September Newsball 2017
Playing Catch-Up with the Life is Good Playmakers
Love & Peace,
Steve Gross, MSW
Chief Playmaker, Life is Good Playmakers
GOOD PROGRESS
Our Work in the Field
Back to School
This month, the LiGP Founder, Steve Gross and Lead Playmaker, Emily Saul went back to school – specifically, UMASS Boston – to guest lecture for a course we co-created with Dr. Anne Douglass called: Teaching Superpowers: The Science of Building Resilience in Early Education and Care Settings. Informed by the LiGP Program (a series of workshops, retreats, and practices to support growth and self-care for professional childcare providers), our Teaching Superpowers course has moved through the pilot phase at UMASS Boston and is now officially a part of the school’s core requirements for their early childhood education students. Read the full course description.
Plummer Youth Promise
Based in Salem, Massachusetts, Plummer Youth Promise is a healthy residential program that believes there is a family for everyone. Plummer is committed to serving the most vulnerable children in our communities – especially those who have spent years in foster care, who are tracking out of the system with nowhere to go, and those who have experienced the devastating impacts of poverty, violence, and/or incarceration. Thanks to a generous grant from an anonymous source, this month the Plummer Youth Promise has officially become a deep impact partner of The LiGP. Here’s more about our partner, Plummer Youth Promise.
Cook Children's Medical Center
For nearly two years now The LiGP has partnered with Garth Brooks’s non-profit, Teammates for Kids to support their Child Life Zones in 12 leading children’s hospitals across the country. This month through our Teammates partnership, The LiGP traveled to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, TX to help their staff discover the power of optimism and use it to create more safe, loving and joyful experiences for kids living in and being treated at their hospital. More on the Teammates Child-Life Zone in Fort Worth.
GOOD GROWTH
Our Work to Raise Support
Play Fore Playmakers
This week the leadership team and sponsors behind our Annual Play Fore Playmakers Golf Tournament will come together at Sterling National Country Club to celebrate another big win: raising more than $100,000 to help kids heal over the last five years. The LiGP is deeply grateful to all of the players who’ve made this possible – especially our Volunteer Tournament Director, Jay Munsey and his wife Penny Munsey and the event’s title sponsor, David Fischer and James Monroe Wire and Cable.
Life is Art
Today 150 optimists will gather in the Life is Good Tavern in Boston for our 4th Annual Life is Art Gallery for Good Auction. Each year this art show showcases (and auctions off) original pieces made by Life is Good partners, supporters, customers and employees to benefit the social work of The LiGP. Thanks to our event sponsors and early tickets holders, the gathering has already raised more than $5,000 and doors don’t even open until 6:00 tonight! Life is Art Tavern Series event page.
Kirkland Investment Global Summit
On September 8, Steve Gross, Founder of The LiGP gave a keynote at Boston’s Liberty Hotel as part of the Kirkland Investment Global Summit. Steve’s address focused on the power of optimism and the importance of cultivating a positive disposition in order to discover (and unlock) our innate social, emotional and cognitive superpower. The gathering raised $12,500 to further the mission of The LiGP. More on Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
GOOD PEOPLE
Our Playmakers
“I’ve worked my butt off to keep addiction from consuming my children.”
But, Kay didn’t stop with just her kids. Professionally, Kay’s been a community organizer, trauma counselor, and a lifeline for Boston’s human services for nearly 50 years.
GOT NEWS?
If you have news about a program, fundraiser, or event in support of The LiGP, let us know. We love hearing from you!
