Author: fizur-philip@cooperhealth.edu

98-year-old Trudy Berlin began hosting “The Ladies Room” at the JCC’s Sandler Center in 2000. For this group of women, generally ages 70 and above, no topic is off the table and any given conversation may range from thoughts on grief to politics and beyond. Each week Berlin comes up with a theme for the show, and then the conversation moves in whatever direction the woman care to take it. Participants have dubbed Berlin “ the Jewish Oprah” and feel that Berlin challenges them and that “her energy is absolutely unbelievable. She brings out thoughts that you never thought you would ever express.” Berlin notes “as you grow older, I think that the world can become very difficult for old people and they give up, ” and this is what she wanted to address, and did not want this hampered by COVID. When the coronavirus pandemic shut down the Levis Jewish Community Center last year, she predictably sprang into action to keep the group going. So with a little help from Stephanie Owitz, the Boca Raton, Florida, center’s director of arts, culture and learning, the show went virtual and it has been going strong with participants throughout the US and Canada since.

Learn more about Berlin and her group at APNews.com.

A recent poll conducted as a joint venture among OnePoll and the charity Eyes of Hope suggests that, while many acknowledge the difficulties of 2020, just as many acknowledge that it has also, in some ways, help to make them better people.

The poll, which surveyed 2,005 Americans, revealed a specific theme of cultivating care for our neighbors. Examples of how this has played range from 87% of respondents indicating that they have donated a portion of their paycheck, despite their own financial difficulties, to smaller acts of kindness including helping a stranger across the street, taking out their neighbor’s trash, walking a neighbor’s dog, or shoveling someone else’s property when it snow.

Overall, 72% of those who participated in the survey said they found themselves caring about the health and well-being of others significantly more in the past year. Want some more ideas of how to incorporate kindness into your own life, or stories of how others are already doing so? Check out https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/!

Muslims around the world will mark the end of Ramadan today. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, lasting from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next, which is traditionally dedicated to fasting (sawm), prayer, reflection and community to commemoration Muhammad’s first revelation.

But like everything else, Ramadan was impacted by COVID last year and has been again this year. Specifically, the iftar meal that breaks the fast at the end of each day is usually shared by friends, family, and strangers alike but to stem the tide of the pandemic these gatherings have remained highly limited. Enter Mariam Yehia.

As highlighted by APNews, a few years ago, Mariam, her mom and a friend started a Ramadan tradition of bringing hot meals to the needy in Cairo to observe iftar together.

“We feel really good that we try as much as we can to help people,” Yehia said. But “we feel always that we’re not doing enough.”

This year, when Mariam read the story of Mahmoud Kamal, she found a way to do more. Kamal, a chef by training, was struggling financially due to COVID, and so she decided to purchase her iftar meals for herself and those in need in Cairo from him to bolster

She and her group placed a first order of 60 meals that included chicken, rice and vegetables. For a little extra money, Kamal added dates and juice.

In Egypt, free communal iftar meals typically see strangers huddled around long tables on the street to break their fast together. But such tables were banned due to the coronavirus, and Yehia felt the need to give had been amplified.

Yehia then decided to make a post of her own, recommending the meals and encouraging people to either order from Kamal or suggest other cooks who may also need more business. Her post ended up getting about a thousand shares.

“The idea of going an extra mile to do two good things instead of one in one simple act, I think this is what resonated with people,” she said. “It’s all about encouraging people to do good things.”

Read more about Mariam Yehia and her efforts at APNews.com

Bless Parker is the 51-year-old volunteer mayor of Miami (pronounced my-am-uh), a former mining town with a population of about 13,000 located in the Northeast corner of Oklahoma. During the pandemic, as in former crises, Parker helped homeless people get into church shelters to have their needs meet however, more recently, he and his colleagues have decided they needed to do something to help people who were having a tough time. From here, the idea of the Giving Walls was born.

Since the inception of the Growing Wall, a growing number of restaurants in Miami and other towns around Oklahoma, these walls are decorated with hanging receipts and anyone can walk in, take a receipt, and order a meal free of charge. The receipts are put there by customers who prepay for food and tack them to the wall, leaving them on offer for anyone who is hungry. Customers can order anything from a three-egg omelet to chicken-fried steaks, no tips expected, no questions asked.

“Maybe if we can show people what it’s like to take care of your neighbor during a time of need, it will spread throughout the United States,” said Parker. “We want to bring back the old hometown values that I saw when I was growing up here as a kid.”

Learn more about the Giving Wall and read the full story at WashingtonPost.com.

Years of research in the field of psychology have provided consistent findings that suggest people who are able to observe and integrate both the positive and challenging aspects of any given situation, a part of what we consider cognitive flexibility, are the ones who fair best in the face of difficult situations. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the most difficult aspects of this global problem have often been front and center, contributing to ongoing distress in the general public. So, to try to bring balance, a number of writers have taken to cataloging good news. Recently, elle.com cataloged 80 of the most uplifting news stories from early 2020 to the present.

Among the more recent of these stories include those of Europe’s oldest COVID survivor, and the role of fitness experts in promoting both physical and emotional health. Sister Andrea of Toulon, France was diagnosed with COVID just before her 117^th birthday. She isolated from the rest of her cloistered retirement home but has since celebrated her birthday surrounded by a small, safe group of her closest loved one. When asked of her experience, Sister Andre shared that, since she was asymptomatic, she did not realize she had it, but was grateful for her outcome and the support she received.

Meanwhile, personal trainer Joe Wicks of the United Kingdom, helped parents throughout the country who suddenly found themselves acting as teachers when schools closed. Recognizing the role of physical fitness in mental health, Mr. Wicks helped parents teach and model for their children the most important aspects of physical education at home. Every Monday through Friday at 9am, Wicks streams 30-minute long live PE classes that children can do from their homes with their parents. Despite the UK seeing some relief from COVID, Mr. Wicks continues these courses. To recognize the impact of these efforts, he awarded an MBE from the Queen for his contribution.

Do you have a positive news story or positive experience from the last year that you would want featured in the Daily Dose? E-mail your story to Fizur-philip@cooperhealth.edu.

While lockdowns, quarantines, and homeschooling have been highly stressful for many some have been able to have fun with it now and again. Such was the case with Carly Catalano, who moved from British Columbia to Australia with her partner, Sam, and their 3-year-old daughter Florence during the pandemic which required a mandatory 14-day hotel-room quarantine.

Knowing that two weeks in tight quarters with an active toddler might be a challange, Carly and Sam found at least one very creative way to keep Florence entertaining: “discovering” a new breed of dinosaur: “Bagasaurus”.

The family used the items that came with their takeout food: bags, containers, cutlery, and an ironing board amongst other things to make their own DIY dinosaur which now stands at about 5 feet tall. Since it’s creation, Florence and her parents have also created matching paper-bag-scaled outfits for her to continue the fun.

This story comes from the APNews.com One Good Thing series. The full story is at https://apnews.com/article/miami-health-lifestyle-religion-coronavirus-0a06fa112049586b62bc8de73ffad1f6

Entering her magical quinceanera on by her father’s arm, her tiara sparkling and her fuchsia ballgown trimmed with ruffles to perfectly match her cake, Adriana Palma scanned the crowd for familiar faces.

Most of the guests were strangers. But they would soon become like family — without them, this Parisian pink fairy tale of a 15th birthday party would never have come to life.

At least one very important person was missing — Adriana’s grandmother, who according to custom would have imparted wisdom and a special gift. She remained in Mexico.

“Don’t worry,” a volunteer at the homeless shelter told Adriana before the February celebration. “Today, we are all your godmothers.”

When the teen left Mexico in early 2020, she looked forward to a new life in Miami with her parents and three younger brothers. But when the pandemic hit, her father’s job disappeared.

Alone and impoverished, they spent four months living in their SUV. Adriana and her brothers — hungry and unfamiliar with English — crammed in homework assignments whenever they could find WiFi.

The Miami Rescue Mission had been inundated with housing requests after the pandemic, but in June they found a small apartment for the Palmas. The family slowly adapted to new routines.

But Adriana’s 15th birthday was coming, a day she had dreamt of since she was a little girl. Quinceaneras are revered in Hispanic culture and celebrated with all the gusto of a wedding. But after her father lost his job, Adriana said, “I lost all hope of having one.”

Itzel Palma tried to console her daughter.

“We will be together as a family,” she told her. “That will be my gift to you.”

Lian Navarro, a community development associate at Miami Rescue Mission, asks caseworkers every month for the names of children celebrating a birthday at the shelter. Her nearly 60 volunteer “Cover Girls,” named after the protective covering of an umbrella, bring cupcakes, balloons and small toys to ensure children aren’t overlooked.

When Navarro, a Cuban American, heard of Adriana’s upcoming 15th birthday, she knew the importance of the occasion. And she resolved to make the quinceanera happen.

Elle Montero and Tadia Silva, Miami real estate agents and longtime Cover Girls, were used to pulling off events with scarce resources. But as they scanned the bare room of a Miami church filled with nothing but a tree and a few tables, they thought: This is impossible.

Then they set out to do the impossible.

They’d already settled on a Parisian theme, something feminine and floral, and remembered some vintage trunks with big brass buckles that Silva had in storage. They found small gold Eiffel towers, placed cupcakes in delicate floral teacups, filled elegant glass jars with pastel macarons and sweet madeleines, and finished each table with pink floral centerpieces.

Nearly 50 Cover Girls joined in. Some gave money, others donated food or services. A makeup artist gave Adriana her very first makeup lesson, a hair stylist put her glossy, dark locks in soft curls and a professional photographer spent three hours capturing the event.

“We want them to have these memories. They have to believe they are worth all that because they are,” said Silva. “Some people don’t excel because they think they can’t do better because they’ve been conditioned that this is their fate, but little by little they get back on their feet.”

The Cover Girls stacked Adriana’s table with everything on her wish list, bracelets and purses, pajamas and gift cards, laughing like proud aunties as she peeled off the wrapping paper.

She danced with her father, swaying under the palm trees to Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” as many of her new godmothers wept with joy.

As the party was about to end, Adriana tucked handwritten notes into each hand; in her halting English, she thanked her godmothers for the magical memories.

“I felt like a princess,” she said.

This story comes from the APNews.com One Good Thing series. The full story is at https://apnews.com/article/miami-health-lifestyle-religion-coronavirus-0a06fa112049586b62bc8de73ffad1f6

8-year-old Dylan Pfeifer has been staging food drives from his home in metro Phoenix in response to the pandemic.

Dylan’s initial dream was to provide Internet access to students around the U.S. who were having a hard time taking advantage of the same virtual learning opportunities he had because they didn’t have internet. “My mom said it was going to be hard to provide internet, so we decided to do food drives,” he said.

Each drive is the culmination of hours of work that involves drawing posters, going door-to-door to hand out flyers and working with his mother to post information on Facebook.

Dylan has hosted three drives from his home in Chandler, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Phoenix. He said he is planning his next one in June, when summer vacation begins.

“I would plan one every day if I could,” he said.

Dylan says he has collected more than 1,000 cans and boxes of nonperishable food and more than $900 in donations. On its website, St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix says it can convert $1 into seven meals, meaning Dylan has been able to provide more than 6,500 meals on just monetary donations.

Learn more about Dylan, his food drives, and what you can do to help feed the hungry locally and around the country at APNews.com.

The lockdown caused by COVID globally has led to several positive, though perhaps short term, environmental positives. These include reduction of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, reduction of water pollution, reduction of noise pollution, and ecological restoration and assimilation of tourist spots to name a few.

With Earth Day 2021 fast approaching, the writers at the Good News Network have compiled a list of some less thought-of ideas to make near and long-term environmental change. These include

• Buy biodegradable plant-made smartphone cases: At least one such manufacturer of cases for all Samsung and Apple phones has also partnered with Eden Reforestation to plant five trees for every case sold, contributing to reforestation in places like Madagascar, Haiti, Nepal, and others.
  
• Plan the Greenest-Possible Funeral: While celebrating Earth Day is not when most people imagine planning their funeral, Better Place Forests allows people to leave behind a legacy of conservation through a reservation of a memorial tree in their unique “memorial forest preserves.” At a fraction of the cost of a normal funeral service, one can reserve a tree in some of the most beautiful forests in the country, around which ashes can be scattered. The costs of the service go to preserving the forest in the highest possible standard forever.
  
• Ocean plastic bracelets: The famous maker of bracelets that pulls plastic out of the ocean is offering a special Earth Day bracelet. Pairing with a non-profit that plants coastal trees, the normal deal of one pound of marine trash per one bracelet sold is also including a $1 donation to tree planting. Their limited edition bracelet comes with two charms, one for 4Ocean and the other for SeaTrees, the non-profit, and features green beads in addition to blue ones. GNN featured 4Ocean’s efforts last year, when they reached 8 million pounds of diverted ocean garbage, to try and show this brand is actually making a huge difference.
  
• Recycle (or Reduce) Your K-Cups: Coffee roasters such as Don Francisco have announced they will give those who buy their product a pre-paid shipping label to mail them back all coffee-pod waste, and earn points towards donations to charities of your choice. Want a good, single cup of coffee without a K-cup? Consider a French Press!