365 Days of Hope Starts Tomorrow

May 31, 2017Leave a comment

June 1st is the day, all! The day that we start our 365 Days of Hope campaign. We are off to a good start: 107 items, places, and activities so far for us to take photos with/of in our Hope gear. We have everything from sitting in a new coffee shop to being on top of a human pyramid, so don’t be shy about your suggestions! (Note: it’s a family friendly project, and we would like to keep out of jail or the hospital, and keep our day job! :-).

Why? Because we want to reach people in all places of all ages who enjoy all different types of things. Chronic illness can feel isolating, and we want to let these people know that, whoever they are, wherever they are, whatever they like to do, they are not alone, even when it feels like it. And maybe we’ll even make them smile a little.

So fire away! Have a favorite outdoor activity? A favorite historic site, landmark, or city? Maybe you want to see us do something silly, or relive our childhood? We’ll be running through sprinklers and swinging on a swing set, so feel free to add more! We don’t mind being a little goofy in order to spread a little hope to those who need it. In fact, we’re pretty much kids at heart!

We don’t have an endless supply of money, so we may need to improvise on some suggestions, but we’ll do our best to make them happen!

Can’t wait to see your ideas!

Much love and hope to you all!

365 Days of Hope

May 15, 2017Leave a comment

We’re rolling out a fun new campaign! One that we didn’t list in the May blog post, but hey, sometimes ideas just pop up out of nowhere. So here we go.

We’re gathering 365 ideas of “things” – anything, really – that we can take photos with in our Hope shirts. It can be anything from a cup of coffee to a sunset to the Eiffel Tower or even an activity (that won’t get us arrested/fired). Hey, you might even get us to see or try something new! So far, we’ve been given suggestions such as:

A rainbow
A wild animal in the wild (where we can do so safely!)
The beach
A music festival
A brewery
A famous art sculpture
An alpaca
Riding a bike

As you can see, your suggestions can be as specific or as general as you’d like. We might need to be creative at times, but we’re going to try to post one each day (some of which may have to be “later grams”, since we can’t really determine when we might see things like a rainbow or a wild animal in the wild). You are allowed to give us a specific place, but if you are not the proprietor of said place, we just need to ask their permission to tag them and prove it’s there. If we are not allowed to, we may need to generalize the suggestion (i.e. to “a coffee shop” or “a brewery”). If you are the proprietor, by all means, thank you for letting us take a photo there!

So please, fire away! There’s no bad suggestion, assuming it’s not illegal, immoral, or might injure us. We’d love to experience new things and have new adventures along the way, so have at it! We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

A Hug From Us To You

May 10, 2017Leave a comment

This morning, I really needed a hug. It was just one of those mornings – tired, stressed, battling some depression and anxiety, and trying to hold it all in. And finally, I let it all out, and I got not one hug, but two. It didn’t solve all of my troubles, or any of them, but it felt good. It felt like someone was there for me, even if they couldn’t quite understand what I was going through. Sometimes, knowing that someone is there to support you, even if only in that instance, can help you put one foot in front of the other and make it through the day – or at least the hour, which is a start.

So here is a hug, from us to you. We were lucky enough to get them when we needed it, and so we’re passing it along, in an effort to spread support and hope. Please, do the same. You never know who might be struggling in silence, who may feel that nobody understands, that no one is there for them. Let them know that you are. It may even make you feel better too.

Why Do You Spread Hope?

March 23, 2017Leave a comment

Starting this Sunday (March 26th), we’ll be running a one-week Instagram challenge. Each day, we’ll be asking people to share why (and how!) they spread hope, using the hashtag #whyispreadhope. It can be a picture of your efforts, with those that you’re spreading hope to, or simply a selfie explaining with a caption saying what you do and why. It can be a hand written signs or arts and crafts are fine. Heck, it can just be you wearing purple, the color of the Spread Hope Project, with a caption as simple as “I spread hope because hope matters.” However you want to share your reason, share it. Of course, we’ll be sharing our “why” each day.

Why are we hosting this challenge? It’s simple really. The more people that share their story, the more people we reach. They reach their friends, their friends reach their friends, and the spread of hope continues on. We know it takes courage to put yourself and your stories out there like this, and we want to show people that it’s OK to share. You don’t have to be an expert or a professional or a writer or even a casual blogger. You just have to snap a pic and say “here’s why I do this”.

Everyone deserves to feel like they matter. They deserve to feel like someone wanted to reach them, and that they have the ability to help someone else, even if it’s simply by posting a photo and a hashtag.

We can’t wait to see what you have to share! See you on the Instagram side!

Why I Spread Hope

Going to Africa, & We Need Your Help

February 15, 201717 Comments

It’s been a busy couple of weeks as we get ready for our trip to Africa. We leave a week from today! Exciting stuff. We have our Hope shirts all packed and ready to go, and are looking forward to exploring Kenya and Tanzania with them. While we’re not sure of the wifi/internet access we’ll have there, we hope to upload photos to Instagram throughout the trip when we can. Our trip destinations include:

Nairobi (and a chance to visit the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust – they’re into spreading hope too, to orphaned baby elephants and rhinos.
The Masai, including a hot air balloon ride
The Serengeti
Ngorogoro Crater

While we’re unbelievably excited to be Spreading Hope over in Africa, we could use some help keeping the momentum going here. That’s where you all come in. While we’re traveling, we’re asking a big favor of those friends who are … well, anywhere, really. Take photos throughout your neighborhoods, on your travels – day trips, vacations, family reunions, it all counts – post on Instagram, and hashtag #spreadhopeproject. If you want to create some homemade swag, even better! Make a Spread Hope Project sign or wear some purple (the color scheme of SHP) or whatever else you feel like doing. Don’t forget to add your destination in your post too.

Have questions about the Spread Hope Project, or interested to learn more ways to participate? Let us know! The more people involved, the more people we can reach and the more hope we spread.