+
Let's Do More Together

10 practical and meaningful ways you can take part in this historic moment

10 practical and meaningful ways you can take part in this historic moment
Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash
True
proctor

So we can all agree that 2020 is panning out to be pretty rough, right? We're dealing with a global pandemic, economic crash, 400 years of racial inequality , and murder hornets.

Trash Reaction GIF by Robert E BlackmonGiphy

If you're sitting at home, shouting expletives and/or wringing your hands wishing there was something you could do, guess what? Every single human being can find a small way to help, and we are here to inspire you to make a difference.

Got your notepad ready? Here we go.


You feel paralyzed every time you log on to social media or turn on the news.

Solution: We get it. It's a lot. We invite you to stop arguing with your distant relatives on Facebook and turn your attention to the outside world. Wave hello to a neighbor. Smile at a child. Scream into a pillow.

Help a senior citizen by running an errand, loading groceries into their vehicle, or carrying bags to the front door. Do something small to make someone else's day better, before returning to your own.

You want to donate money to a good cause but find the choices overwhelming.

Solution: There are so many worthy causes out there right now. The problem of having too many choices is actually not a bad one to have; it means a lot of kindred spirits are out there doing wonderful things, and all you have to do is click a few buttons to send support.

You can do this. Really.

You want to help people in need, but you have $10 or less to spend.

Solution: On your next grocery trip , hit the BOGO sales. Buy an extra box of cereal or can of black beans and give the surplus to a local food bank. Every item makes a difference, and if you take advantage of a drugstore sale, pick up feminine hygiene products, deodorant, or shampoo and donate them to a homeless shelter.

You want to be an activist but have no idea where to start.

Solution: Half of the battle is won already, friend. Use the internet to find a local group of like-minded people. Enter a search on your city and include the type of activism you are interested in. Look up the word "activism" to make sure you understand what it is. See when and where virtual activist training is available. Be open. Follow the minority leadership, be peaceful, and listen.

Photo by Mike Von on Unsplash

The idea of activism makes you want to hide in a closet.

Solution: Great! How are you at writing letters? Baking? Childcare? Errand-running? Figure out what you have to offer, and then volunteer your services to the activists in your community. Many of them want to do more but can't because they're too busy doing a task that you might find enjoyable.

Children have questions. About everything.

Solution: Yes, we know. There really is a lot to take in, and you haven't had time to fully process it, and you'd rather just not have those conversations. But if you muster up the courage to face it head on, the kids will be empowered with the knowledge they need to navigate tricky situations with their peers. Talking to children openly and honestly helps them become future allies and advocates for justice, period.

You suspect you might be part of the problem, or know someone who might be part of the problem.

Solution: The first step in making a difference is acknowledging that there is a problem. Find some quiet time to ponder this. Think about what you can do to improve the situation within your small sphere of influence.

Important people in your life don't agree with your views.

Solution: Your job isn't to change them. Your task is to love them enough to have an honest conversation. Listen to why they might feel strongly about an issue. Ask questions without judgement so that you can better understand where they might be coming from. It's possible to create space for them (and their quirks) without condoning bad or unethical behavior. Humanity is complicated—just love them, and burn a lot of sage.

You've got very little free time, money is tight, and your emotional bandwidth is tapped.

Solution: Text a friend, just to check on them. Admire the birds from your window. Sign up to give back every time you buy essentials like laundry detergent and toothpaste, so that you're able to do good without having to think about it.

You are very often in a bad mood.

Solution: Tap into the positive energy of Mother Earth. Garden, plant trees to fight climate change, shake your fist at the sky, sit in the sun and stick your feet in a patch of grass. Everything is connected to everything else—creating positive energy will help everyone, most of all, you.

If all of us aim to improve the common welfare, think of the possibilities for our future! Don't let excuses or lack of experience keep you from making a difference.

Turn your everyday actions into acts of good every day at P&G Good Everyday.

Sponsored

Three women, three MS journeys: How multiple sclerosis looks different for everyone

Gina, Nathalie and Helga share their reactions to being diagnosed with MS and how they stay informed and positive in the face of ever-changing symptoms.

Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga, Nathalie and Gina all have MS, and their experiences show how differently the disease can manifest.

True

It’s been 155 years since neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot gave the first lecture on a mysterious progressive illness he called “multiple sclerosis.” Since then, we’ve learned a lot. We know MS causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue, including damaging the brain and spinal cord. Resulting symptoms can be debilitating and include fatigue, blurred vision, memory problems and weakness. Huge advancements in our understanding of MS and its underlying causes, as well as treatment advances, have been made in the past few decades, but MS remains a complex and unpredictable reality for the 2.8 million+ people diagnosed around the world.

Ironically, the only real constant for people living with MS is change. There’s no set pattern or standard progression of the disease, so each person’s experience is unique. Some people with MS have mild symptoms that worsen slowly but sometimes improve, while others can have severe symptoms that drastically alter their daily lives.

All people with MS share some things in common, however, such as the need to stay informed on the ever-evolving research, find various lines of support and try to remain hopeful as they continue living with the disease.

To better understand what navigating life with MS really looks like, three women shared their MS stories with us. Their journeys demonstrate how MS can look different for different people and interestingly, how the language used to talk about the disease can greatly impact how people understand their realities.

woman with horse, woman riding horseGina loves riding her horse, Benita.Courtesy of Sanofi

Gina—Hamburg, Germany (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2017)

When her youngest son was 4 months old, Gina started having problems with her eye. She’d soon learn she was experiencing optic neuritis—her first symptom of MS.

“Immediately after the diagnosis, I looked up facts on MS because I didn’t know anything about it,” Gina says. “And as soon as I knew what could really happen with this disease, I actually got scared.”

As her family’s primary income provider, she worried about how MS would impact her ability to work as a writer and editor. Her family was afraid she was going to end up in a wheelchair. However, for now, Gina’s MS is managed well enough that she still works full-time and is able to be active.

“When I tell somebody that I have MS, they often don't believe me the first time because I don't fulfill any stereotypes,” she says.

Overwhelmed by negative perspectives on living with MS, Gina sought support in the online MS community, which she found to be much more positive.

“I think it’s important to use as many positive words as you can when talking about MS.” It’s important to be realistic while also conveying hope, she says. “MS is an insidious disease that can cause many bad symptoms…that can be frightening, and you can't gloss over it, either.”

To give back to the online community that helped her so much, Gina started a blog to share her story and help others trying to learn about their diagnosis.

Though she deals with fatigue and cognitive dysfunction sometimes, Gina stays active swimming, biking, riding horses and playing with her sons, who are now 11 and 6.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in MS, with over half of people affected. It can impact memory, attention, planning, and word-finding. As with many aspects of MS, some people experience mild changes, while others face more challenges.

Gina says that while there’s still a lot of education about MS needed, she feels positive about the future of MS because there’s so much research being done.

woman in wheelchair holding medal, woman rowingNathalie is an award-winning rower with multiple international titles.Courtesy of Sanofi

Nathalie — Pennes Mirabeau, France (diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2002)

Nathalie was a teenager and a competitive athlete when she noticed her first symptoms of MS, but it would take four years of “limbo” before she was diagnosed.

“Ultimately, the diagnosis was more of a relief, than a shock,” she says. “Because when you have signs and you don’t know why, it’s worse than knowing, in the end, what you have.”

However, learning more about the disease—and the realities of disease progression—scared her.

“That glimpse of the future was direct and traumatic,” she says. Her neurologist explained that the disease evolves differently for everyone, and her situation might end up being serious or very mild. So, she decided to stop comparing herself to others with MS.

She said to herself, “We’ll see what happens, and you’ll manage it bit by bit.”

By 2005, Nathalie’s MS had progressed to the point of needing a wheelchair. However, that has not dampened her competitive spirit.

Nathalie began her international rowing career in 2009 and has won multiple world titles, including two Paralympic medals—silver in London and bronze in Tokyo. Now, at 42, she still trains 11 times a week. Fatigue can be a problem, and sometimes hard workouts leave her with muscle stiffness and shaking, but she credits her ongoing sports career for helping her feel in tune with her body’s signals.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my body, letting my body guide when I need to stop and take breaks,” she says.

Nathalie explains that she used to only look backwards because of the initial shock of her diagnosis. In time, she stopped thinking about what she couldn’t do anymore and focused on her future. She now lives in the following mindset: “Even when doors close, don’t miss out on those that open.” Instead of focusing on what she can’t do, she focuses on the opportunities she still has. Right now, this includes her training for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, where she will compete for another rowing medal.

“I only go forward,” she says. “Well, I try, anyway…It’s easy to say, it’s not always easy to do. But that’s what I try to do.”

woman exiting water after swimming, woman with great daneHelga's Great Dane has become a helpful and beloved companion.Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga—Johannesburg, South Africa (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2010)

When Helga first started having balance issues and numbness in her feet, she chalked it up to her training as a runner. But when the numbness moved to her face, she knew something was wrong. She never guessed it was MS.

“When I was diagnosed, I felt completely overwhelmed and clueless,” Helga says. “I felt that I had nowhere near enough information. I did not know anything about the disease…I had no idea that it was going to be a process of continually monitoring and adjusting your lifestyle.”

In the beginning, Helga’s symptoms developed slowly, and she didn’t appear ill to others. She was even able to run for a few years after her diagnosis, but she couldn’t do marathons anymore, and she began to fall frequently due to balance issues and right-foot dragging. Then her cognition issues became more problematic, especially in her job as a trainer in a printing company.

“My executive function, decision-making and short-term memory were affected to the point that I was eventually medically unfit for work,” she says. She stopped working in 2017.

However, she didn’t stop living life. Even though she could no longer run, she continued to swim competitively. She got a Great Dane puppy and trained him as a service dog to help her walk. She also serves as vice chair of the patient support organization Multiple Sclerosis South Africa, and she advises others who have been diagnosed to join a patient advocacy group as soon as possible to get reliable information and meet others with MS.

Helga says she is “hopeful” about the future of MS. “I must say that I am so grateful that we have all the new medications available, because my life would not be the same if it wasn't for that,” she adds.

Part of how she manages her MS is by looking at the positives.

“If I could tell the world one thing about MS, it would be that MS is an incurable disease of the nervous system, but it's also the greatest teacher of valuing your health, family, friends, and managing change in your life,” she says. “My life is diversified in a way that I never, ever thought it would, and MS has been honestly the greatest teacher.”

Each MS journey is unique – with each person impacted experiencing different struggles, successes, and feelings as they manage this unpredictable disease. But the common thread is clear – there is a critical need for information, support, and hope. We are proud to participate in World MS Day and share these incredible stories of living life while living with MS. To learn more about MS, go to https://www.sanofi.com/why-words-really-matter-when-it-comes-to-multiple-sclerosis.

MAT-GLB-2301642-v1.0-05/2023

This article was sponsored by Sanofi. Participants were compensated when applicable.

@geaux75/TikTok

Molly was found tied to a tree by the new owners of the house.

Molly, an adorable, affectionate 10-year-old pit bull, found herself tied to a tree after her owners had abandoned her.

According to The Dodo, Molly had “always been a loyal dog, but, unfortunately, her first family couldn’t reciprocate that same love back,” and so when the house was sold, neither Molly nor the family’s cat was chosen to move with them. While the cat was allowed to free roam outside, all Molly could do was sit and wait. Alone.

Luckily, the young couple that bought the house agreed to take the animals in as part of their closing agreement, and as soon as the papers were signed, they rushed over to check in.
Keep ReadingShow less

Thinking outside the box pays off.

Times seem grim for employees. Every day seems to bring a new series of layoffs, pay cuts, strikes and…you know, the whole threat of being replaced by robots thing

Chris Serrano, a creative director who “does all his own stunts,” found himself in one of these abysmal situations after getting laid off.

However, Serrano quickly turned his luck around by thinking outside the box and leaning into his daredevil personality. On his LinkedIn, he posted a video of himself jumping out of a plane with a cardboard sign that read, “Open4Work.”

Keep ReadingShow less

A woman is upset with her husband and wants to leave him.

There are a few big reasons why 70% of divorces in the United States among heterosexual couples are filed by women. Women have more economic opportunities than in decades past and are better positioned to care for themselves and their children without a husband’s income.

Another big reason is that even though the world has become much more egalitarian than in the past, women still bear the brunt of most of the emotional labor in the home. Gilza Fort-Martinez, a Florida, US-based licensed couples’ therapist, told the BBC that men are socialized to have lower emotional intelligence than women, leaving their wives to do most of the emotional labor.

Secondly, studies show that women still do most of the domestic work in the home, so many are pulling double duty for their households.

Keep ReadingShow less

Taylor Wolfe expresses the stress that moms with toddlers feel on vacation.

Taking young children on a family vacation seems like a good idea. You leave the house, soak up some new scenery, spend time with your significant other, and most importantly, make memories. Lots and lots of unforgettable memories.

But as the old saying goes, no matter where you go, there you are. Just because you left the house doesn’t mean your children magically learn how to be flexible or sleep in new conditions. They don’t suddenly learn how to wait for the appropriate time to soil their diapers or become curious about new types of food.

You’re still parenting, but this time it’s at a hotel.

Taylor Wolfe, a mom, blogger, occasional comedian and shop owner, hit the nail on the head with a viral video contrasting the split personalities that many parents have while on vacation.

Keep ReadingShow less

A Good Samaritan thwarts an attempted bank robbery.

A story out of Woodland, California, a town outside of Sacramento, shows that sometimes, a little empathy can turn a potentially violent situation into a peaceful outcome. According to the Woodland Police Department, it all unfolded at a Bank of the West on Monday, May 22, at 11:00 a.m.

Michael Armus Sr., 69, was waiting in line when he noticed a man slip a teller a note. The tellers looked concerned, and the man who slipped the note had his shirt pulled over the bottom of his face. The man claimed that he had a gun. It was a robbery.

Then Armus noticed something familiar about the man. It was his former neighbor, Eduardo Plasencia, 43, who was also his daughter’s friend.

“I seen that the way he was talking, he was getting irritated. He said, ‘I don’t want to hurt anybody,’” Armus said, according to NBC 15.

Keep ReadingShow less
@amguptuppy/TikTok

Mr. Raccoon apparently has a hankering for vanilla glaze.

As Samantha Jane Guptil pulled into her local Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru, she was delightfully shocked to see that she wasn’t the only one having a sweet craving that day.

In a short clip posted to her TikTok, Guptil narrates as a friendly raccoon waltzes up and cuts in front of her in the drive-thru line to order his very own doughnut.

Yes, you read that right.

Keep ReadingShow less