on official duty, you can find Mayor Lucy Vinis walking along the Willamette River or at one of her favorite locals: the Davis Restaurant, known for its locally grown ingredients, or The Barn Light for a great cup of coffee or a cocktail.

Carmel, Indiana: This Indianapolis suburb channels the Italian Renaissance through its concert hall, The Palladium, a favorite spot of Mayor Jim Brainard. The building was inspired by La Rotonda outside of Venice in Vicenza, Italy. The mayor admitted that he’s inspired by the great Italian cities like Florence, where for centuries, the Medicis devoted an extraordinary amount of resources toward public art. “All those investments 500 years ago paid off!”

Monroeville, Alabama: Mayor Sandy Smith is proud to call this small Alabama town, famous for its literary heritage, home. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee based the fictional village of Maycomb on her hometown. Today, Monroeville pays homage to Lee by staging a play version of her book in the center of town. You can find Smith and her husband walking their dog Brinkley around downtown, which is dotted with an array of antique shops and cafes, including the Sweet Tooth Bakery. “It’s your Southern ‘meat and three’—your meat and three vegetables kind of lunch. It’s a pretty neat little place.”

MORE: Read our 2016 interview with South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
 

Each week, Renewal 365 shares a tip or a best practice that you can use in your own community.

As COVID-19 forces us to rethink all of our group activities, how can organizations continue to build powerful, sustainable connections that are vital to our communities?

In working with his partners at Golden, Steve Sherrill shared some trends he’s seen as corporations, foundations, universities, nonprofits, and other organizations continue to innovate while social distancing. Here’s what he’s seeing (and you can read his full piece here):

1. Now is the time to invest in relationships, which means rethinking, not canceling.

Annual Days of Service are incredibly important events for engaging corporate donors, building connections in the community, and recruiting new supporters. Most organizations have reset fundraising expectations for the coming year—maybe you’ve cancelled an annual gala or your donor base is struggling financially. Regardless, investing in a strong foundation is critical, and that means ensuring that your most important events occur—even if they have to be rethought.

We’re seeing expansive growth in: virtual volunteer opportunities, “on your own” opportunities, where volunteers participate on their own and report back with videos or photos, “care packages” that groups prepare offsite and deliver, virtual roundtables, and donation drives.

2. Companies are more engaged than ever.

Corporate volunteering was trending up pre-COVID-19, and that trend is accelerating as employees, customers, and others demand that businesses make positive impacts on their communities. Corporate leaders are desperate for opportunities to bring their employees together—even virtually. This is the perfect opportunity to build out your base of corporate donors.

3. Anyone can organize a Day of Service.

Local volunteer centers and United Way have been incredible conveners of Days of Service in the past. Not every organization is lucky enough to have a great local volunteer center, but that doesn’t mean you can’t organize one on your own!

4. Days of Service help broaden your donor base.

Everyone knows that Days of Service are great ways to engage corporate donors, but are you also building relationships with individual employees? Volunteers donate 10x more over their lifetimes than non-volunteers, but that only happens if you re-engage those individuals!

Expanding your donor base means collecting individual volunteer information in order to re-engage them for volunteering and donations in the future.

5. Leverage software to decrease your administrative burden.

There are several software tools to help you manage your Day of Service. I’m obviously partial to Golden’s brand new (and free for 2020!) Day of Service module that helps you collect, review, and curate opportunity submissions and then assign them to your corporate partners all in one place. Regardless of the tools you use, make sure that they lessen your workload!