
Jun 2, 2024 Arnhem Unveils 30-year Plan To House 1,700 Asylum Seekers Arnhem, a city located in the eastern part of the Netherlands, will welcome twice the number of asylum seekers required by the Dutch government over the next thirty years. "We want to accommodate people in a humane way" said Paul Smeulders, an Arnhem alderman. The city plans to offer stable housing as well as language courses and social experiences to empower refugees to fully rebuild their lives. Read the full story here.
May 29, 2024 Pay-It-Forward Hospitality Initiative in Cantabria A couple of ServiceSpace community members recently shared about a social transformation project in Cantabria (Spain). Inspired by Karma Kitchen and other gift economy initiatives, Las Casucas is a living laboratory featuring the "Rural Karma Home & Family residences", an exploration in pay-it-forward hospitality. The project, launching in September, will offer stays to families in need as well as to those seeking well-being practices. Guests may also contribute to other service experiments and volunteerism, creating a transformative journey of self-discovery and social impact.
May 28, 2024 When Birds Nest in the Doorway, Go Out the Window “Lives sometimes get rearranged by all sorts of things.” Sometimes, that rearrangement includes climbing out the kitchen window by ladder for a few weeks even though the home has two working doors. This may look like eccentric, nonsensical behavior: it’s not. Author Caitlin Shetterly’s family made this intentional choice one Spring two separate bird families nested over each entrance to Shetterly's home. The inconvenience of climbing out the kitchen window seems absurd to outsiders, yet we understand that much of life is filled with unchosen intrusions on our plans and convenience. What control we do retain is how we respond: “Lives sometimes get rearranged by all sorts of things: illness, pandemics, job losses, the unpredictable natural world, family, artistic fervor, hunger, or thirst. And that room can always be made. Instead of diminishing our existence, these changes can actually afford us a deeper sense of how we must participate with other beings.” [Read more ...]
May 26, 2024 Nonprofit's Success With 40k Coral Plantings Is A Big Win For Caribbean Reefs Fundación Dominicana de Estudios Marinos (FUNDEMAR), an organization dedicated to promoting the sustainable use of coastal marine ecosystems, is engaged in groundbreaking coral reef restoration efforts. In just 5 years, their team has outplanted more than 40,000 coral substrates. “At our current production rate, which has increased by 1000% since the program started five years ago, we now expect to contribute annually with 20,000 substrates with coral recruits to our reefs in need.” Read the full article here.
May 23, 2024 Few weeks ago, volunteers in Hanoi, Vietnam operated a local Karma Kitchen in a special way: in silence! From volunteers to guests, everyone connected and communicated in silence. Take a look at the photos to soak in the vibe ...
May 22, 2024 Small Sounds of the Past "In Praise of Listening" by Christian McEwen celebrates the profound impact of sound on our memories and experiences. Through evocative stories like Alice Cozzolino's pasta-making rituals with her mother and Eleanor Adams' childhood memories of island life, McEwen reminds us of the power of sound to transport us back in time. In a world filled with noise, these memories serve as reminders to listen attentively to our surroundings and cherish the small, often overlooked moments. The article encourages readers to reflect on their own early memories of sound, offering a writing exercise to evoke and explore these cherished moments. Through listening, we can rediscover the beauty and richness of our past and present experiences. [Read more ...] For more inspiration, join this weekend's Awakin Call with Christian McEwen. RSVP and details here.
May 21, 2024 AI inspired Slovak National Values Report In a brief, bonus video, Phil Clothier shares a bit about the use of CompassionGPT to inspire a hopeful report on the Slovak National Values Assessment. "Who are we? What do we experience now? What do we want that to be? And we can give that [information] to AI to help us, and guide us in our humanity, to go through this moment of deep transformation" said Phil. Watch the full video clip here.
May 17, 2024 Physician Empathy Tied To Better Outcomes For Chronic Pain Patients: Study A new study published last month in Jama Network’s open access journal showed significantly better outcomes for patients treated by empathetic physicians who addressed their unique needs. Over the course of twelve months, these patients also experienced much less pain and suffering. Read the full story here.
May 13, 2024 KindSpring Community Roundup. People around the world engage in every day acts of kindness. Below is a small sampling of recent stories from our KindSpring community... lewski711: I Was Going To Donate "I was going to donate to a GoFundMe that was close to my heart, but I had an unexpected opportunity to donate to one even closer..." Re ad more. Helenconnell2: Today, I Worked On Self-Care "Today, I worked on caring for myself. I bought some yarn in October to make a short sleeve jumper..." Read more. cheeka: Support The School Fees Of A Girl My wife is an amazing supporter of education for girls and people in low income families. She wanted to sponsor the primary school fees for a girl..." Read more. Frozone: I Created a Card For My Teacher "I created a card for a teacher who spreads so much kindness and joy in her classroom. I needed her to know that she is appreciated..." Read more.
May 10, 2024 We Need To Rewild The Internet In a recent essay, technologists Maria Farrell and Robin Berjon describe the “extractive and fragile monoculture” of the modern-day internet. Drawing a line from 18^th century forestry practices to equivalencies in technology today, the authors noted, "When we simplify complex systems, we destroy them, and the devastating consequences sometimes aren’t obvious until it’s too late”. Like ecologists, they suggest taking a whole-systems approach – one that incorporates intellect and emotion; checks and balances; competition and diversity. "Ecologists also know how to keep going when others first ignore you and then say it’s too late, how to mobilize and work collectively, and how to build pockets of diversity and resilience that will outlast them, creating possibilities for an abundant future they can imagine but never control. We don’t need to repair the internet’s infrastructure. We need to rewild it." Read the full article here.