Do Something More Podcast

16/06/2024

Happy Father’s Day!

12/06/2024

After a 5 year battle with cancer, Quinton Muir passed away in 2017 at the age of 16. Now his parents, Jeff and Lori Muir are running a foundation called the ‘Ironman Q Foundation’ to honor his memory and to help other families who find themselves navigating a cancer diagnosis.

This of course was a tender interview as Lori shared her memories of Quinton and some of the reasons they felt motivated in different ways to begin this foundation and help other people in honor of Quinton. She shares how they started out by offering scholarships to kids graduating from the high school Quinton attended, and then moved on from there to doing a variety of things to help other cancer families…including donating quilts, organizing Christamas boxes, giving away Jazz tickets, or even organizing retreats for angel moms.

The Muirs are my neighbors, and I am so inspired by their example of acting on thoughts and promptings to help others, even while they themselves were still grieving the loss of their boy and navigating their own hard days. I loved how Lori shared it doesn’t take much to help someone and make a difference and we can all ‘be that someone’ for somebody else.

This episode originally aired May 16, 2023 (which is actually Quniton’s birthday!). Since then, I haven’t featured any other organizations that have a mission of helping people affected by cancer…but I would like to because I know there are many doing good things just like the ‘Ironman Q Foundation’. Send me a email at [email protected] if you have a good idea for one I should feature.

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000658799132

Quinton Muir Ironman Q Foundation Inc.

09/06/2024

07/06/2024

Here’s a picture from the fall of 2020 when I coached my 4-year-old’s soccer team. It was my second time volunteer coaching and teaching preschool and Kindergarten boys how to play soccer. It definitely felt like organized chaos most of the time. 😆 But I had fun too and was so glad both times I chose to volunteer and got to have that experience with my boys.

This week I’m resharing a podcast episode I did with my brother, Vaughn Kimball. He shares a lot of applicable and good advice for anyone who wants to volunteer to coach a kids sport team. And some great stories to share too.

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000657913865

05/06/2024

Vaughn Kimball is my older brother…but he’s also had a lot of experience working with youth through work and also a variety of volunteer roles and opportunities. For this episode I asked him if he could talk about being a volunteer coach for kids sports teams. He shares a lot of good advice and encouragement for anyone that’s ever thought about wanting to be a coach for their kid’s teams. I also love the ‘why’ he shares at the end. That yes, it’s fun competing and learning a new sport, but most of all he has cherished the opportunities to really connect with kids, help build their confidence and self-esteem, and let them know that they have the capacity to learn anything and do good in the world.

This episode originally dropped on May 9, 2023…and I wanted to share it again because I know there are many good coaches out there (and potential good coaches too!) who are making a difference for kids in many ways.

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000657913865

29/05/2024

Summertime for many of us also means vacation time! In this episode I’m sharing some of my own reasons for why service on vacation is a great idea. I also have some simple tips for how you can make service happen: some of them you can do with little to no planning, and some take just a little planning. I hope after this episode you can see how easy and fun it can be to incorporate service in your travel plans.

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000657184369

22/05/2024

When she was a freshman in high school, Meg Busing was in a tragic car accident with some of her friends. She ended up with a traumatic brain injury and as a teenager had to learn how to navigate life with a distinct set of new challenges. She was able to successfully graduate high school, but a few years later in college, she had her first seizure and was diagnosed with epilepsy. She managed to achieve her dream of graduating with her degree in nursing, but then a few years later during a pregnancy her seizures increased and she had to pull back on her nursing career. This was when she decided to start her nonprofit, the Midwest You Can Foundation. The goal of her foundation is to create community and empowerment for those living with epilepsy.

One of the purposes of the Midwest You Can Foundation is to run a yearly summer camp for kids with epilepsy. Meg wants these kids to experience for themselves the power and confidence that can come with reminding yourself of what you CAN do. Their slogan is ‘with epilepsy, too many days are filled with reminders of what shouldn’t be done, we’re on a mission to change that.’

Listen to the podcast to hear more of Meg’s story and journey, to learn about the summer camps she runs and the good experiences kids and parents have had with them, and also hear some sweet encouragement from Meg for anyone that might be living with epilepsy or helping their child navigate it as well.

Midwest YouCan Foundation

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000656379362

21/05/2024

Utah friends! This is an awesome service fair coming up at Thanksgiving Point on June 3. It’s a free, family-friendly event where you can come connect with local non-profits and learn about ways to volunteer in the community that fit with your interests and schedule.

There will also be other fun opportunities like prize drawings, bouncy houses, and face painting.

I love this idea of giving families practical ideas of ways to engage with service this summer. Check out the website to learn more.

19/05/2024

15/05/2024

Jen Simonic and Masey Kaplan are both crafters at heart and have been friends for over 30 years. After having their own experiences with finishing crafting projects for other friends and loved ones who had passed away, they started tossing around the idea of a nonprofit where they could create a community of crafters who would be available to finish projects families and individuals would like finished that their loved ones had started.

Now their nonprofit, Loose Ends, has a community that spans 64 countries and over 24,000 people. Their mission is to ease grief, create community, and inspire generosity by matching volunteer handwork finishers with projects people have left unfinished due to death or disability.

I loved talking with Jen and Masey and hearing the obvious passion and joy they find in the work they do with their nonprofit. They share some great stories of some of the projects they’ve seen people finish, and the real sense of community and even lifelong friendships that are formed in the process.

This episode will give you a new found appreciation and love for all the crafters in your life and it’s also a good reminder of the real sense of belonging that can be found when people serve and create together.

Loose Ends Project

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000655698002

12/05/2024

08/05/2024

It’s Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday here in the United States…so this episode is dedicated to all the good women out there and the good service they do with their own families and those around them.

First, I’m sharing some pretty personal thoughts about a conversation I had years ago that gave me a shift on my motherhood and navigating the challenges of life. And I’m also sharing a fun poem I wrote a few years ago that highlights all the good daily work Mother’s do. My goal is that when you hear it, it makes you smile.

Listen to the podcast to hear more and don’t forget to share it with a good mother you know!

Listen here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918

06/05/2024

Saturday my 12-year-old and my husband came and helped me volunteer for a simple race that was held in our town in honor of the National Day of Prayer .Runners signed up to do a half marathon, 10k, or 5k and they were given prompts along the course of different things they could pray or meditate on as they ran.

This particular race was sponsored by the Payson Interfaith Council and it was an honor and so fun to give those runners some water and cheer them on as they ran by.

Whether you’re a fellow runner like me or not, volunteering at a community race can be a fun and fulfilling way to serve this summer. And many of those races support and raise money for good causes too! Ask around your community to find one you can help with, or you can also look on sites like raceentry.com to find races near you.

05/05/2024

02/05/2024

I thought these were such powerful words from my guest on the podcast this week, Melanie Rodger. When we’re wanting to serve in sensitive situations or have a desire to help others going through a similar challenge we’ve experienced, it can be natural to worry if our own emotions will come bubbling back and keep us from serving effectively or in the way we want to.

But I love in this episode how Melanie reminds us, emotion is good! It’s what makes us the empathetic people we are and often gives us our desire to help others. And while we most certainly should find healthy ways of dealing with our feelings, especially when we’re doing emotional work or service, we shouldn’t let those fears keep us from serving.

So many times throughout the show she mentions the word ‘advocate’. So I would like to add, it is very much walking through our own hard and emotional experiences that then give us the knowledge and ability to turn around and advocate for others. It teaches us to know how to speak up and what to say. It’s those tender experiences that will allow you to be exactly who somebody else needs.

Listen to episode 57 to hear more of Melanie’s story and the good work she does with ‘Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep’, a nonprofit that provides remembrance portraits to parents who have lost babies.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000654160395

01/05/2024

Melanie Rodger lost her first son just 32 hours after his birth when she was 20 years old. That loss prompted her to want to seek community and not feel alone as she navigated the grieving process. During that time, she learned about ‘Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep’, a nonprofit that provides remembrance portraits to parents experiencing the death of a baby. Melanie had known she wanted to be a part of other families’ stories in a way that others had been there for her, and when she was ready she started volunteering for ‘Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep’.

She has served as a dispatcher to help find photographers for families, as a photographer herself, and now also works for ‘Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep’. This episode is definitely a tender one as Melanie shares her own experience of losing her baby boy, and what it’s like being a photographer for others experiencing their own losses. She talks about the especially vital role their organization played during the pandemic, providing many family members with the only way they were able to see and remember these babies through the pictures they took. She shares how it’s an honor to be invited into these spaces with families and I appreciated the beautiful advice she gave at the end saying that ‘you should never let the fear of emotion stop you from helping and being part of somebody else’s story.’

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000654160395

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

24/04/2024

Several years ago Krysti Wright felt nudged to more intentionally start using her gifts and talents to make a difference in the world. She had always loved doing long-arm quilting and decided that was where she could make her contribution. She started off with a small group of women who worked together making and donating quilts to different causes. But then she started having other groups reach out to her who wanted to help or needed service projects to do, and that’s when she realized what her real role was.

Now her nonprofit, Stitching Hearts Worldwide, provides service opportunities for individuals, groups, and businesses wanting to help those in need. They provide the necessary tools and materials to make handmade essential items for people in need in local communities and all over the world.

Listen to this episode to be inspired by Krysti’s story and get the reminder of how powerful it can be to create and serve with other people.

Stitching Hearts Worldwide

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000653448120

19/04/2024

These are my three handsome boys! (Their sister was gone when we took this pic :). I snapped this after they played in a local piano competition and they all did a great job!

Whenever I watch my kids perform, I feel a double dose of joy because I’m their mom AND their piano teacher. I started over a decade ago as my children’s piano teacher! I love playing the piano, I love serving others with my piano playing, and I want to share that love with my kids and hope they can find joy in it too. All those hours I’ve spent teaching them piano haven’t always been easy, but have been so worth it.

I just wanted to share that today as a friendly reminder that the service you give your family is important service too! It’s not second-class in any way. And it might look different for each of us but the hours, dedication, and time spent matter so much not to just individual families but our society as a whole.

And I would love to hear and also have you take a moment to recognize it right now…what special ways do you serve your family?

16/04/2024

Time! We all wish we had more of it! Especially when it comes to serving and helping others, many of us feel we wish we had time to do more of those good things we’ve felt inspired or nudged to do. In this episode I’m sharing some of my thoughts on time and submitting the idea that we are more in control than we think. I talk about the famous ‘Good Samaritan’ study done back in the 70s that looked at this concept of serving others and time, and I’m sharing 5 tips to help inspire you on how to make time for service and volunteering in your life.

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000652630227

09/04/2024

Janelle Christensen has been involved with Family Haven in a myriad of ways for almost 15 years and right now she serves as the Director. On this episode of the podcast she shares how Family Haven fulfills its primary purpose of preventing and treating child abuse.

What impressed me in this interview is Family Haven truly believes in coming at this sensitive issue from all sides. First by empowering families and giving them the tools they need to be healthy and succeed, through things like parenting classes and providing child care that parents can access for any reason. They also provide therapy and treatment so those who have experienced abuse or families trying to break generational cycles can find the hope and healing they need.

The powerful message I took away from this interview is that no family or child needs to walk the road of life alone. Whether it’s getting help and support for the current season you’re in, or finding healing from past experiences, there is help and hope to be found and it is places like Family Haven that work hard to provide that for their community.

Family Haven

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000651918083

05/04/2024

Rods Heroes is a nonprofit with the mission to inspire families to answer the call to adopt children with Down syndrome or other unique circumstances. They’ve helped connect many children with their families from countries all over the world, but I also appreciated this reminder one of the founders Brady Murray shared on the podcast this week. There are many children here in the U.S. as well waiting to be adopted and Rods Heroes is passionate about advocating for them too.

Listen to the podcast episode to learn more about the good work this nonprofit does and also share it with anyone you know who might benefit from hearing their message.

RODS Heroes

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000651177827

02/04/2024

Brady and Andrea Murray are the parents of 11 children, 7 of them they adopted into their family. Their journey with adoption and their passion for advocating for children began after their first son was born with Down syndrome. Soon after that, they became aware of the fate that many children born with Down syndrome around the world face of being abandoned or left in orphanages.

That fueled their idea to create a nonprofit to help many of those children find families and homes. The mission of their nonprofit now is to inspire families to answer the call to adopt children with Down syndrome or other unique circumstances, and they call their nonprofit Rods Heroes.

This was an inspiring episode! Brady and Andrea are very honest about some of the realities of adoption and the feelings they’ve experienced along the way with their journey, but they also share the light, hope, and joy in bringing children and families together.

Listen to the episode to learn more about their nonprofit, some of the programs they do to further their cause, and the many miracles they’ve seen along the way.

RODS Heroes

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000651177827

26/03/2024

This week the podcast is celebrating one year! I am so proud of putting out an episode each week for one whole year. I also am so, so grateful for every guest that graciously gives of their time to come on the show, and each person that downloads, follows, or shares.

This episode is a fun one celebrating the podcast...I’m sharing some fun stats, talking about some favorite episodes, and answering some of the questions I regularly get about the podcast.

Give it a listen to learn a little more about the behind the scenes and celebrate!

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918

21/03/2024

I was so inspired by Cynthia’s story on the podcast episode this week. My guest, Kristen Carr, shared how Cynthia’s grit and determination along with the skills she learned through People Helping People, helped her to gain self-sufficiency for herself and her children.

Kristen is the Community Outreach Coordinator for People Helping People and she shares the many ways their organization helps low-income women gain meaningful employment so they can provide for their families and improve their situations.

Listen to the podcast to learn more!

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000649729362

People Helping People of Utah

19/03/2024

‘People Helping People’ is a non-profit organization that likes to say they are often in the business of building confidence. They help primarily women and single mothers gain and keep good employment so they can provide for themselves and their families.

My guest on the podcast this week Kristen Carr is the Community Outreach Coordinator, and she shared that many of the women and single mothers that come into their program have gone through hard and traumatic experiences. But through the mentoring and coaching those women receive at People Helping People, they learn to see the talents and skills they already have to offer, and build on those as they seek to gain meaningful employment or start a career.

This organization truly believes that one of the best ways to help children and families out of poverty, is to empower women and give them the confidence and skills they need to be successful in the workforce.

Listen to the podcast to learn more about People Helping People and also hear some great stories of women who have found success through their programs.

People Helping People of Utah

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-something-more/id1676139918?i=1000649729362