Good news surrounds us, with many hard-working people collaborating to serve others in order to create that good news. This weekend I took notice of community-brighteners.
My friend Takeyla kicked off her brand new book club geared toward 4th-7th grade Black Boys, We Read Too. Please “like” her page on Facebook so her posts can catch as many eyeballs as possible. Look forward to her writing workshops for Women of Color as well, aptly named We Write Too.
Benton liked the idea of getting her son together with other boys to explore different books, to read together and to talk about concepts and ideas from the books. “My son [Langston] was like, ‘Let’s do a book club!’ and I came across an article of a little boy who started one in his town,” Benton says. “That kind of gave me a little fuel to think I could do this and start thinking about getting boys together to meet regularly, have fun, develop a love of reading and hopefully boost some test scores in the process.” read more here from the Madison365 feature.
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Sagashus Levingston debuted her much-anticipated (and absolutely stunning) volume Infamous Mothers. You must take the next opportunity to hear Sagashus speak (watch her TedEx talk here), and you must buy this book. She is brilliant (not to mention kind, compassionate, and very funny). Her work turns the social paradigm of Single Black Mothers on its head–meaning right side up–to show them for the community brighteners and game-changers they truly are. Buy this gorgeous book featuring 20 different leaders; sit with these stories and exquisite photos and display it proudly in your home. Let your kids ask you “What does Infamous mean?” Let your book club ask “Why Infamous?” Buy it as a gift for your own coffee table, for your favorite thinkers, and for someone in your life struggling, who might not see their own strength and transformation.
find out more about Infamous Mothers and order the book here
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Speaking of mothers, my friend Jessie Loeb recently began offering Postpartum doula services. I spent many hours with Jessie when we were mothering babies and I lovingly refer to her as a baby-whisperer. She has a talent for parenting kids of all ages, and she also happens to be a gifted storyteller. You can find out more about her doula services and enjoy her beautiful words here.
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Friday night our elementary school held a potluck dinner and first-ever resource fair in which local organizations, businesses and nonprofits participated in order to engage our community and inform us about all the activities, groups, and services available in our area for families and children . Of our 300 students, 70% need help making ends meet, and this event aimed to connect people to resources in a fun family event. I stopped by nearly every booth to express my gratitude to all of the exhibitors, and felt thankful to our community, the school staff, and the efforts of PTA co-presidents Samara Frame Safarik and Katie Watermolen who continually look for ways to innovate, engage, and bring us together. You can read more about the resource fair here.
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We have dreary weather this weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. Notice who brightens our world.
This post is part of #30BrighterDays; a thing I made up to brighten each day of November
Yes yes yes! There is so much light if we only look in the right directions. I love how I’m starting to see hope in new ways. People keep saying don’t get distracted and be in the dark about all the bad things happening around us, but it goes both ways- we can not let ourselves get distracted by the heaviness and end up not seeing all the good. There is so much good and light. Thank you for showcasing it!
Steph
One of the things I have always loved about you is how plugged-in you are to those who do good works, which makes you one of them for that reason in addition to all of the “other” good you do. You’re good people in general. 🙂
Well that comment certainly brightened my day. Thanks, friend.
You shine so much light with your outlook and actions, Steph. So glad you decided to leave the house LOL. xoxox
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