Well-Being + The Year to End Black Friday

It’s almost time for Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day, #OptOutside Day and Black Friday that all fall on Friday. Thanksgiving is a time to practice gratitude and spend quality time with family and friends (albeit virtually for many this year). In 2020, we can also resolve to dispel myths around the origins of the holiday in light of our national awakening on race and justice. In that spirit and instead of celebrating consumerism the day after Thanksgiving, lets get outside and honor indigenous people and their heritage. Please read about this in my new article on Medium, This is the Year to End Black Friday (a 5-minute read).

After a devastating year, well-being is on all of our minds. Below are some resources for you that address well-being at different levels from colleagues and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m grateful for your support, friendship and collegiality.

Well-Being Resources

Your Well-Being (anywhere)

My friend and fellow consultant Jennifer Abrams produces a great monthly newsletter with honest reflections and inspiring words. I found her October newsletter, Inner Spaciousness: The Ultimate Frontier, particularly uplifting and helpful at a time full of great challenge for all of us. I encourage you to take a look and subscribe to her newsletter.

Well-Being of People, Animals and the Environment (International)

Through my work with the Kirkpatrick Foundation, I’ve had the pleasure to get to know Andrew Rowan, President and Chief Program Officer of Well-Being International, an organization dedicated to the well-being of people, animals and the environment (the PAE triad). This fall, they announced the establishment of the digital Well-Being International Studies Repository that will provide open access to academic, archival and other materials related to human well-being, animal well-being and environmental sustainability.

Environmental Well-Being (San Mateo County)

Sustainable San Mateo County is accepting nominations (including self-nominations) through December 6th for its 22nd annual Sustainability Awards Celebration in 2021. Last year, an award went to the San Mateo County Office of Education’s Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative and the initiative’s coordinator Andra Yeghoian— I was proud to support the initiative’s Collective Impact-Campus as a Laboratory for Learning Program. Nominations may be made in five categories: individuals, nonprofits, businesses, educational institutions, and government agencies as well as Green Building Awards.

Global Well-Being (California teachers)

K-12 teachers in California can apply now through December 7th to be a Global Teacher Fellow (includes a $1500 stipend) through the California Global Education Project (CGEP). The yearlong fellowship is for teachers interested in learning more about global education, teaching for global competence, and developing their leadership skills and capacity for building globally aware and globally competent communities through education. Thanks to my friend, former teaching colleague and now CGEP Regional Director at Cal State Stanislaus Maureen McCorry, for sharing this opportunity.

In gratitude,

Matt

Articles on Medium by Matt Biggar, Ph.D.

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