Love Takes Action

Misa Terral, a death doula from Winter Springs, FL, reflects on the daily practice of living and dying, encouraging a conscious exploration of personal experiences with death and transitions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Salt Lake City, UT mother Candalyn Winder Mettmann reflects on loss, grief and breaking the cycle of generational trauma. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Katie Parsons, a writer, performer, and storyteller from Satellite Beach, FL, challenges stereotypes surrounding dementia and Alzheimer's and fosters a sense of community for families navigating the disease.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shelby Thompson, a teacher from Little Rock, AR, transforms her students' lives through sustainability, problem-solving, and the profound impact of nurturing both the earth and their own potential. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Victoria Kucharski of Bloomfield, NJ reflects on her father, Chuck Hayden, who navigated a life filled with creativity, adventures, and diverse interests. As he faces health challenges, Victoria and her sisters find solace in fostering meaningful connections and creating a legacy as vibrant as the man himself.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Balme, a San Francisco, CA, educator and author of "Finding the Magic in Middle School," challenges the conventional narrative around middle school, recognizing and celebrating tweens' unique qualities and unlocking their potential.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jennifer Gray Thompson, Executive Director of After the Fire and Sonoma Valley, CA resident, shares poignant insights into the challenges faced by communities during and after wildfires, emphasizing the remarkable resilience of people and the vital role of long-term recovery efforts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In addition to passing down lessons about agriculture and farming to younger generations, a group of Hmong farmers from the Twin Cities area of Minnesota is, with the support of a grant from the American Heart Association, at the forefront of a local effort to promote health, wealth and equity through food. Expert Insight is provided by Susan Stokes, partner at the law firm of Lind, Jensen, Sullivan & Peterson in Minneapolis, working with HAFA and other farmers in the Twin Cities.

Rachel Wyman started baking bread to support herself in college and ended up finding her passion. She opened Montclair Bread Company in 2012 and, after some challenges, found great success when she added donuts to her menu. The COVID-19 pandemic put her business under new financial pressure, and she found herself pivoting once more, this time to provide her community with fresh produce at a time when it was harder to come by. Expert Insight: Katherine Danesi, a business coach and brand strategist helping female entrepreneurs, business owners, and freelancers get the clarity needed to trust their choices, confidently express their mission and message, and build their businesses.

Two days before Hurricane Ida made landfall, Marian Chauvin and her family evacuated the family home they had sacrificed so much to build. They returned to find it destroyed. With no hotel rooms or places to stay available, they were forced to take shelter in a shed for several weeks. Their community banded together to supply food, water, and other essentials. Then they learned about the St. Bernard Project, a disaster relief organization that rebuilds housing for low- to moderate-income homeowners, and their life takes a turn for the better. Expert Insight: Thomas Corley, chief recovery officer, St. Bernard Project. He is responsible for shaping strategic direction, program expansion, and team building for St. Bernard Project disaster recovery and resilience programs.

Sheryl Pabatao comes from a hardworking Filipino family. Early on in the pandemic, she was concerned about her parents, both healthcare workers, who became ill while on the job helping others. Her dad got sick first, and died within a week from COVID-19. Her mother's situation deteriorated, and she died soon after. Sheryl applies for and is awarded a charitable relief grant from the Brave of Heart Fund, which delivers much-needed aid. Expert Insight: Trudy Lindsey Dinkins is a program delivery manager for E4E Relief working with the Brave of Heart Fund to ensure the emotional and financial needs of frontline healthcare workers' families who lost a loved one to COVID-19 are served.

Charlten Henderson trained as a mental health counselor and witnessed first-hand the reticence in his community to seek formal counseling. So, when he opened the Plaza Style barbershop in Springfield, Missouri, it wasn't just to cut hair and boost confidence; he intended to create a place where community members feel comfortable sharing their personal challenges. Expert Insight: Allison Task, career coach, life coach, and author of Personal Revolution: How to Be Happy, Change Your Life, and Do That Thing You've Always Wanted to Do shares how people can develop a more purpose-driven livelihood.

Matt was diagnosed as bipolar in his early teens and spent much of his youth struggling to find his footing. When an injury at a restaurant derailed his plans to become a chef, he discovered the field of technology, where he realized he had the extraordinary ability to fixate and focus on problem solving. He is now established as a software engineer in cutting-edge health tech. Expert Insight: Vanessa Greenwood, researcher, author, and professor of Media at Montclair State University, discusses the importance of media literacy and technology for youth as they navigate the world and innovate the future.

Same-sex couple Renee and Kate made a life changing decision to grow their family and adopt through the foster care system. Their intention to adopt one child over the age of ten quickly shifts to adopting two sets of younger siblings with very different backgrounds, including trauma and special needs. It may get noisy around the house at times, but they wouldn't have it any other way. Expert Insight: Scarlet Bell Moore, an attorney specializing in Child Custody, with an 18-year affiliation with the Department of Social Services in South Carolina, shares her experience of advocating for children in foster care and adoption cases.

Guest: Jamel Jones, Company Commander, U.S. Army, grew up in a community where every day was a fight to survive and there was little hope or expectation for an education. But the encouragement, guidance, and love from the unsung heroes in the local Boys and Girls Club and others in Jamel's life propelled him to move forward, to fulfill his dream of attending college. Longing to be a leader and give back to his community, he heads down an unanticipated path into the military. And, as his friend Shelby says of him, ‘the arrow has not landed yet'. Expert Insight: Dr. Steven Rose, President of Passaic County Community College discusses the challenges and opportunities for first generation students and issues of financial aid for low income families.

Love Takes Action is a new podcast exploring rich and compelling stories of people putting their love in action in everyday situations or during extraordinary events, sharing emotional moments of love, strength, resiliency and humanity. Independent experts offer insights, takeaways and inspiration. The series is presented by New York Life Insurance Company. Produced by FC Podcasts / Fashion Consort.