Stories Connect People

Lori Orlinsky

Children's book author/bullying prevention expert

Lori Orlinsky is a multi-award winning author who lives in Chicago. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. An author with Mascot Books, Lori writes rhyming, lesson-based picture books that naturally lead to a discussion about important topics, such as bullying prevention and honesty. Lori is a bullying prevention expert, certified by the CDC in Bullying Prevention and Response Training. Additionally, she is an ambassador for the National Bullying Prevention Center. At 5”1, she wishes her first book “Being Small (Isn’t So Bad After All)” was around while she was growing up.

Lori Orlinsky

Owner // Foreword Publicity

forewordpublicity.com

[email protected]

My guest today on Stories Connect People is Lori Orlinsky.

Lori is a multi-time, multi award winning, nationally recognized author and CDC certified bully prevention expert.  October is Bully Prevention Month and this is the perfect time to bring Lori and Hayley's story to you.  Lori started her work when her daughter Hayley came home from school upset. Hayley was smaller than the other kids and was called names (that seemed endearing but to Hayley made her feel bad). When the teacher made a growth chart her name was all the way at the bottom. The normally bright and and happy Haley began to freeze.  Lori went to the internet looking for a book to try to make Hayley feel better about being small. When she didn't find one she started began to write her one and partnered with an amazing illustrator to share Hayley's story. 

Lori also talks about how bullying starts as micro aggressions and can quickly turn into bullying. She speaks at schools, conducts trainings and helps bring awareness to children and parents. 

Hayley joins the podcast to share how she felt and even reads a few of her favorite pages. You don't want to miss Haley sharing her own story of how this has helped her find her voice and acceptance of being small. During COVID, she had a goal to make some bracelets for the Chicago Children's hospital and wanted to raise $200 to help them buy masks. You won't believe how the story turned out.  But Hayley will share this story and how it lead her to being recognized all over the media, being name the Hero Beyond the Diamond and even the Mayor even named a day in honor of Hayley.  

Welcome Lori and Hayley to Stories Connect People Podcast

My guest on Stories Connect People podcast is Tim Smith.

Tim's faith, personal health and wellness journey and his amazing voice led him to starting The MindBodySoul365 Podcast. Tim shares a lot of personal stories about his life as an educator, coach, administrator and pastor. Hear what led to him starting MindBodySoul365 and what it has brought to his life and the lives of others. You will love Tim's real, transparent and caring style.  I admire so much how he investing time in helping others strengthen their walk with God and their wellbeing! 

Also, I am so glad you are listening to the podcast. SCP podcast is reaching people around the world every week just to name a few….France, Switzerland, Ireland, Finland, Mexico and London and of course all over NA. 

I just love it! Please reach out  and engage with me! Follow SCP podcast on Facebook and Instagram. I would love to hear from you what you think of the MindBodySoul episode.

Now join me in welcoming my friend, Tim Smith! 

Tim Smith, MindBodySoul365

Tim is a former educator, coach, school administrator, pastor and weight loss consultant. He is the host and producer of The MindBodySoul365 Podcast.

Pictured here with Tim is his dog, Ruby.

Hear Tim share what the 365 means in the podcast based on Luke 9:23

Connect with Tim:

https://www.mindbodysoul365.com/

https://www.buzzsprout.com/860491

https://www.mindbodysoul365.com/tims-blog

[email protected] 

A few podcasts mentioned during this podcast:

Allison Hare's Press Play Podcast program (www.allisonhare.com)

Leah Jantzen on MindBodySoul365

A Memorial Day special… lessons from Dad on MindBodySoul365

Giving Back, Austin Sacks on Stories Connect People podcas

Stories Connect People Podcast

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• To potentially be a show guest, share feedback, or make recommendations email me at [email protected]

Guests - Tanya & Toby Mahrous

Second Life, upscale resale store benefiting homeless animals

My guests on Stories Connect People podcast are the owners of Second Life, Tanya and Toby Mahrous. Second Life is an organization and resale retail concept that supports homeless animals. Tanya had this crazy idea, almost 10 years ago that Toby immediately supported.

They combined their love for animals with their love for thrifting and started an upscale resale store benefiting animals. They have now provided 1.6 M in grants to local organizations that support rescue, foster, spaying and neutering and education. 

Tanya's  love for animals started when she was a young girl living in Cairo Egypt. Her father would help the local street dogs.  Over the years Tanya and Toby have returned many times to see family, support Cairo organizations and even rescued their two current dogs from there..

Their one dog Riley in fact is the Chief Smile Officer at Second Life. A job that was passed down to him by their first rescue, Lucky a beautiful Dalmatian.  In the early days of Second Life, Lucky was the dog in the window that got people coming into the store, he captured the heart of the customers just like he did his parents. Now, that is Riley's job and he is pretty excellent at it.

In this podcast, you will hear how deep their love goes for animals, how they support local organizations and how they are "speaking up" for animals who can't speak for themselves. In addition, you will learn some pretty cool things about their store and their team.

It is a joy to welcome Tanya on Toby to Stories Connect People podcast.

Connect:

Tanya and Toby Mahrous

Second Life

Address: 1 N. & 89 N. Clarendon Ave.
Avondale Estates, GA 30002

Website: http://secondlifeatlanta.org/

General Information: [email protected]

Donations:  [email protected]

Volunteer:  [email protected]

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secondlifeatl/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secondlifeatlanta/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/secondlifeatl

Read all about their inspiration, Lucky, on Chief Smile Officers page

Meet Riley in the store and on our Chief Smile Officers Page

Stories Connect People Podcast

• Subscribe to Stories Connect People podcast on any podcast platform
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• If you enjoy the show please Like, Rate, Review and Share
• Engage with me on Facebook & Instagram @ Stories Connect People
• To potentially be a show guest, share feedback, or make recommendations email me at [email protected]

Sharon Chappell, PhD

Sharon Frances (formerly Chappell), PhD

she/her/hers

Executive Artistic Director, Well Beings Studio

Founder, Little Green Monster Project

Associate Professor, CSUF

My guest on Stories Connect People podcast is Sharon Chappell. You will immediately fall in love with Sharon just like I did.  Sharon is so beautiful and you will hear it in her voice instantly.   Sharon grew up with her father battling cancer.  They never talked about it in her family.  3 days after she was diagnosed with breast cancer her father passed away.  Sharon shares her story of struggling with anxiety starting as a young girl. She often felt overwhelmed, like she had to perform perfectly and like she was never enough. 

You will be surprised to hear what changed all of that for Sharon. Her diagnosis of breast cancer. Suddenly she felt the need to fight, to survive and she realized was good enough.  She wanted her cancer to mean more than being sick. Sharon found her purpose. She turned her breast cancer diagnosis into something beautiful, meaningful and impactful. 

Sharon who has a doctorate in education, spent much of her life as an arts educator. She took her love for teaching, her love for the arts and started Well Beings Studio. Well Beings Studio focuses on support families and children going through cancer by using the arts. She is helping them communicate, providing tools, resources, activities and support to get through what might be the most difficult time in their lives.

Sharon found a way to get joy from her cancer and is spending her life making a difference in the lives of 100s of families and children. Welcome Sharon to Stories Connect People podcast.

www.wellbeings.studio

http://wellbeings.studio/blog/

www.littlegreenmonster.org

http://wellbeings.studio/ashandfeather/

[email protected]

Read. Feel. Create. Heal.

The Little Green Monster Project engages imagination and creative expression to open communication and support emotional well-being of children and their families during the cancer journey.

Well Beings Studio enhances the emotional well-being of families impacted by cancer through arts-based resources and workshops.

Stories Connect People Podcast

• Subscribe to Stories Connect People podcast on any podcast platform
• Visit my website at www.storiesconnectpeople.com
• If you enjoy the show please Like, Rate, Review and Share
• Engage with me on Facebook & Instagram @ Stories Connect People
• To potentially be a show guest, share feedback, or make recommendations email me at [email protected]

HEY! Helping Empower Youth’s mission is to provide an opportunity to inspire, motivate and mobilize young people to take action that changes their world.

My guest on Stories Connect People podcast is Marc Boyd. Marc is the co-founder of an organization that help youth on the Westside of Atlanta that are in some of the most dire situations.  His organization is HEY! Helping Empower Youth.

You will immediately see Marc's passion for youth, he sees himself as a young boy in many of THESE young boys. He has dedicated years to helping build their life skills, STEM skills, entrepreneurial and leadership skills.

He talks a little about his childhood, his hustle to earn money, going into the Marine's and how he was recruited to Lockheed Martin building C130s in a top secret clearance position. It was during a layoff where is began working with underprivileged youth in the Non-profit sector. His creativity in helping youth people learn math by fixing bikes will touch your heart.  You will see his commitment, daily dedication and how he has even opened up his home during covid to help provide a place for learning.

He discusses the work HEY is doing with a small group of the Atlanta Water Boyz and how they are inspired and motivated by their own poverty. HEY is helping them earn money the safe way and teaching them skills that are helping them to build a foundation in their life.

Marc addresses the controversy surrounding the Atlanta WaterBoyz and his perspective on Black Lives Matter. Bottom line is Marc has a heart of gold and you will see how his investment is changing lives.

Welcome Marc to Stories Connect People podcast

Take Action:

Facebook  @HelpingEmpowerYouth

www.helpingempoweryouth.org

Connect, learn more, donate and volunteer

Stories Connect People Podcast

• Subscribe to Stories Connect People podcast
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• Pinterest - Stories Connect People
• To potentially be a show guest, share feedback, or make recommendations email me at [email protected]
• Stories Connect People podcast available on all podcast platforms

Tina Williford - The Table on Delk

Introduction:

What if you had no money, no resources, no support, no home, no food and you had yourself and your children to take care of.  Would you resort to selling your body for money?  My guest today on Stories Connect People podcast is Tina Williford. Tina shares the situation women are faced with when they have absolutely nothing and what some women are forced to do to meet their basic needs. Women resort to selling their body for sex and then end of covering the guilt, shame and embarrassment with alcohol and drugs.  It begins a vicious cycle.

Tina found her calling years ago in Guatemala on a missions trip. What she saw in Guatemala, women selling their body; was happening right in her own community and she answered a calling to start The Table on Delk a few years later. The Table on Delk helps to connect women and children who are at risk of of being sexually exploited to resources to help them get out of this cycle. Women are resorting to survival sex to get money for food, a place to sleep and the bare basics for their children. The Table provide a safe place for a meal, access to computers, bible studies, activities for children and even classes to help with things like cooking in simple meal in a crockpot and GED prep.

Tina and The Table on Delk team and volunteers make sure the women know. You matter. You are enough. You are loved.  They meet them where their need is.  Hear from Tina about the important and meaningful things they are doing to help support the women and help them to see a different and better life.

 ----

The Table on Delk provides a safe place for those who are currently, or at risk of, being sexually exploited to have a meal and get connected to resources that they might not know about.  Volunteers are needed to prepare food and to show our guests the Father’s love.  By showing them His love through genuine interactions, telling them that their lives do matter and that He has a plan and purpose for them, some of those we serve will take steps toward healing and restoration. 

Each Wednesday and Saturday from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM, The Table on Delk provides a meal and a safe place for victims to rest.  It’s the little things like “What kind of pancake would you like?” or “Which coffee mug would you like to use?” that will begin to show them they do have choices – ultimately, the choice to believe the truth that they were made for more than they're currently experiencing and to break free from their current lifestyle.  

The goal is to bring about transformation one life at a time.  By showing God’s love in action, we believe that The Table on Delk will be an on ramp to other rescue

Today my guest on Stories Connect People podcast is the Seeds of Happiness Guy, Mark Borella.

I found these little clay smiles years ago in a little art boutique in California. I have been giving them to friends, family, people who need a smile, people who are special to me or someone who is going through a rough time.  As Mark says I am spreading kindness.

Mark Borella is nothing less than amazing. He was overjoyed to be a guest on SCP podcast.  He is the catalyst for millions of smiles getting out into the world and he shares all the details about how it began. 

He talks about how he struggled as a young person in school, how with the help of his art teacher (who works for him today) help him grow into an artist, he talks about how his career as a fine artist evolved and how the person that connected he and his wife in high school was key to the Seeds of Happiness starting.  Their friends son passed away from a terminal illness. Mark had made a few smile out of extra clay from his sculpting. That was the first seed given and the start of a life changing mission.

Kirkwood, MO is Mark's home and the home of The Smile Factory as they call it. You will hear Mark with all of his love and boundless energy share how each and every seed is made by hand. Every single step. In additional to his Seeds of Happiness team, he partners with a organization that employees people with disabilities to help in the production. Yet another way the seeds are spreading love.

Can you imagine if you wake up everyday with the purpose to supply a way for people to connect with others and pass love and kindness all over the world? That is Mark and the Seeds of Happiness team.

You will hear him say that it's not about him it's all about the giver! The giver is the key ingredient. The one who cares enough, loves enough and thinks of someone else to give them a smile.

Mark's love and energy is contagious. Listen to Mark's story and what is needed to get the seeds ready to do their job…. Spread love, happiness and kindness. 

Notes:

Facebook - Seeds of Happiness and Seeds of Happiness Group

Instagram - Seeds of Happiness

Seeds of Happiness-- Kirkwood, MO

Read all about Seeds of Happiness and the story, buy the smiles (and other items), sign up for the newsletter and see more about how the Seeds are made in the Smile Factory

https://www.seedsofhappiness.com/

https://www.seedsofhappiness.com/shop/

https://www.seedsofhappiness.com/blog/

Phone - 877.764.4157

Seeds of Happiness partners with Canterbury Enterprises, Inc. to produce the molded balls of clay which are then sculpted at the Seeds of Happiness studio. Canterbury is a sheltered workshop in suburban St. Louis. Their mission is to produce high quality work through a dedicated workforce primarily comprised of people with disabilities. 

THE STORY

Seeds of Happiness started out as leftover lumps of clay I made into little smiles to give to friends who were going through hard times and needed a little smile.

That was in 2006, since then I have given out thousands of smiles to folks, a handful at a time. In turn, they share them and the story with their friends in need of a smile.

Then, those people share with more friends and keep the story going. The Seeds are all over the planet by now. I receive a lot of e-mails with photos and stories showing how these little Seeds made a difference to someone. From Africa to the land down under, the Seeds have been planted and smiles have been resurrected for people who need them. Seems a lot of people need smiles these days. Share a Smile &ndas

Austin Sacks shares how he is giving back to his school and community through Habitat for Humanity.

The John Cooper School, The Woodlands, TX

My guest on Stories Connect People podcast is Pam Brooks-Crump. Pam shares her story of being in long term recovery and how she is helping others today work through their own challenges with substance abuse disorder and mental health challenges.

Her story began as a child and she bottled up a secret for 30 years only to discover that her sister had been carrying the same secret her whole life too. When she finally shared her story the healing began.

Stats show 1 in 5 people in the world have been a victim of physical or sexual abuse. Pam challenges us to be curious vs judgmental.  To ask what happened to you vs what is wrong with you. She talks about the stigma of substance abuse and mental health challenges and how she as a certified peer specialist is helping others in their journey.

Pam is also the author of Mia Inspired! A Caterpillar at a Crossroad based on the Monarch Butterflies. The ageless picture book tells the story of transformation. No matter what we are going through we have the tools to survive. The butterfly can transform and can never change back to being a caterpillar.

Listen to Pam's story with an open heart and maybe we will all learn how to ask for help or be there if someone in our life needs help.

Pam is helping people change their life. She is certified to work on teams with people in recovery for Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network. GMHCN - www.gmhcn.org 

Like Pam,  474 certified peer specialists have been trained to be more trauma informed when working with people in substance abuse and mental health care. This could include any type of addiction to drugs or alcohol or trauma.

Help is available on this warm line in Georgia 365 days a year/24 hours a day. A warm line is manned by a certified mental health specialist. The number is 1-888-945-1414. https://www.gmhcn.org/peer2peer-warm-line

If there is a crisis they can connect someone to a hotline if needed. This helps people from being isolated.  This allows people to just talk, connect, etc.  She is not there to fix people she is there to help people.

Anyone interested can join any of the 3 virtual meetings a day for wellness see website for details.

Pam is the author of Mia Inspired! A Caterpillar at a Crossroad Pam Brooks-Crump based on the Monarch Butterflies.  https://www.facebook.com/pam.brookscrump

Pam talks about Greta Counts a great coach

Connect with Pam Brooks-Crump

[email protected] - email

Follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter  @ Pam Brooks-Crump

Stories Connect People Podcast

• Subscribe to Stories Connect People podcast
• Listen, Like, Review, Share
• Engage with me on Facebook & Instagram @ Stories Connect People
• Pinterest - Stories Connect People
• To potentially be a show guest, share feedback, or make recommendations email me at [email protected]
• Stories Connect People podcast available on all podcast platforms

From Storytelling Champion to Storyteller Championing Others - Tiffani Knowles

Tiffani Knowles is the author - along with her dad - of the book HOLA America: Guts, Grit, Grind and Further Traits in the Successful American Immigrant and the online course series by the same name. A trained journalist, she is the managing editor and founder of NEWD Magazine. Her hope is to become as "newd" as possible on a daily by embracing truth, authenticity and socio-spiritual awareness. She is multi-vocational as she is the owner of a boutique lending firm called Global Business Lending and a professor of communication at Barry University in Miami, Florida. 

Connect with Tiffani:

FB - Tiffani Knowles

Instagram - Tiffaniknowles

Purchase Hola America! at HOLA America: Guts, Grit, Grind and Further Traits in the Successful American Immigrant

Introduction:

Meet Tiffani Knowles. What a spark Tiffani is! and you are going to love her beautiful personality that exudes in listening to her story.  She shares how her life a young person is much of the  foundation for her life today! 

Her early story in fact starts with storytelling,  It led to national storytelling competitions and it's an incredible skill she has built into her life as an author, voiceover artist, magazine founder and editor, university professor, business owner and overall champion for greatness for others. 

How can one person offer so much? Listen to my interview with Tiffani to find out! And to top it off….you will be so moved by her love for her family, how they have influenced her life and how she and her father partnered on a book project (which is just one of many projects) to bring to life the stories of immigrants in South Florida who have overcome the greatest odds and who are still full of life.

Stories Connect People: