Confused About LGBTQ Terms? Me Too

    Jackie Kurtz

 

Rainbow Flag - Love Wins

I’ve been confused as to what exactly transgender, nonbinary, queer, cisgender, etc means as I know so many of you are too. When I read about the unprecedented wave of anti-trans legislation across America (400+ anti-trans bills last year), I knew it was coming from a wave of hate and fear. The lack of understanding combined with the misinformation from people trying to turn this into a political issue is creating real damage to our communities and people everywhere.  Continue reading Confused About LGBTQ Terms? Me Too →

Cassandra Speaks

    Jackie Kurtz

Cassandra Speaks by Elizabeth Lesser

I just finished reading a wonderful book, called “Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes” by Elizabeth Lesser. It’s a thought-provoking book that explores the power of storytelling and the values they perpetuate and talks about how women’s voices have been silenced throughout history. This book is about what happens when women are the storytellers too, “when we become the protagonists in the tales we tell about what it means to be human.” Continue reading Cassandra Speaks →

Announcing our Kindness Award Winners for June 2023

    Jackie Kurtz

Jason and Trisha Long, Kindness Award Winners

While our goal is to highlight one person at a time, we felt we had to make an exception with this husband-and-wife team.

Jason and Trish Long, (Berlin, MD), have been volunteering their time since 2015, to make sure the homeless population in Ocean City, Md have a place to stay when the weather turns frigid. They spend hundreds of hours making sure the shelter has enough food, supplies, and volunteers to cover the overnight shift.  Continue reading Announcing our Kindness Award Winners for June 2023 →

Another Year Gone

    Jackie Kurtz

Matt and his beloved puppy, Tyson.

Six years ago today, Matt died. It’s still impossible to believe he’s gone. Even after six years, it still feels unbelievable.  My husband, Ron, said, “In some ways, it gets worse as time goes by.” He went on to explain, that in the beginning, we had pictures of Matt that weren’t too far out of date, but every year that goes by, we are missing more and more pictures and memories that should have been. I agree, plus I felt like I could tough it out for a year or two without Matt but not 5 or 10 years.  Continue reading Another Year Gone →

Announcing our Matt Kurtz Kindness Award Winner for May 2023

    Jackie Kurtz

Susan Melton Kindness Award Winner

Susan Melton, (Cheboygan, MI), spreads positivity with chalk art. Every day she leaves a positive message on sidewalks for everyone to see. What started as a summer project in 2011, has turned into 12 years of chalking and she’s still going strong. Amazingly, she hasn’t missed a day, she’s out there chalking positivity, even in wind, rain, or snow.  When asked how she dealt with the snow, she said, “I scrape off the snow and I chalk fast.” Continue reading Announcing our Matt Kurtz Kindness Award Winner for May 2023 →

#1 Tip for Cell Phone Users

    Jackie Kurtz

#1 tip for cell phone users

My husband and I were walking along the beach in Costa Rica, when a cell phone, in a waterproof case, washed up on the sand. I picked it up and looked around hoping to see someone who looked frantic, but no one appeared to be searching for a phone. My next thought was to look in contacts to see if there was an ICE (In case of emergency) contact, but unfortunately, the phone was password protected. I figured, I’d keep the phone on me and the person who lost the phone would surely call it – even locked, I’d be able to answer a call. Then I noticed it was on airplane mode, which meant it would not ring.  Continue reading #1 Tip for Cell Phone Users →

We’re Happy to Announce our Kindness Grant Winner for March 2023

    Jackie Kurtz

Kindness Grant Winner Rachael Rosenberg

Rachael Rosenberg (Los Angeles, CA) is the 17-year-old founder of Bundles of Kindness, a non-profit that provides care kits for the homeless. What started out as a community service project for her bat mitzvah is still going strong four years later, delivering bundles of supplies to the homeless in the Los Angeles area. Continue reading We’re Happy to Announce our Kindness Grant Winner for March 2023 →

Help for Serious Mental Illness and Matt’s 38th Birthday

    Jackie Kurtz

Resource Guide for Serious Mental Illness

Today, Matt would be 38 years old. We’ve had to live 5 years and 9 months without his presence in our lives, without new memories, without his touch and his effervescent smile. We’ve learned how to live and find some happiness in spite of our grief, but there’s not a day that goes by that we don’t hurt from missing him.  We’re grateful for the 32 years of wonderful memories we shared with Matt that make us smile and warm our aching hearts, but we miss him so much.   Continue reading Help for Serious Mental Illness and Matt’s 38th Birthday →