14 minute read
generosity and miracles
Central New York blossoms generosity and miracles
By Farah Jadran R ecently, I had the incredible honor of being a part of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital Radiothon for Kids. It is an annual two-day TV and radio effort to raise money for the children’s unit. This year, it is also aimed at funding a new special needs care unit on the Upstate campus.
During the 17th annual Radiothon, I was on the air for CNYCentral giving live reports from Upstate on CBS 5 and NBC 3. We received calls from people all across the region from people willing to give to a cause that helps all children in our community. It was amazing to see people’s generosity in all forms whether it was through volunteering to answer phones or donating $10 or $1,000.
On top of that beautiful wave of generosity, which helped raise more than $250,000, there are the miracles I want to share with you. The lives touched by giving hearts in our community are amazing. Leading up to Radiothon, I sat down with three girls receiving care at Golisano. They are beautiful, bright and bold young ladies who have so much to give back as they fight for their lives.
Four-year-old Rosie spent her recent birthday in a chemotherapy chair. Her smile melts your heart and her dreams of becoming both a police officer and a doctor show you just how important it is for her to beat rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer that causes tumors to grow in her soft tissue. Then, there is 17-year-old Erma, who spent much of her senior year of high school receiving treatment for blood cancer.
Erma’s perspective is refreshing. She is grateful for the people helping her get better and looks ahead with a positive heart set on going to college and becoming a nurse that will one day work on Upstate’s pediatrics team. Finally, I met with Victoria. She is 18 years old and full of spunk. She was born with Down syndrome and receives monthly infusions at Upstate as she fights Crohn’s disease. Her beaming personality floors everyone she meets. Plus, her genuine expression of love for her mom is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
Watching our community respond to helping Rosie, Erma and Victoria, and many other beautiful children, was something I felt honored to witness. I give much thanks to all the donors and also the incredible radio broadcasters using their voices on 570 WSYR and Y94 to get the word out and bring in donations.
There is always a way to give. A friend in Syracuse, Mark Fuller, told me, you can give to the community by way of your time, talent or treasure. This means you can make a difference by volunteering your time, sharing your God-given gifts or sharing financially. If you do one of these, two or all three know that it is always going to touch more lives than you may ever truly know.
Kindness can change someone’s heart. It can help others realize there is a world around them and more to life than possessions and petty arguments. Kindness can be the message you wear and walk with because you choose to live life with genuine gratitude for each day you are given. Tomorrow is not promised. Why not spend today being kind and being positive? SWM
Farah Jadran is the anchor of CBS5 This Morning and CBS5 News at Noon for CNYCentral in Syracuse. Farah also served as editor of SWM for more than four years after she helped launch it in January 2011. If you or someone you know is spreading kindness in our community -- tweet at her -- @FarahJadran using #BeKindSyracuse.
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BUSINESS IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 Ten things you can do right now to grow and sustain your business that don’t feel sleazy or yucky
You’re uncertain how to move forward. There are no rules — and there are so many questions! •What’s ok to promote? • How will we sustain our business? • Should we even be talking about our offerings at a time like this?
Obviously, there are no clear answers, but when we keep our minds clear, it’s much easier for our brains to get creative and help us find viable solutions
As you read these 10 things to do right now, keep asking yourself, “How can I combine these ideas to help me sustain and grow my business?”
10. Create a service to provide ONLINE: Yoga. Meditation. Coaching. Consultations. Education/Training. Summits and Conferences.
Seriously — get creative and think about what you can take to the interwebs! It doesn’t need to be perfect or fancy, and you don’t need to be an expert. Just get started.
9. Develop Done-For-You content: At-home fitness plans. Specialized nutrition plans. Social media content. Visual branding suites.
You have a magical talent that people would love you to do for them. Make it a reality and offer it to your audience!
8. Determine what can be DELIVERED: Locally-owned brick-and-mortars can really embrace this one: Restaurants. Groceries. Pharmacies. Hardware stores. FLORISTS!
But what can you DELIVER to your clients online, as well? E-books? Courses or workshops?
It’s vital to remain in your audience’s line of vision and let them know you can still provide for them in some way — even if it’s a little more inconvenient for you!
7. Finish that course! I bet you’ve got seven to 10 unfinished courses living on your computer!
Now is the time to do that Instagram class! Or learn Facebook ads. Or finally finish Marie Forleo’s B-School.
Come on — you paid for it — get off social media and stop watching the news. Fill your brain with something to HELP you when this is all over!
6. Create content for the future. You know you “should’ve been” emailing your list all along. And putting out consistent messaging on social media. And updating your ancient website.
But you never have time. You’ve got the time now.
Start writing the stories your audience needs to hear. Create future content for all the things they need to know to solve their problem. Yes, you can do it now and save it for later!
5. Put your photos out into the world! Do you have 6, 528 photos on your phone? Many of them will be fantastic to accompany that content you’re creating!
Some are wonderful inspirations for stories to tell your audience! Many deserve to be deleted.
Free up your digital photo clutter and start sharing your face with your audience! You’ll be shocked at how happy they are to see you.
4. Organize your electronic files. Does your computer’s desktop look like a high-schooler’s bedroom? Are your files misnamed and hard to find?
This kind of disorganization is messing with your business and you know it.
This is your moment! An organized, systematized business makes more money and loses less time.
I swear — on the other side of this experience you’ll be the hero of your own business!
3. Go for a walk and listen. Yes, we are socially distancing ourselves, but it doesn’t mean nature is off limits! Take your dog or your kid or yourself for a walk and listen to that book or podcast everyone’s been recommending.
I promise you, it will stir up so much creativity inside your brain and get you incredibly productive!
Some of my favorites? “Building a StoryBrand ,”by Donald Miller. “Why We Can’t Sleep” by Ada Calhoun. “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert. “How to Get Shit Done” by Erin Falconer.
2. Declutter! This is such a free, amazing, impactful way to increase your productivity. Stop spending time re-reading garbage on the internet and get off the couch. Then, set a timer, get a garbage back and start getting rid of the stuff in your closets, drawers, basements and bookshelves.
Every time I give this directive to a client, her life transforms.
Get rid of it all — don’t hold onto it for a garage sale. Or give it away. It will change your world to have less stuff.
Fewer things = More abundance. I know it sounds weird but it works. You’ve gotta trust me.
1.Be of service. You are a leader — so be a leader! Your business does not have to tank along with your mindset. Keep yourself productive, forward focusedand creative.
Be of service - remind your clients, audience, staff — you know, all the people — that you’re there for them. Keep your messaging going!
With your creativity and inspiration, you can grow and sustain your business. Collaborate with other entrepreneurs to see how you can move ahead without the sleaze factor.
Do you have something to add to this list? Email me at jen_liddy@me.com to share your ideas & tell me about your experience trying one or more of these ideas! SWM
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COVER STORY ABBEY WOODCOCK ABBEY WOODCOCK ONEIDA FREELANCE CO-OP FOUNDER By Megan Sheehan
People are always in such a hurry to kick the dust of their hometowns off their feet.
Sometime around the middle school years, you deem your hometown boring, the absolute worst. As you age, you let go of the bad hair, questionable fashion choices, and bargain-bin drugstore eye shadow — but you still hang on to this anti-hometown grudge. You want nothing more than to leave it and complain about it.
When adulthood hits, nostalgia sets in, and you start thinking about the place where you grew up. You tell yourself things were better when you were a kid, that your town has gone to seed. Someone should have stepped up to take care of things. They should have kept things from falling apart.
But according to entrepreneur Abbey Woodcock, who operates the Oneida Freelance Co-op, there is no “they.”
“There’s only ‘us’,” Woodcock said. “This storefront got updated because we updated it. We worked really hard to make it a nice space.”
For the past five years or so, Woodcock and her husband, K.C. Baney, have been teaming up and combining their powers for the good of Oneida. Woodcock scolds herself as she recalls their early days of pushing herself and scrambling at midnight to hit a deadline.
“I wasn’t very disciplined on my schedule,” she said. “He started teaching me systems, project management, [how to] run a business and [we were] doing all of this grown up stuff. Together, we’re really good at this. I have the creative and the skill set, and he has the organization to make it sustainable.” About a year in, they began teaching online workshops of business and organizational skills to freelancers. “And I loved that part of it.”
Woodcock, an Oneida native, started thinking about how she could use those skills to help the community.
“I love it here, but I realized we had a really big opportunity,” she said. “I was making a really good living working online and living here, and everyone was talking about all the kinds of things people say about small towns — ‘There’s no jobs. There’s nothing to do. You can’t make any money. Our kids are moving away to find jobs.’”
But Woodcock knew that wasn’t true.
“There’s a huge opportunity to work online, and you can be location-independent and live in a small town with a great cost of living, and all the great things about small towns,” she said. “And so I got thinking — what if we took what we’re doing with freelancers online, which is connectingthem to the resources in their communities, and we did it the other way, where we’re connecting the communities to the freelancers, where we’re educating the government, and the chambers of commerce and the local lawyers and the accountants about opportunities for freelancers? And so that’s what created this place.”
From there, Woodcock started to plan. What would freelancers need if they were working from Oneida? All of that would have to be available to them out of a central location. She and Baney built their dream office on Main Street in Oneida and added a recording studio and a podcasting studio. They host online workshops, both live and livestreamed online.
The most important aspect of the business how closely it’s tied to the community.
“We’re working with the Chamber of Commerce just to educate people on what it is to be a creative freelancer and the opportunity [available],” Woodcock said. “Eventually I want to bring this to schools on Career day.”
The co-op’s office includes nods to the various businesses it works with, as well as other pieces of the Oneida community—and to Woodcock’s grandfather, to whom she was incredibly close. There s only us
