Tonight, we want to share 3 ways that we are giving back this week by talking about 3 really wonderful projects that you can support from wherever you are. This is a different sort of blog for The Smile Project site and we’d love your thoughts on whether opportunities like this are something you’d like us to write more about. Without further ado, here are 3 projects we love this week.
Let’s begin with a classic: Girl Scout Cookies. Specifically, let’s talk about Troop 6000, a troop in the Greater New York area that serves thousands of girls living in the New York City shelter system. Thanks to technology, you can order from anywhere in the country. This week, we bought Thin Mints (because they are vegan!) All proceeds from the cookie sales go to support Troop 6000 and pay for things like badge activity supplies, uniforms, field trips, and trips to camp. Click here to learn more.
Next, I want to share an opportunity to support an independent filmmaker. Rachael Weinberg is a senior at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. She is working with her team on a film called Familial Strangers that is based on the summer she spent with her great-grandmother after her great-grandmother lost her ability to walk. Rachael writes, “thematically, this film is about the reconnection of a broken family and how unfortunate tragedy can bring people closer.” We should note that Rachael is a Smile Project Ambassador, so we may be a little biased. But we think she’s pretty special and that this film is going to be as well. Learn more about her campaign here.
Finally, I want to share the project of a new friend, Peter J. Harris. Just yesterday, it was my complete honor to meet him through a video call and learn more about his work with The Black Man of Happiness. The Black Man of Happiness is a creative, intellectual, and artistic exploration prompted by one elemental question: What is a happy Black man? Peter has started a campaign to get 105 people to make a $105 tax deductible donation to cover the costs of circulating his publication. His community engagement work includes a pilot program to enlarge his photos and exhibit them in a gallery and hang them on select buildings in Leimert Park, a cultural epicenter of Los Angeles, CA. You can read more about his work here or make a donation by clicking this link and choosing “Peter J. Harris” as the artist.
This week has been filled with inspiration for me. I’ve been thinking so much about these 3 projects and I knew I had to share with the wider Smile Project community. If this sort of informal highlight is of interest, please let us know and we might just make this a recurring series.
Tonight, we are grateful. For communities like Troop 6000 and for artists like Rachael and Peter. Thank you for making the world a brighter place.
Love always,
Liz
