“It was really exciting for it to all come to life, and I feel like it was definitely a success,” said Brittany Mitchell, Stocked Market co-chair.

The numbers proved JLRV’s annual shopping extravaganza and signature fundraiser was a success, raising $113,438.06 to support local initiatives that align with JLRV’s mission of uplifting and empowering the community. Stocked Market has raised more than $3.4 million in the past 34 years. 

“There are no words for how it feels to be able to give back that much,” said Brittany Bostic, Stocked Market co-chair. “I can’t give hundreds of thousands of dollars myself, but if I can be a part of something that does, it feels so great to know that my work, and my team’s work, and my Junior League’s work is able to make such an impact on the community from this one event.”

From the earliest planning stages for Stocked Market 2022, Bostic, Mitchell, and the Stocked Market committee had a vision for the event that included a focus on new merchants, new entertainment experiences for shoppers, a greater holiday aesthetic, and accessibility. 

“[Brittany Mitchell] came at the very beginning of the year with a mission for accessibility and I loved it,” Bostic said. “I thought that was such a good thing for us to work on. I had many people

compliment and talk about how they had space to move, and they liked having somewhere to sit.”

While yearly favorites including performances by the Southwest Virginia Ballet and visits with Santa returned, the event also provided enhanced entertainment experiences for shoppers, like S’mores with Santa. Shoppers also enjoyed more than 130 new and returning merchants. 

“We definitely had a wider range this year,” Bostic said when describing the variety of products and services merchants offered for Stocked Market 2022. 

Bostic and Mitchell agreed: teamwork and collaboration were key to Stocked Market 2022’s success.

“It definitely takes, not just our executive committee, but the whole League in its entirety to come in to pitch in to this event to make it a success,” Mitchell said. “I think that having a team, especially being able to listen to one another and all of our ideas, I think that collaboration is so key, especially to changing things up and thinking of new things.”

“Our committee was amazing,” Bostic said. “I’m so thankful for them doing this all year long, but also the amount of volunteers within the League who came and helped and some of them did many more shifts than necessary and that was helpful.” 

Bostic and Mitchell said they look forward to what the future holds for Stocked Market. “I think we’re going to continue to grow, continue to add more rows [of merchants], and it’s going to be really exciting,” Mitchell said. “I hope this momentum will continue on into next year.”

Stocked Market will return to the Berglund Center in Roanoke November 10-12, 2023, to celebrate 35 years of shopping and philanthropy. You can check for event updates throughout the year at stockedmarket.org.

Since its very beginning in 1984, the JLRV has supported the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia. The JLRV is proud to have helped bring the vision to life within our community, and we continue our tradition of volunteering with the organization. The Ronald McDonald House provides families a home-away-from-home when a family has a sick child in need of hospital services. In recent years, members have helped by serving meals to visiting families, stocking the pantry for guests, and even decorating for the holidays.JLRV Community Service Chair, Sarah Arrington, is pleased to announce that this long standing tradition of volunteer action will continue this year with monthly volunteer opportunities to serve meals to visiting meals. New, active, and sustaining members are encouraged to help us feed the families for one evening each month. 

Members can also look forward to traditional volunteer favorites like gift wrapping for foster children with Roanoke County’s Department of Social Services and the Annual Holiday Toy Drive. Over the past year, JLRV members rolled up their sleeves and helped with build days on two dedicated homes with Habitat for Humanity. Of course, more volunteer opportunities will be added as the Community Service committee continues to seek partnerships this year. Members can find opportunities in the STAR member newsletter.

Are you a non-profit organization in the Roanoke Valley and are in need of volunteers? Please contact info@jlrv.org for more information.

Annually, the JLRV awards three grants to qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations: Care That Counts, Community Focus Grant, and the Apel Family Grant. This year, JLRV is excited to announce that they are fully funding requests from six organizations.

Community Focus Grant ($34,220): 

• Center in the Square: $15,000 to fund the development and curriculum for their Virtual “Get Schooled!” Field Trip Videos.
• Family Promise of Greater Roanoke: $5,000 to assist with skill-building classes and enrichment opportunities for shelter residents.
• Roanoke Public Library Foundation: $14,220 to support the “Feed, Read, and Grow” – Virtual Lactation Support Group and Resource Center.

Care that Counts Grant ($15,780):  

• Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline: $5,780 to provide programming and financial assistance to support 829 Girl Scouts in the Roanoke Valley.
• Girls on the Run: $5,000 to provide financial assistance for 30-45 participants in their physical activity-based positive youth development program.
• Presbyterian Community Center: $5,000 to fund their “Pathways for Youth” after-school program.

Apel Family Grant ($5,000):

• Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline: $5,000 to install a new water heater and well pump for Camp Icimani.

About the Junior League of the Roanoke Valley
The JLRV invests about $70,000 every year to better our local communities through grants, scholarships and volunteers, and is committed to our community focus of addressing poverty by connecting the community to existing resources and removing barriers to healthcare and food. Each year, applications for the three grants are open in the early fall.

Organized in 1926, the Junior League of Roanoke Valley, Inc. is an organization of women whose mission is to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training.

The Junior League of Roanoke Valley is a member of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI). The AJLI, Inc. reaches out to women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to voluntarism.

JLRV went through a strategic planning process in 2015-2016. This year, it was time to update our strategic plan.

AJLI rolled out a new bootcamp for leagues across the globe. In August, a team of eight current board and management team members started the bootcamp made up of webinars and direct feedback on what we were doing. Through December, the team had meetings, phone calls and emails as we looked through membership data, surveys and community information.

The board approved the JLRV 2020-2024 Strategic Plan and presented it to membership at the January GMM.

There are 4 goals we will work towards over the coming years:
● JLRV grows its membership to 500 and increases retention numbers
● JLRV is recognized as developing leaders through our increased community involvement and influence including but not limited to non-profit boards and committees and public office
● Develop and implement a meaningful, impactful and measurable plan to address the JLRV focus of “Addressing poverty by connecting the community to existing barriers to healthcare and food”
● Diversify revenue and income streams of the JLRV and reduce burden on membership

“I’ve recognized that even on top of what we have already achieved for our community that we still have many more opportunities to make an even greater impact in the years ahead,” said Michelle Pendleton, Finance Vice President. “I’m looking forward to seeing the implementation of our ideas for financial growth which will positively impact both our membership and community. It's so easy to become complacent in both our personal and professional lives, so opportunities to re-examine the League’s strengths and opportunities will solidify our organization’s longevity.”

Now, a team is working through a similar AJLI led process to develop an annual plan that should be finalized over the summer.

The annual plan plots the path to achieve the strategic goals and accomplish the work of the JLRV. A team of next year’s Management Team and Governance Board members started that bootcamp in January and will work through June.

The Strategic and Annual Planning process also has the ability to uncover policies and procedures that may not be working anymore and how we can update those to better reflect our current membership and what we are trying to accomplish as a league. We also found some information that enables us to be in an even stronger financial position than we were previously, and we will be able to put even more money back into supporting the League’s mission in the future.

“I truly believe that by taking the time to update our strategic and annual plans, we will be a larger, stronger, even more effective League that will be able to take our community impact to the next level. I can’t wait to see what we all can accomplish in the next few years,” said Katie Jones, Executive Vice President-Elect.

The exciting part is these are working documents so in the coming months and years, the next league leaders will be updating these as we work towards our goals!

“I enjoyed looking at our League’s progress from a multi-year perspective. Seeing how far we’ve come and imagining how far we can go is so inspiring,” said Lydia Higgs, Member-at-Large.

Strategic Plan Team:
Jenna Zibton McFarland – President(team leader)
Katie Jones – Executive VP
Lutheria Smith – Sustainer and Past President
Lydia Higgs – Member-at-Large
Jessie Coffman – Executive VP-Elect
Ginger Poole Avis – Fund Development VP and Past President
Michelle Pendleton – Finance VP
Laura Conte – Administrative VP
Annual Plan Team:
Katie Jones – Executive VP  (team leader)
Jenna Zibton McFarland – President
Kate Hailey – President-Elect
Margaret Ashburn – Secretary
Jessie Beemer – Fund Development VP
Jessie Coffman – Executive VP-Elect
Michelle Pendleton – Treasurer
Sarah M. Johnson – Communications VP
Elizabeth Milne – Membership VP
Lauren Boswell – Finance VP

By: Jenna Zibton McFarland

During the three week event, the Junior League collected more than 3,000 toys and other needed items through a drive-thru toy drive, Amazon wish list and buying what’s needed with $1,800 in monetary donations. Members also created 200 craft kits for children to have something to do during their time in the hospital.

“Normally we are very fortunate to have a number of local businesses and partners participate in toy drives over the holiday season, but that number has been reduced greatly as so many offices are still working from home due to COVID. The toy drive organized by the JLRV has been instrumental in helping Carilion Children’s build up their holiday toy inventory,” said Erin Henderson, Program Director for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

“The Junior League of Roanoke Valley is blown away by the community support we’ve received for our very first toy drive. It’s very gratifying to know that all of the toys, craft kits, and monetary donations will make such an impact for the patients at Carilion Children’s,” said Katie Jones, Executive Vice President of Junior League of Roanoke Valley.

You can still donate by visiting Carilion Children’s Amazon wish list and purchase the item(s) to be directly mailed to the hospital. Please visit https://www.jlrv.org/toy-drive/ for the details. Any toys left over after the holidays will be given out throughout the year.

A big thank you to our partners. Wheeler Broadcasting provided PSAs on all of their radio stations.

Lawrence Companies provided a truck, boxes, and transportation of toys.

ROANOKE – Junior League of Roanoke Valley (JLRV), a non-profit organization committed to training women as civic leaders, announces it will be distributing $44,671.00 in funding to community partners that support its community focus. The JLRV’s focus is addressing poverty by connecting the community to existing resources and removing barriers to healthcare and food. Its goal is to collaborate and build partnerships within the Roanoke Valley connecting people to the resources they need.

Annually, the JLRV will award three grants: the Care That Counts Grant, the Community Focus Grant, and the Apel Family Grant. For the 2019-2020 League year, the Community Focus and Apel Family grants are in their first years.

The JLRV fully funded the projects of three community organizations.

In addition, the organization was able to give $1,000 each to the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia and Feeding Southwest Virginia to help with COVID-19 relief efforts. It also bought meals from a local restaurant to give to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital staff during the pandemic.

The grants were awarded to the Roanoke Valley as follows:

CARE THAT COUNTS GRANT:
Purpose: Given to organizational projects relating to childcare, after school care, supporting agencies in our community in need of assistance with sliding scale childcare and to provide scholarships to students who otherwise could not afford specific educational opportunities or other opportunities that enrich the lives of children.

CHIP ($5,000): Child Health Investment Partnership of Roanoke Valley believes that every child should have equal access to healthcare and enter school ready to learn. In July 2018, CHIP began offering childcare slots so that caregivers/parents could continue their education or return to work. JLRV funds will be used to help fund these childcare slots in 2020. In 2019, CHIP was able to help nine mothers return to work or receive job training that helped secure employment, by providing childcare slots.

Kids Soar ($5,000): Kids Soar provides year-round multi-generational literacy education to the underserved communities of Roanoke. The Kids Soar Literacy Initiative specifically targets children who are behind on the reading scores Roanoke Schools use to assess reading ability. They also work with English language-learning children, who are typically first-generation refugees. Parents attend programming one night each week. Each student gets daily meals, school supplies, books, clean clothes, Christmas gifts and a week at summer camp. All families receive full scholarships, so they have no tuition expenses. Students are referred by Roanoke Public Schools and are served regardless of race, religion or country of origin. JLRV funds will be used for direct program expenses including classroom supplies, transportation, field trips, teaching and meals for the Kids Soar Literacy Initiative.

APEL FAMILY GRANT:
Purpose: To provide funding for unusual and capital expenditures for established organizations that align with the JLRV Community Focus.

LEAP ($2,500): The LEAP Mobile Market makes 12 stops/week and focuses efforts on low income, low access neighborhoods. Funds from JLRV Apel Family Grant will be used to improve the LEAP Mobile Market’s operational efficiency and customer experience. Through these capital investments, the Mobile Market will be able to serve more people, streamline our operations, and more effectively provide convenient, reliable access to fresh produce. This funding will allow LEAP to (1) install cold storage on the vehicle and (2) fix and update Mobile Market infrastructure.

Boys & Girls Club ($2,500): Through their Healthy Habits program, BGCSWVA provides healthy produce and food to their youth club members. This is done in response to the lack of fresh food and healthy eating choices in the community in which these youth live. Fresh foods and produce require accurate and consistent refrigeration. Refrigerators currently in use are not dependable and do not provide consistent temperature control for the fresh produce. JLRV funds will be used to purchase two refrigerators and cover all installation and set up costs for the appliances.

COMMUNITY FOCUS GRANT:
Purpose: Given to organizations in order to fund a project that aligns with the JLRV focus.

Bradley Free Clinic ($22,270): Bradley Free Clinic (BFC) was able to hire a full time Nurse Practitioner who began seeing patients in September 2019. Through this hire, the amount of time that they are able to provide medical services increased from 9.5 hours per week to 49.5 hours per week. This addition to BFC’s staff will allow the Clinic to begin providing access to immediate care, to reduce patient wait times, and to improve continuity of care for their patient population. With this expansion of services, BFC will incur additional costs, to include lab, pharmacy, and medical supply expenses, to meet the clinical needs of this increased patient population. Bradley Free Clinic will use the JLRV Community Focus Grant to fund a significant portion of the non-salary expenses that they will incur as a result of their efforts to increase access to health care for the low-income, underserved members of the Roanoke Valley.

LEAP ($5,401): The LEAP Mobile Market makes 12 stops/week and focuses efforts on low income, low access neighborhoods. Funds from JLRV Apel Family Grant will be used to improve the LEAP Mobile Market’s operational efficiency and customer experience. Through these capital investments, the Mobile Market will be able to serve more people, streamline our operations, and more effectively provide convenient, reliable access to fresh produce. This funding will allow LEAP to (1) install cold storage on the vehicle and (2) fix and update Mobile Market infrastructure. In addition to Mobile Market improvements, JLRV funds will go towards a new program called FreshLink Ambassadors (FLA). The Ambassadors will share information about available food-based resources in the community, including farmers markets, and where they can participate in healthy food incentive programs. After each conversation, the person will receive a coupon for fruits and vegetables to be redeemed at markets and tracked for evaluation purposes.

ABOUT JUNIOR LEAGUE OF ROANOKE VALLEY:
Junior League of Roanoke Valley (JLRV) is in its 94th year in service to the community. The Junior League of Roanoke Valley is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

The JLRV is an exclusively educational, charitable organization which reaches out to women of all races, religions, or national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to voluntarism. The Junior League welcomes all women who value its Mission. It is committed to inclusive environments of diverse individuals, organizations, and communities.

Janet Frantz, another JLRV Past President, spoke to how articulate, witty, and incredibly bright Ruth Ellen was. “Ruth Ellen has a way of leveling the playing field for all and had a very Southern, genteel way about her that helped bring people together and make everyone feel welcomed.”

Ruth Ellen was a tremendous leader to the JLRV and would later go on to serve on the board for Susan G. Komen, serve as counsel to the Roanoke County and Salem Department of Social Services and finished with her rise to County Attorney of Roanoke County. Ruth Ellen was also active at Second Presbyterian Church and the Mill Mountain Garden Club. As stated in her obituary, “Ruth Ellen was an expert on friendship. Her friends were drawn from all walks of life and if all could all be gathered in a room at one time, each would consider themselves her best. That is just the kind of person she was.”

It’s happened to the best of us: a new year rolls around and you decide it’s finally time to get your fitness game back on track. You buy a new workout wardrobe (because of course if you look good, you feel good and you perform better), join a gym and plan to work out at least six days a week! Then life happens, and before you know it, weeks and then months pass without you stepping foot into the gym. The good news for 2020: that won’t happen to you because we’re working to set you up for fitness success in the new year. We talked with JLRVers about what helps them crush their exercise goals year-round, and four ways you can do it, too:

HAVE FUN!

Whether it’s CrossFit, walking, dancing or bungee fitness, an activity you enjoy is one you’re more likely to stick with. Hate Pilates? Then, starting with a fitness routine that incorporates Pilates 99.9% of the time may not be the best way to re-start your fitness journey. Lindsey Kennett, a member of the 2019-2020 new member class and a television journalist in Roanoke, gets her fitness fix through two activities she enjoys: running and Burn Boot Camp, which offers a mix of challenging exercises and unique programming. “(Burn Boot Camp) got me motivated to work out again because I sort of fell off a little bit at the beginning of this year,” Kennett said. “It’s mostly because I enjoy the people and the workouts and also the great thing about going to a group class like that is that everybody is sort of doing it together.” Sarah Kreger, who is in her fourth active year in the League and is busy raising a growing toddler, gets her endorphins pumping through Orangetheory Fitness (OTF), a one-hour, high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout that incorporates treadmill work, indoor rowing and strength exercises. Kreger said OTF even helped her to develop an appreciation for running. “I like that it’s always different and it’s really made me like running and now I’ve done some 10Ks and kind of upped my race distance,” she said. Picking an exercise routine that you enjoy can help you stay motivated, consistent and may help you discover more ways to work out that you find exciting.

START SMALL.

Sometimes the hardest step is the first one, so just getting moving is a worthy accomplishment! If you’ve been out of the fitness game for several weeks or months (or years), set short-term, attainable goals in the beginning that will set you up for long-term success. Kayla Owata, JLRV Membership and Education Vice President, now works out 4-5 times each week. Her revamped fitness goals started with regular OTF workouts, and now include regular training at CrossFit Christiansburg. “That hour (CrossFit) session is more mentally what I need to forget about the stress of work or stress with my day-to-day life and it gives me an hour for myself, sort of like ‘me time.'” Setting an expectation of progressing from not working out to instantly working out seven days a week can lead to frustration and setbacks. Instead, set a fitness goal you know you can achieve and sustain, such as working out twice a week for 10-20 minutes, and then growing in your fitness journey from there.

HAVE A PLAN.

Now that you’ve set goals to ease back into your fitness routine in the gym or with at-home workouts, take time at the start of each week to plan the days and times you’ll work out. As you’re planning, keep in mind when you’ll be least likely to be interrupted or have other activities that could pop up and prevent you from getting your sweat session in. Commit to your workout days by writing it in your planner or setting reminders in your phone. Brittany Mitchell, an occupational therapist who has a toddler and is pregnant with her second child, said she often looks ahead to her work and family commitments each week to determine which days she can dedicate to working out. “The main thing for me is when I do have really busy weeks, I actually have to visualize fitting it into my day the day before to mentally prepare myself and to make it work,” Mitchell said. “I usually have a notebook where I write notes and a to-do list for myself and I always list working out as one of my top three things, so it’s a priority to me.” Start treating your fitness routine like an appointment with yourself that you don’t want to miss so that fitness becomes a regular part of your week. BONUS: Set out your workout apparel and pack your gym bag ahead of your workout so you’re ready to exercise the next morning or afternoon.

REMEMBER YOUR “WHY.”

Whether you’re training for a triathlon or want more energy to play with your kids, we all have our reasons as to “why” we work out regularly. As your fitness journey progresses, there will certainly be days that you’ll need a little extra motivation to get moving or push through a workout, and that’s when you’ll need to dig deep and remember “why” you started this journey in the first place. “It’s just great for so many things: heart health, working through stress and just a mental break, so I think it’s really important,” Kreger said. Mitchell shared the same sentiments. “My thing is this: you can’t pour from an empty cup. I realize working out not only helps me as a person but helps me as a mom, as a woman, as a parent and as a wife.” Countless studies show that being active can not only ward off health conditions and diseases, but it can also boost your mood and energy levels, improve your sleep, and help you connect with others who have similar fitness goals, all great reasons as to “why” to get fit.

Cheers to fun and fitness in the new year! You got this!

A transfer from the Junior League of Washington (DC), Lutheria Smith learned quickly about the importance of connection to the League. Her first JLRV placement, while she enjoyed the work itself, was isolated from other members of the League. In our conversation, she shared many examples of her strong connection to the League that resulted in personal and professional growth. Lutheria served, and continues to serve, the League in numerous leadership roles (President, Stocked Market Co-Chair and Merchant Co-Chair, Marketing VP, Administrative VP, Membership Advisor, and currently a Sustaining Director).

Among the lessons imparted by her mother, Lutheria Smith was taught about the importance of service for the benefit of others. Lutheria’s mother relayed the story from her own childhood, where she and her mother (Lutheria’s grandmother) went to town to run errands. On the drive in, they saw a woman that needed a ride. After their appointments were concluded, it had been a very long day and both women were ready to return home.  Her grandmother saw that the other woman still needed a ride and offered assistance.  Lutheria’s mother asked why they were stopping now when they were so tired and finished with their own errands.  Her grandmother offered words that had a lasting impact on her mother as well as Lutheria, “If we took her when we were on our way, it wouldn’t have helped her.  It is only if you’re going out of your way for someone, that you’re doing something for them.” Her grandmother’s lesson of doing good for another person, unrelated to your own convenience, has been a lesson that impacted her family through generations.

Having just moved to Roanoke and hoping to build her own community, Lutheria was ready to resign from the League and pursue community service options through her employer. She met Sherry Thompson and Julie Komer at a party, voiced her apprehensions, and was convinced to remain in the JLRV. She was placed at the Stocked Market the following year and felt that the League embraced her through that placement.

“To whom much is given, much is expected.  If you’ve been given a lot, you should be giving a lot. And I feel like the league gave me many opportunities to give a lot.”  While in leadership, Lutheria went on site visits to determine which organizations would receive grant funding. Bethany Hall applied for a grant but ultimately, the League was unable to award funds during that cycle.  The visit to Bethany Hall remained fresh in everyone’s memory and the membership came together to make the house look truly like a home.  In a project conceived by Amanda Bounds Leffel, items were donated and members worked 2-3 hour shifts to clean, paint, and care for the home.  “I don’t even scrub my own bathroom [like I scrubbed that one],” Lutheria joked. The residents came home for the day and were brought to tears. Their joy caused the League members to also shed tears. A lasting impact was made on all the women, visitors and Bethany Hall residents alike, that day.

The strength of the League contributes greatly to the strength of its membership. Through the leadership and board training she received from the League, Lutheria has held numerous community roles.  “Community boards want trained volunteers and the Junior League knows parliamentary procedures.” In addition to her professional and personal responsibilities, Lutheria is the Vice-Chair of the Roanoke City School Board, Vice-Chair of the Roanoke Heart Ball committee, a member of the Roanoke Chapter of the Links, Inc., and a strong example of servant leadership for our membership.

Lutheria offered many illustrations of what makes the JLRV relevant and meaningful to the community.  In her own words, “I was new to the Roanoke Valley and learned about the needs of the community.  Then later I continued volunteering and served.  I would not have known about the needs if I had not been a member of the League. We were impacting the lives of children and their families.  We weren’t just giving money, we were on our knees scrubbing.”

I asked the highlight of her League experience, “In addition to getting the opportunity, the humbling opportunity to serve the community… I served as the first African-American JLRV President (and hopefully not its last), and [that is] one of the highlights of my life.  I’ve made life long friends. The league gives and gives and gives.”  Much like the advice of her grandmother, Lutheria Smith is a woman willing to go out of her way to help another woman or member of our community.  We are incredibly lucky to serve with her in the Junior League of Roanoke Valley.

This issue is focused on strength and how as a group of strong, kind, talented, and
compassionate women, we can use our collective strength to have the largest positive impact on our local community in the Roanoke Valley. We possess strength that is unique to each of us and we share our strength to not only make it through our everyday life, but to lift each other and our community up, through volunteerism. How we maintain our personal and thus collective strength is important, thus we thought we could focus on self-care for a moment.

Consider this quote by Eleanor Brown, MA, CPG, “Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” (http://www.eleanorbrownn.com/)

There are times we may forget, minimize, or delay self-care because life happens and we are pulled in multiple directions. However, practicing self-care is one way we can maintain our personal strength and continue to have the ability to give to others. Here we highlight some general areas of self-care. Note that this list is limited and because self-care can look different for each of us, this is just a starting point.

Health

This does not necessarily mean training for and running a marathon, though for some this may be a good fit. However, it is important to at least view your physical health as a marathon and that you are in it for the long haul, which means small daily steps to maintain and improve your health are important. For some this could be increasing your water intake, focusing on a balanced diet, including daily physical activity or strength training (as approved by your primary care provider), aiming for and achieving 7-8 hours of sleep, or caffeine intake in moderation.

Social

Spending time and connecting with others that we enjoy being around can also help to improve our sense of well-being. This may be sharing a good meal with family and friends with lots of laughs and conversations, attending an event with a select few people, volunteering with a large group, or perhaps just sharing space while reading, crafting, or watching shows or movies with others.

Emotional

Remembering to take a few minutes each day to acknowledge what we are grateful for, as well as allowing for a few minutes of quiet and calm, such as through deep breathing and/or meditation can help us to reset and approach each day with compassion for ourselves and others.

This article felt especially poignant with our recent kindness initiative, in that if we practice kindness and self-care for ourselves, we can continue to have the strength and enthusiasm to spread kindness to others.