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“That's what I consider true generosity. You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.” -- Simone de Beavoir
Hello everyone! This week our stories are infused with a generosity of spirit. A veterinarian begins a judgment-free volunteer movement that provides health services for pets of the unhoused. Kenyans are given a special holiday so they can plant over one million trees. And in Canada, a retirement community heard about some Olympic hopefuls needing a home and invited them to move into their center. Generosity defines what good human lives and societies look like. To be a flourishing human being inevitably involves practicing acts of generosity. May we be generous in our thoughts, words, and deeds and flourish this week! Wishing you all the best!
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Project Street Vet
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Dr. Kwane Stewart's Project Street Vet provides medical care to the pets of people experiencing homelessness. In 2011, he was trying to lower the San Diego shelter's rates of euthanasia and increase adoption rates while struggling with the number of animals dropped off there. Getting his coffee one morning, he noticed a homeless man's dog had a serious skin condition. Seeing the man's gratitude was the moment Stewart said he was going to get back to saving animals on his terms and for passion, not pay. He set up small drop-in clinics to provide medical care to pets whose owners couldn't afford it and walked the streets looking for unhoused individuals whose pets needed help. His brother, Ian, eventually began documenting some of the personal stories to raise awareness about animal welfare and homelessness. Since that cup of coffee over a decade ago, Stewart's care has rippled into volunteer teams across the U.S. who have collectively treated thousands of animals while giving their human parents hope and respect.
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Jon Tyson | Unsplash
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In the midst of recent surges in antisemitism and Islamophobia, owners of an Israeli-Palestinian restaurant in Berlin decided to re-open as "an island of peace". Jalil Dabit, a Palestinian, and Oz Ben David, an Israeli, are friends who own Kanaan, a restaurant that serves a menu representing the "best of both sides". The Israeli-Hamas war has taken a deep emotional toll on both Dabit and Ben David, but they have chosen to support each other and provide a safe place for people affected by antisemitism and Islamophobia. Dabit and Ben David will also soon meet with Germany's president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier to share ideas on ways of reducing tensions between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinians. "If you are closing up, you are surrendering to terror," said Ben David. "We will not agree to this kind of language of fear."
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Ken Mungai | BBC
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Kenyans have been given a special holiday to plant 100 million trees as part of the government's goal to help fight climate change by planting 15 billion trees in 10 years. Each Kenyan is being encouraged to plant at least two seedlings. The government has provided seedlings for free at its forest agency centers for planting in designated public areas and made available 150 million seedlings in public nurseries; but has also encouraged Kenyans to buy at least two seedlings to plant on their own land. The Jaza Miti app allows individuals and organizations to record the species, number and date planted, and will help people match the site and appropriate species. Environment Minister Soipan Tuya expects that 500 million trees will have been planted by the end of the rainy season in December.
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Jack Sugden
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Fans Supporting Foodbanks first emerged in Liverpool in 2015 when two grassroots supporter groups formed an unlikely alliance in recognition of growing food poverty. Beginning with a single wheelie bin for donations, FSF has inspired an expanded network of similar organizations across the UK. In Liverpool, its regular food pantries in food deserts use mobile vans to access needy and isolated people. Patrons pay a fee of £3.50 for groceries worth about £25. Combined with other community activities such as book and clothes exchanges, health screenings and cooking classes, the model removes stigma and helps people reconnect with their community. Northwestern England has been badly hit by high levels of food insecurity, and continues to feel the economic pinch driven by a decade of government austerity.
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World Curling Federation
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New Zealand curler Ben Smith never could have imagined spending the winter at a retirement home in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as Team Hood trains for the 2026 world championships which will take place in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Thanks to word-of-mouth generosity among Calgary curlers, the four men are the newest, and youngest, tenants of two suites in Chartwell Colonel Belcher Retirement Residence, where weekly activities include bridge lessons and cupcake socials and the average age is 84. Learning that the team was looking for cheap rent, Kim Forge, a board member of the World Curling Federation, asked Calgary curlers for help. Former competitive curler Cassandra Murray, now a consultant at Chartwell, offered a place to stay. Since arriving in September, the team has financed its curling dreams through day jobs and augmented its training by hiring Carolyn McRorie, a member of the Canadian women's team which won silver in 2010, as a part-time coach.
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