Mood Disorders Awareness | Donate a Vehicle

Hope + Me is all about mood disorders awareness. Here's how you can engage -- for yourself, for your loved ones, and for your community!

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Christmas Goes to the Dogs in 3 Easy Steps!

Beloved Jack Russell Terrier helps make Christmas bright at Oakville & Milton Humane Society. An 83 year-old donor, a '98 Camry, and a pooch are making a Christmas difference for dogs, cats...and guinea pigs!

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Giving Tuesday

November 29th, Giving Tuesday -- Canada's way of coming together to "create a tidal wave of Hope"! Give time, give kindness, give dollars and cents...or give your unwanted, unused four wheels!

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Jays Care | Happy, Healthy Future

Jays Care makes play possible for 45,000 kids across Canada! Here's what that has to do with your car...

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Childhood Cancer Car Donation

September is childhood cancer awareness month. Your car spreads hope!

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Refugees in Canada | Uncommon Courage

Canada has a long history of coming alongside refugees! It doesn't take long for newcomers to find their feet despite formidable odds. Some of the very best of who we are shows in how we share with our fellow humans in temporary crisis.

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The Kids are Going to be Okay | United Way

I put the phone down after a beautiful conversation with a friend. A gutting conversation with a friend. We're wondering -- out loud, together -- if things are going to be okay. Will our kids be okay? Will our earth? What about us? Here's some proof that yes! Yes, the kids are going to be okay...

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Hazel McCallion

100th birthday gift

Hazel McCallion is underscoring 100 years of service with a 100th birthday gift. Creative. Hard-working. Entertaining. Read on for one fierce woman's expression of practical compassion!

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Brene Brown – Empathy

Seasons, stressors, community

Brene Brown touches into something we deeply understand. Particularly at this time of year. 'Tis the season for a lot of holly jolly - and a good deal of facing into the loss of loved ones, loneliness, and "What do I really want?" uncertainty. If we're not already practicing it, this is a good time to start being an empathetic presence in one another's lives.

Brown and other mental health professionals and researchers are expanding their work into study around how we might thrive. Resilience work and positive psychology (more than just thinking positively) have found their way into practice, and that's good news for all of us.

Building our empathy muscle

A friend recently gave me the book, "There's no Good Card for This." For a gently playful smack upside the head on how-to empathy, this is a good resource. It provides the basics on caring for loved ones when things go side ways. Bonus? There's guidance on how to care for Self while compassionately supporting others.

If a book feels like a stretch, WikiHow has some excellent pointers on reaching out, and caring for self, too. In part one of their Wiki article, "Connecting with others through empathy," they offer six helpful and creative tools for moving from compassionate thought to loving action.

I particularly love part two, though: Building up your empathy. There they offer 7 ways to effectively and sustainably work this muscle. They suggest practicing curiosity, volunteering, and challenging your own prejudice. The challenge? Think outside of the box you've comfortably settled into. See the world from the perspective of your loved one, the stranger on the bus, your friend who's struggling. They go on to name things like meditation and actually attempting to walk a mile in another person's "shoes" (life experience).

We're in this together

Give Brene Brown a listen. Read Crowe/McDowell's book on empathy, or give that Wiki article a glance. Set yourself up to show yourself, and the people you care about, a little empathy this holiday season.

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