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Joy

Jennifer Garner shows how a random act of kindness begins with a simple Ziploc bag

Now, you're prepared to help at any time.

via Jennifer Garner/Instagram

Jennifer Garner's Ziploc care package.

Homelessness has been on the increase in America since 2016 and the numbers exploded in 2020. On a single night in January 2020, there were more than 580,000 individuals who were without a home.

There are many reasons for the increase in homelessness and one of the leading causes is a lack of affordable housing across the country. Housing prices have been on a steady increase and, according to PBS, we are about 7 million units short of affordable housing in the country.

So what can the average person do about this human tragedy taking place in America’s streets? Some people who would like to help don’t feel comfortable giving money to homeless people, although experts in the field say that most of the time it is OK.

“If you don’t have money or time, or capacity to donate, I still think it’s nice to be respectful and say hello,” Diane O’Connell, a community lawyer for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, told the Chicago Tribune.

Actress Jennifer Garner, 49, shared a great idea on Instagram for those who would like to help homeless people but aren’t sure how to do so.

The actress posted a video where she filled zip-up plastic bags with everyday items that homeless people need.

"Random act of kindness: gather these essentials in a quart sized ziploc bag and keep them in your car to give away when you see someone in need,” she captioned the post. “A pair of thick socks. Kleenex. Hand wipes. Disposable toothbrushes. Chapstick. A couple of granola bars. I forgot this time, but like to add feminine hygiene products, too. Add $5, $10, $20 and a smile.”

For those not comfortable giving money, they can put a gift card in the bag for a local restaurant. O’Connell says that one thing most homeless people desperately need is a hot meal.

via Jennifer Garner/Instagram

“Simple, cheap foods like bagels and doughnuts aren't that helpful,” O’Connell said. “People who are homeless can usually buy things like that for themselves." Often what people experiencing homelessness need is a hot meal, she said, because that’s more difficult for them to buy.

Greendrop says that the items most commonly requested by homeless people are socks and undergarments. Homeless people are always walking and have a hard time accessing laundry facilities so their socks and undergarments are often dirty or falling apart.

Here are some other items that will help make homeless people more comfortable:

Shampoo and conditioner

Toothpaste

Hair brushes and toothbrushes

Soap

Lotions

Nail clippers

Feminine hygiene products

Reusable containers

Garner’s Ziploc bag tip is a great idea because it’s a simple way for people to lend a hand when they encounter someone on the streets. How many times have you been driving around, saw someone in need, but didn’t have any way to help? This way you can easily brighten someone’s day when you see them at a freeway on-ramp or in a parking lot without having to ask yourself whether you feel comfortable giving them money.


This article originally appeared on 3.12.22

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Jennifer Garner announces the death of her father with heartfelt tribute and family photos

"Today is for gratitude."

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Jennifer Garner ad father William John Garner starring in a Capital One commercial.

Grief and gratitude might seem to be in opposition to the other, but in times of loss, they both work in tandem to help us process our pain. As the “Ten Percent Happier” blog eloquently puts it, “grief embodies our humanity even as gratitude allows us to embrace pain and hardship.”

Actress Jennifer Garner recently gave a poignant example of this.

On April 1, the “Alias” star took to her Instagram page to share the news that her father, William John Garner, died “peacefully” in the afternoon on March 30.

Though her tribute expressed the loss she felt, it made plenty of space for humor and appreciation for the precious memories she got to create with her “kind and brilliant” dad.

Garner began her caption with a joke, saying, “We were with him, singing ‘Amazing Grace’ as he left us. Did we carry him across or scare him away — valid question.”

The lighthearted moment was followed by a nugget of heartfelt truth. “While there is no tragedy in the death of an 85-year-old man who lived a healthy, wonderful life, I know grief is unavoidable, waiting around unexpected corners.”

Still, Garner noted that “Today is for gratitude,” reminiscing her late father’s “gentle demeanor and quiet strength” his “mischievous smile,” and “for the way he invented the role of all in, ever patient girl dad.”

She then sent thank-you's to the medical staff that helped him during his final chapter, helping him get a few more days to spend with his grandchildren.

“There is so much to say about my dad— my sisters and I will never be done talking about how wonderful he was, so bear with us,” she concluded. “But for today, I share these memories with my appreciation for the kind and brilliant man, father, and grandfather he was, as well as the loving legacy he left behind.”

Along with the tribute, Garner shared a carousel of images of her dad, including a clip of their iconic Capital One commercial spot, where her father got to deliver the famous “What’s in your wallet?” tagline.

Garner aimed to honor her father in her tribute, and she succeeded.

“My heart aches a little because you lost someone so incredibly special, but also celebrates the comfort you must have in knowing what a precious and wonderful human being he was here on Earth. I am now singing to him as well!” one person wrote.

Another added, “What an amazing father and beautiful example.”

It prompted a few to reflect on their own relationships with their father.

“Dads are so precious. Sorry for your loss.”

“A father daughter bond is like no other — I’m so very sorry — sending love and prayers for your family.”

“What a lovely face he had! A wonderful father is a tough thing to beat. I had one too and know in my bones how lucky I was — how lucky you were— thinking of you and sending buckets of love.”

Part of being human means eventually losing everyone we love. We can choose to focus solely on mourning. We can also choose to try to bury the pain. But neither of those options helps us fully experience our own humanity. The hidden opportunity of grief is to feel gratitude at a profound level, as if to say “I am now more fully aware of how precious our time together was, now that it is no longer here.” May we all have the grace to embrace both sides when the time comes.

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Family

Mom's viral clip argues parents are spending too much time on kids' activities

“We’ve changed the expectation of parenting."

Keira Burton/ Pexels

Parents today spend far more time with their kids than previous generations.

Are we placing unrealistic expectations on ourselves as parents to entertain our children every second of every day? This is what a mom on Instagram purports in a clip that’s resonated deeply with fellow parents who feel stretched to the breaking point.

“I just spent a weekend with my kids who are 6, 4 and 2-years-old,” begins working mom Jen B who goes by the 8thdayformomonly. “And the amount of time I spent setting up activities, cleaning up activities, participating in activities is so much.”

In a video viewed over 35 thousand times, she says she doesn’t recall her parents ever putting in this much time. “I feel like the standard that we are holding ourselves to as parents to entertain our children is so much higher than it was when we were kids.

“It’s just a really, really high bar when you have two working parents and you’re also maintaining a house,” she continued.

The content creator says the expectation has shifted over the years.

“We’ve changed the expectation of parenting to think we’re always supposed to be involved and we’re supposed to enjoy every minute and get on the ground and play with them… and so I don’t know if you needed to hear this today," Jen B said. "I needed to hear this today. We can lower the bar, we don’t have to be constantly entertaining our kids, we can give them space to entertain themselves.”

The comments on the video contain astute commentary.

One commenter wonders if part of the reason we’re running ourselves ragged is to make up for what we felt was missing from our own childhoods.

“Part of me wonders if the reason we do this to ourselves is because we don’t have any memory of our parents playing with us like this,” writes Littleseel.

Another says she once heard that the amount of time put in by working parents today is more than stay-at-home-parents of the '50s.

“I heard somewhere that working parents today spend 50% more time entertaining kids than SAHMs did in the '50s,” writes laura.b823.

“I believe that stat,” 8thdayformomonly responded.

While we didn’t find a study citing working parents today versus stay-at-home moms in the 50s, this study from 2016 shows the amount of time parents spend with their children doubled for moms and quadrupled for dads between 1965 and 2012.

And then, of course, there’s the question of whether this level of attention is in the children's best interests. After all, they need to learn to keep themselves occupied and to work through boredom. Commenter little_beast_miguel writes, “It’s also important to let them entertain themselves to learn not to rely on their parents for literally everything."

There is a school of thought that a more laissez-faire, hands-off approach dubbed “benign neglect” helps foster a greater sense of independence and self-reliance.

“The benign neglect movement seems to be a backswing from helicopter parenting, which encouraged coddling millennials and Gen Zs throughout childhood,” NYU Langone Health child psychologist Yamalis Diaz told The New York Post.

Actress Jennifer Garner is a big proponent of this style of parenting.

jennifer garner, ben affleck, parenting

Jennifer Garner believes in "benign neglect"

Karon Liu/Wikimeda Commons

In a Today Show appearance, the actress, who raises three children with her ex, Ben Affleck, said, “I want to be around. But I also think it’s OK if they suffer from a little bit of benign neglect. Their lives are their own. I’m not trying to live their life, and I don’t mind that they see that I love mine.”

As with anything, though, balance is key.

Benign neglect is not the same as actual neglect.

Says Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, a neuropsychologist in New York and the Director of Comprehensive Consultation Psychological Services to Parents. “It's a balance between freedom and safety, ensuring that children have the space to grow while maintaining a secure environment.”









Jennifer Garner believes in "benign neglect"

Karon Liu/Wikimeda Commons

In a Today Show appearance, the actress, who raises three children with her ex, Ben Affleck, said, “I want to be around. But I also think it’s OK if they suffer from a little bit of benign neglect. Their lives are their own. I’m not trying to live their life, and I don’t mind that they see that I love mine.”

As with anything, though, balance is key.

Benign neglect is not the same as actual neglect.

Says Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, a neuropsychologist in New York and the Director of Comprehensive Consultation Psychological Services to Parents. “It's a balance between freedom and safety, ensuring that children have the space to grow while maintaining a secure environment.”

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Pop Culture

Jennifer Garner's 'embarrassing' reveal of items in her bag is delightfully unhinged

And somehow....still relatable.

@jennifergarner/TikTok

This video is nuts.

Usually when celebrities do a video revealing what’s in their bag, you can almost guarantee that there will be zero traces of any half eaten candy bars, wads of crumpled receipts and other junk items most people carry around everyday.

Instead, viewers can expect a rather aspirational fare—luxury skin products (that said celebrity is a brand ambassador for, no doubt)…top-of-the-line health foods…at least one New York Times Bestseller.

But not Jennifer Garner. No no no. When Jennifer Garner does a purse contents reveal, you can expect something messy, hilarious and oh-so relatable.

“What’s in my bag? I’m embarrassed to even show you,” the actress wrote in a TikTok video caption. But truly, her embarrassment is making everyone feel seen.

In the clip, she dives into her backpack—that’s right, a backpack, not even a purse—and pulls out a notebook, an iPad, a datebook, a pouch of pens (because “pens are life”) plus a two-sided glasses case, which she notes anyone “over 50” will understand why they’re necessary.

And because she’s a mom, she of course carries around items for kids, including two books— “The Whalebone Theatre,” which she's reading with her 14-year-old, and “The Giver,” which she's reading with her 11-year-old.

And then come the snacks. The copious, profuse, abundant amount of snacks.

At first it’s just three protein bars and a nearly empty bag of chocolates with one last piece remaining. “Lucky day! It’s my lucky day!” Garner exclaims as she grabs the last piece. Followed by another, definitely empty candy bag. Oh how quickly purses become glorified trash cans.

Garner then sends herself into a giggle fit as she pulls out not one, not two but eight different bags of nuts…quite literally squirreled away in various hidden pockets. Plus more candy.

"I'm so scared," she struggles to say while cry-laughing on the floor. "I'm not going to have any nuts!"

Watch the hysterical video below:

@jennifergarner

What’s in my bag? I’m embarrassed to even show you…. 🥜🌰🥜🐿️

♬ original sound - Jen Garner

Garner might be embarrassed by the video, but judging by the comments, it’s only made fans respect her more.

“All this video did was remind me how much I love Jennifer Garner,” one person wrote.

Another added, "Note to self if we are ever around Jennifer Garner we will not go hungry or be bored while waiting for the storm to pass by love it!"

And perhaps this comment nails the moment best of all:

"Love that she is as unhinged as the rest of us. 😂🥰"

Kudos to Jennifer Garner for giving us a laugh and making us feel seen. Stars, they’re just like us—especially when it comes to snack packing.

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