Sending Our Love in a Letter…

“To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.” ~Phyllis Theroux

Truthfully, ever since Sandy we have had a special fondness for the mailman. At that time, we weren’t sure how ANYTHING could EVER get down a road blocked on both sides with trees. STILL the US Mail came, exceeding expectations of the old credo, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

Still, we must admit it: Holiday time is overwhelming. We struggle to send traditional cards. We just about gave up this year.

Then, an amazing local artist made us realize we were letting something really valuable go. We are committed to starting earlier next year.

Now, even more, we are remembering the deep joy of the U. S. Postal service — How special is it that we can send our handwritten love just by putting a stickered envelope in the box outside our door?

Ordering online, we remember the beauty and meaning of stamps. We’re thinking of adding to old collections!

as our children send cards of love and little treats

dear friends mail us beautiful, handmade masks

care packages come from a Mom

and beautiful, locally crafted cards fly home.

In Praise of Local Crafters and their Kind Consideration

Mask crafted by Firefly Michele Miroff

While it is totally not cool that ANYONE has. had to scrounge for PPE – especially essential workers, ESPECIALLY healthcare folks! – We have decided to be grateful that out of that challenge has come a beautiful, thoughtful, heartfelt art form. 

We can hardly get close enough to look each other in the eye and yet now so many crafty people have found a way to lovingly hug our faces.

And…because, on balance, masks themselves really are more courtesy than personal protection, we immediately get to pay the care forward. 

And…it’s not a bad business. They’re fairly simple to make and yet imagination is the limit. People need lots of them….

So…talk about socially conscious fashion that is form and function!

Trudy has been busily making them for family and neighbors. In our Firefly Lights, you can read about Kirk Larsen and his #maskforce #teachersgettingitdone

Did you see this article about the Luchador in Mexico?

How about this much more local bit in The Observer about The Engeman Theater?

CBSN New York shows a 95-year old Floral Park seamstress who’s part of a volunteer corp founded in Huntington “Stitched Together Long Island” that has made more than 20,000 masks for essential workers.

The Mask Mavens of Huntington is a small team of volunteers that are sewing and giving away homemade masks for free to any and all who need them.

This article in the LIBN by Bernadette Starzee is about three entrepreneurial firms who created 5,000 masks a day to sell at cost to hospitals and first responders.

This News12 Article covers a Bellmore Fashion Designer who, with her remotely-working staff, churned out 1,000 masks in one week to donate to medical personnel.

Here’s a North Fork Patch article “Iconic Sail Makers, Brewery Make Face Masks for Hospital Heroes”

To make them yourself, and get good advice on using them, here’s a good article in Popular Mechanics.

It’s Giving Tuesday. Please Give Today, Tomorrow, Whenever You Can.

Photo by Kat Yukawa on Unsplash

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, #GivingTuesdayNow has been launched as a global day of unity TODAY, May 5th 2020.

Before this all happened, Long Island was already suffering increasing holes in the fabric of philanthropy that makes our local nonprofit organizations possible.

Special events had become hugely important stopgaps for organizations. They’ve all been cancelled. These groups now REQUIRE our direct support. You can check our newsletter archives to find 100s of great local organizations that could REALLY use our help right now!!!

Some Guidance on Giving Wisely

A few months ago, we sat down with Marian Conway of the New York Community Bank Foundation. She offered her highly educated, deeply experienced view on better ways to evaluate non-profit effectiveness and the problems inherent in simplistic, hard line methods focused on budget percentages, especially for human service organizations and local organizations that are run by neighbors who know and care about the unique needs of our communities.

“Foundations for the Common Good — A Call to Action” written with Executive Director David Okorn touches on similar themes, while explaining how the LI Community Foundation that he serves helps givers make the best use of their philanthropic dollars.

A Few Good Places to Give

Recently, The Long Island Community Foundation launched a COVID-19 Philanthropic response fund to aid nonprofit service providers meeting emergent and critical needs affecting our local region. Thanks to their generous donors, as of yesterday they had granted out $777,000 to struggling nonprofits.

The United Way of LI is collaborating with Long Island Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (LIVOAD) and their network of nonprofit organizations in the region on a Response Fund For COVID-19. This fund helps financially-strained LI families during the current health and economic crisis.

Housing Help is providing a wealth of information for folks in financial crisis and with other human service needs — as well as some inspiring stories of folks stepping up to help!

Regarding major local food banks, Long Island Cares has information about mobile food services. Here’s news from The INN, which does a lot for hunger and homelessness. Here’s Island Harvest.

The Safe Center website and Facebook Page offers free, confidential resources for those suffering abuse.

The Family & Children’s Association serves those in need of human services in Nassau County. The Family Service League similarly serves Suffolk. Many smaller organizations, like the Tri-CYA do incredible work on a very local level, while the Health & Welfare Council of LI is busting it’s butt to get LI Counted AND deal with the massive human services crisis!

Of course, human service organizations get a lot of attention right now — rightfully so! Still, if you are passionate about the environment, the arts, science, animal rescue, preservation, good governance, anything else — including your favorite mom & pop shop! — PLEASE FOCUS YOUR GIVING THERE, especially on LOCAL organizations that are focused right here on Long Island.

Like Veterans: We are grateful to all the VSOs who are giving it their best to stay connected and keep serving both fellow veterans and the broader community. We continue to follow Patchogue VFW Commander Dave Rogers, who is providing all sorts of information. Here’s a great interview with him on USA Warrior Stories, talking about local community work, their COVID-free, fun, online “Coffee with a Veteran” program and more. Thank you for all you do, Dave. We appreciate it..

This interview includes a note that organizations like these are often terrible at asking for money at times like now because they are worried about taking from other groups. DON’T WAIT FOR A GROUP YOU VALUE TO ASK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU VALUE THEIR HUMILITY.

Case in point that will hate us for saying this: Vision Long Island (which, in full-disclosure, Trudy is proud to serve as a Co-Chair of). These guys have been working day and night. We doubt they’ve spent much, if any, time soliciting sponsors to do so, and they usually have a highly-educational 1000-person event in June.

In fact, if you reach out to them, they’ll probably be the first to tell you who else to give to!

Reflecting on the Helpers, Calling to the Dreamers: If You Had a Magic Wand…

Photo: Still the Flowers Bloom by Katheryn Laible

 

We are grateful to the friend who shared this YouTube video by Probably Tomfoolery, “The Great Realisation.” It echoes a dream that we believe more than a few of us have been reflecting on…

Katie was thinking about such things a lot when she wrote How Shall We Rise? A Holiday Reflection. A few days later, she was moved again to offer In Gratitude for the Good News Makers, when the launching of Some Good News made her smile. She was glad, both that this kind of thing was taking off Nationally, and that there are so many, right here at home, whom she knows are giving it their best to create such stories.

While many of us are very occupied with the needs of the moment, many others are in a unique position to make adjustments that may help us all.

So, maybe now is a good time to do some visioning: If you had a Magic Wand — or maybe even just a few listening ears, some helping hands, thoughtful minds and a bit of faith — How would you shape our future?

In Gratitude for the Good News Makers

Thank you, John Krasinski and all involved in “Some Good News”!

We are even more grateful that, while there are very special aspects unique to SGN’s own scale (say…that Hamilton thing a few weeks back, or more recently those amazing commencement conversations), these bits shared from across the country are but a small sampling of what’s happening right here, right now in our own backyards.

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Have You Seen the Rainbows?

A child's drawing of a rainbow

Just a little ray of hope to brighten the lives of the child in all of us. It started with a Facebook group called “Rainbows over Nassau and Suffolk Counties”. and, we think, also a call to chalk up neighborhood driveways that we first heard about from our beloved Lois Howes. of the Friends of Freeport.

It involves sticking rainbows in your window, coloring your driveway, posting pictures. Our dear Firefly Beth Atkinson has been hiding rainbow rocks on her walk for the curious children of Northport to find….

It’s a small thing that means a lot. Be a part of it, will you? It can be a rainbow, it can be an act of service. The world needs all the love and support it can get….

Local John C. Maxwell Partner Supports Leadership Through Crisis

Image Provided by Deb Ingino

We are leadership and personal development geeks. We love steeping ourselves in folks who value service and who rally the world to give it their best to put their best foot forward.

One such soul is John C. Maxwell. He’s basically a preacher who found his true higher calling as a secular Leadership Development guru. Having followed him on some level since 2008, we find his definition of leadership as influence and of a leader’s purpose as being to serve others, as well as his knack for asking excellent questions deeply fortifying.

Last week, John hosted a series of Livestreams called “Leading Through Crisis: Virtual Leadership Summit”

He also offers daily inspirations; A Minute with Maxwell.

It’s kind of like a “Church of Leadership as Service,” He’s humbling, inspirational and a good storyteller. It helps.

From the Global Message to Local Support…

Honestly, though, we wouldn’t have realized those events were happening if it weren’t for our friend, John C. Maxwell partner, Deb Ingino. Deb didn’t introduce us to Maxwell, and honestly we’ve learned more from her deep experience independent of that affiliation, but we knew we’d found a kindred spirit the first time she mentioned his name.

Deb is now offering her own mastermind session:

Long Island Leading Through Crisis – An Online Leadership Roundtable

We hope you can join Deb Ingino and other business leaders as we learn to become better leaders together and face the challenges of today,

When: 4-5:30pm Monday April 6th through Thursday April 9th

To Register: Go to the Eventbrite Page

This is not a selling event for Deb, this is a serving event from her to the Long Island community. Therefore there is no cost and it is considered a “private” event. Please register so she can email you the online connection link, the phone number access option and your participant guide.

Main Street News is a Must-Read: What’s Open, How Folks Are Doing, What You Can Do.

THIS IS IMPORTANT. Vision Long Island, one of our region’s strongest advocates for Main Street is now releasing daily issues of their new Main Street News. as it endeavors to keep up with events as they unfold. Check out their website. Follow their Facebook.

It’s a sobering, comprehensive review of important, information that includes a range of local initiatives, resources and ways you can help.

There’s news about what’s open, how folks are doing and whatever they can find to help folks weather the storm.

So go there and get informed. In general, some updated ideas that have seemed good to us include:

  1. Find your favorite local businesses on social media. Call them on the phone See what they’re doing. Buy their stuff.
  2. Buy Gift Certificates. Consider simply sending a donation to your favorite local business
  3. Restaurants are closed, but many can still do takeout/delivery. This article, which seems very well resourced, helped us feel informed and a lot safer about doing that!
  4. Realize many of these places care about their own health, your health and the community more than most ever realized. Know that many local shops are going out of their way to safely keep on keeping on — Much of Main Street — not just the eateries — are now offering curbside service and even delivery. Look up their website/social media. Even if they aren’t advertising it, call them to inquire!
  5. Special events are hugely important for organizations. Had an event cancelled? Send a donation! You can check our newsletter archives to find 100s of great local organizations
  6. Strongly consider supporting policy proposals that directly support individuals, small businesses and local governments. While they are going out of their way to come up with creative means of keeping going, there is only so much they can do,
  7. Just be kind — Especially to the cashiers, service providers and others working through this. Just. Be. Kind.

How Are You?

“Do your little bit of good wherever you are. It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

                                                                ~ Desmond Tutu

We hope this note finds you well, and that whatever challenges you’re facing soon pass.

We know there are a lot of them, and, while we’re busily doing the “chin-up” up thing and the “calmly carrying on thing,” interspersed with the “life is a joke so you’d best find something to laugh about — quick! — thing,” we’ve also been doing a lot of silent reflection, holding space, checking in, feeling powerless, frustrated and frightened…and sending long, deep virtual hugs.

We’ve spent a great deal of time lately counting our blessings, sharing what good we can find, and praying for so many who require so much more.

Among those blessings is knowledge that, in the face of extraordinary pain, there are so many stepping up to serve others, to be some kind of hero and to even dare to dream up how we might transform our current crisis into a brighter future for all. More than we could ever count, much less keep track of.

This is good news.

As always, this is but a sampling of people and organizations that we are blessed to have some personal familiarity with. We invite you to use it as a resource and an inspiration to seek out others.

Let us know what’s going on and of other items worth sharing. Together, we will all get through this. As we do, we will regularly update our Facebook Page

We are grateful for all the good you do.

It matters. Deeply.

Thank you.

Katie and Trudy

If you’d like to support the Synchronicity Network Newsletter, you may do so here. This publication serves and celebrates folks who care for art, science and the common good on LI and beyond, aiming to increase the quantity and quality of community engagement. As always, we love to hear from you, and welcome your submissions and feedback.