WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY?
I’ve been asking random people this question lately and it’s been fun listening to their responses. Most of them are initially surprised that I’m asking the question in the first place, but once they’ve sat with it for a moment and shared their answer with me, their demeanor always changes. You can tell their mood has been lifted and their day is changed.
I do this because someone did it for me and I felt the impact. I was asked that question and told not to think too hard, but just respond with the first thing I could grasp onto that brought me joy. It was the way my 5 year-old granddaughter laughs. It’s this deep, loud belly laugh that I thought she’d outgrow but hasn’t. It’s the kind of laugh you want to be a part of and I sincerely hope she never loses it.
This whole exercise has made me think: Do our youth experience joy? What would happen if at the beginning of each youth/kids CrossFit class you asked everyone “What brings you joy?” and let whoever wants to just shout it out. I wonder how that would change the trajectory of a class. Maybe it would give that one young person an opportunity to look at life just a little bit differently.
Take a moment to consider how we could each be changed if we focused every day on finding the small bits of joy in our existence. How might our outlook on life change? How might that help us change the lives of others? JOY is a powerful emotion and one we’re all capable of accessing.
WAYS TO SUPPORT
This last year has brought a lot of change to Harbourside.We added a couple new board members which has really rounded out our team. Our meetings are always full of ideas..about what we could do better, what went well, what things we should change. We had our most successful fundraiser ever this year, raising over $3,500 to support youth in our community. As we move into 2024, we have some new ideas brewing and we’re excited to share them with you in the near future!
We have more youth asking to be sponsored every day, which is amazing. But along with that interest comes the need for donations in order to cover the costs of keeping these kids in our program. As we navigate the last few weeks of 2023, if you find yourself able to donate to the work we’re doing in your year-end giving, it would mean the world to us. Every dollar goes directly to connecting young people with fitness resources that are life-changing for them. You can make a one-time donation by clicking this link.
Givewise now also offers the option to set up recurring donations if you’re looking ahead to 2024 and are able to support us on an ongoing basis. Even a small recurring donation makes a big difference, as it allows us to strategically plan, with confidence, how many kids we can support each month.
To set up your recurring donation, take these steps:
- Sign-up for a GiveWise Giving Fund at fund.givewise.ca
- Once you create your account, you’ll be sent an email to confirm your Giving Fund account.
- Confirm and log in. Navigate to the “Add Funds” tab and make a contribution to your giving fund.
- In the “Give” tab, search for Harbourside Youth Foundation and select “View & Give”
- Choose a gift value and recurring frequency (there are options for monthly, quarterly, and annually).
- Once a recurring gift is set-up, it can be managed from the Activity tab.
Ex: “Add Funds”
Ex: “View & Give”
Lastly, if your company would like to make a tax-deductible charitable donation, we are always honored to be supported by businesses doing good work in their communities. The great folks at Columbia Cabinets made a generous donation just last week that will go directly towards helping our young people find connection and joy.
Thank you, as always, for your support of Harbourside Youth Foundation. What began as a spark of an idea has grown—because of your contributions and care—into an organization that is making a tangible difference in the lives of young people right here in our community. We can’t wait to bring that difference to more families in 2024. Onward and upward!
