Small & Gutsy

THE TABLES HAVE TURNED for this Episode!!

Fully Alive's Mary Meduna Gross interviewed me! I had the opportunity to share both about Small & Gutsy - its origins, and some personal details about my journey and a recent hiccup - Breast Cancer!

Here are some Episode Highlights:

How do you handle things when life throws difficult circumstances and challenges your way? In this episode, Laura Wittcoff shares her wisdom and insight to weather life's storms in the midst of making a positive impact and pursuing self-growth.

• How are we showing up when in difficult circumstances
• The possibility and good that comes from open mindfulness
• Social impact, meaning and alignment of our work
• Reciprocity of giving and appreciating others

Mary is an executive wellbeing coach on a mission to empower conscious business founders to connect with their inner power so that their vibrancy will radiate positivity throughout their organizations.

Mary is engaging and fun and I encourage you to check out her podcast here and her website here

Please reach out to me at [email protected] with the name of any nonprofit or for-profit organization under $10 million in revenue with a social purpose or impact you'd like featured on Small & Gutsy

Remember your first concert, remember the excitement, the smells, the anticipation, remember being wowed by the band, remember standing up or maybe standing on your seat ready to join in with the crowd as a familiar cord was struck on the guitar or keyboard and sing or scream along - almost forgetting that you’re an audience member - we get caught up in that glorious moment, but most of us don’t often realize how much preparation goes into those events and I’m not talking about the featured band or headliner, but those in the background that work tirelessly so we can be safe...Most of the time, we are, and sadly, sometimes things don’t work out as planned....Most of us assume that when we purchase tickets to a venue, that we are figuratively and literally purchasing the insurance that all the behind the scenes preparation has been carefully thought through and executed without a hitch and that we will be safe...we have put our faith in the hands of experts, but who are these folks?

Safety at events became its own unfortunate headliner after the band, Sugarland was about to perform at the Indiana State Fair on August 13, 2011. A severe weather system with high winds moved through the Indianapolis area - a Powerful gust of wind toppled the temporary outdoor roof that had been erected over the Fair’s permanent main stage; large parts of the roof and supporting structure fell onto the folks gathered at the front of the stage - this tragedy left 7 dead and more than 40 others injured; Opinions ranged from an unforseable act of G-D to an avoidable consequence of human error. The fingerpointing encompassed everyone from the event’s organizers, crowd mangers, and roof technicians to safety inspectors and weather forecasters.

A group led by Jim Digby, tour manager for the band Linkin Park, decided to take matters into its own hands and formed the Event Safety Alliance or ESA. This group is comprised of live-event industry professionals and is a non-profit membership driven organization dedicated to “life safety first”- I love that tagline- and promoitng THAT throughout all phases of event production and execution. ESA’s mission is to help event professionals and participants be Empowered, Safe, and Aware of the reasonably foreseeable risks around them and they do this through Education, Skills training, and Advocacy.

Leadership is a huge topic that is often so tough to define; I have read articles that state that leadership can be taught; I have read articles that say leadership is something that is just inherent in you, either you have it or you don’t; - that seems quite ominous - almost like a weeding out process - like being chosen first or last for the basketball or volleyball team in gym class - why was that practice started anyway vs, just randomly assigning two groups of kids to just play? We all develop at different rates and why be penalized by perceived popularity or early athletic ability?

This must be so challenging for those who see potential in everyone and want to foster leadership in their communities where leadership perhaps is viewed as a privilege and should actually be an equitable opportunity like education - So, when we say leadership, do we mean the admirable qualities of a good leader? To define leadership by identifying good leaders and then trying to change our habits to improve our ability to be like that good leader...Isn’t that somewhat subjective? Do we mean the learning from leaders who have come before us and how they molded us and impressed upon us the value of being a good leader? Could those leaders be from our personal experience vs. those we may place on a public pedestal? Could it maybe foster a sense of community where leaders among us are recognized, encouraged, and often emerge as a surprise to them?

Founded in 2021, Born 2 Lead Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing an ecosystem of support based on lifespan development. Their mission is to empower individuals at every life stage by providing comprehensive programs, resources, and services that foster personal growth, well-being, and success. By following individuals throughout their life journey, they aim to create a seamless and continuous support system that meets their evolving needs. They provide a wide range of services from Early Childhood Enrichment to Elderly Car, and have programs that focus on each stage of life. I think they have 7 programs to date, everything from financial literacy to mentorship, college readiness, parenting, mental health. I am not sure there is anything they don't offer. Their goal it to empower and mentor individuals so that they have the skills and resources they need to be successful and make a positive impact in their lives and communities.

I remember putting my kids to bed at night when they were young - giving them the security and comfort of knowing that their worries should be about their little life, not the big issues of financially and emotionally supporting them, giving them a roof over their heads, food, clothes and the importance of having a safe space in which to sleep - a bed of their own which may seem like a privilege, that if we can, every child should be able to experience...I think it’s actually not a privilege, but a rite of passage in some ways or at least in our culture. A rite of passage is an event, ceremony, or experience that marks a milestone in a person’s life. Many are cultural, religious, social, and professional, across the globe, they range from an early age in some cultures, like Japan, as a 3-year-old girl, being allowed to grow long hair, and at age 7 shifting from a rope belt to an obi for their kimono, for a boy, at age 5 being allowed to wear a hakama, a formal garment - clothing for both represents entering into the formal stage of middle childhood. Various tribal rituals indicate the growth of an individual to the next level of development in eventually reaching adulthood. Rites of passage indicating milestones have also entered our social, educational and professional world with marriage ceremonies, funerals, 12-step programs, promotions, passing tests to the next level, certifications, graduations, licenses, too many to list; There are also many religious and spiritual milestones, from Deepak Chopra’s 7 stages of spiritual development to baptisms, to B’nai Mitzvahs..and so much more. One U.S. cultural rite of passage is something I hadn’t really thought about until I read about how my guest volunteers his time.

This more typical rite of passage is moving from a crib or a parent/guardian’s/siblings/shared bed to one’s very own bed. This milestone represents so many things in our culture that often go unnoticed or unrecognized and are truly significant. Having the capability of sleeping independently by means of having the privilege of having one’s own bed begins to create a feeling of ownership over one’s self, the feeling of self-reliance which builds self-esteem. Having one’s own space becomes sacred, a spot that is theirs to set up, take care of, decorate, and love within the natural shelter of home - it is so much more than just a bed. For many parents or guardians who can afford beds, it becomes an automatic expectation and a feeling sometimes of moving forward for their child in healthy ways - even if they keep getting up in the middle of the night to sneak into their parents’ bed, but for a child who has never had the experience of transitioning at a very young age, this becomes a journey of self-reliance that can translate into so many positive steps toward independence that may not have been a previous more typical step due to financial constraints.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace, our featured nonprofit organization believes that a bed is a basic need for the best physical, emotional, and mental support that a child needs. They are a national organization, based in Idaho, but we are focusing on one of their growing chapters, in Texas; this is a response to the call of a national problem, one bed at a time, one town at a time.

To learn more about Sleep in Heavenly Peace, check out their website: www.shpbeds.org

When the typical person thinks of Hollywood, they think of fame & fortune, the whirlwind of celebrities, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the celebrity hand and foot cement impressions, Groman’s Chinese theatre, The Hollywood sign, and many more iconic symbols of glamor, representing the rich and famous...there is another part of Hollywood though, the real people who live there, and some of those real people are disadvantaged and marginalized, and don’t often have the opportunity to reach their potential. If they are given that opportunity to fulfill their goals by living up to their potential, they will become contributing members of their community; this community that cares about sustaining their people’s future. One of the ways to do that is to focus on youth, ages 6-17, and to instill the belief that they can do anything. Whatever it takes to build great futures is the mantra of one very special organization that is also quite iconic.

Since 1937, the Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood has provided a safe haven for children to discover, learn, lead, and succeed. It was known then as the Boys Club of America, designed to give boys and young men a ‘fighting chance’ to be successful. There is a tremendous amount of history that leads up to 1987, at which point the name was changed to include girls as it was recognized that girls needed that same fighting chance as their male counterparts.

The Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood’s mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring adults.

The Boys & Girls Club fills the gap between school and home. With so many distractions that can have negative impacts on our youth, this is one organization that gets it right; they inspire their young participants through education and empowerment.

Contributing to quality education allows for learning and leadership opportunities; there are numerous programs that enhance the lives of the many young members: Girls empowerment, coding, the READS program which stands for Reading Excellence Always Delivers Success, anti-bullying program, the UCLA music program, the Tietjen scholarship program, Great Futures, and I am sure our guest today will fill us in on all of the activities that take place at the Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood.

https://www.bgchollywood.com