Fig® The LancHappy Project 2015

E AR PPY H S HA TH E visit LancHappy.com to learn more | a

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W E’RE IN PU R S U IT OF H APPIN ES S .

The LancHappy Project is about ordinary people finding and creating happiness in the City of Lancaster. What do locals love?

How do kindness and gratitude affect happiness and wellbeing of the mind, body, and spirit? We want to know.

Our goal is simple: to make the City of Lancaster a happier and healthier place to be, to live, and to love. Through random acts of kindness and a pay-it-forward mentality, we want to think about happiness in terms of cultivating curiosity, performing acts of service, and creatively filling the city with an appreciation that ordinary people pursuing happiness leads to extraordinary things: better relationships and a stronger, more connected, community.

We’re in pursuit of happiness and we know Lancaster will lead the way.

CARRIE JOHNSON

DEBORAH BRANDT

LISA TAYLOR

Girls on the Run

Moxie House, the producers of Fig®

Evolution Power Yoga

t h e l a n c h a p p y p r o j e c t LancHappy.com #LancHappy

HAVE A HAPPY IDEA?

Do you have a terrific idea for how to make Lancaster better? Share your idea at LancHappy.com and you could win a micro-grant to fund your project.

You may even be featured as the next FigÂŽ Giving Back in an upcoming issue.

E AR PPY H S HA TH E

Sponsored by our Giving Partner, the Lancaster County Community Foundation.

GET INVOLVED!

Check out our calendar of events for the latest volunteer and empowerment projects happening throughout the community.

HAVE A HAPPY NICKEL?

STAY CONNECTED!

Instagram #LancHappy to let us know what makes you happiest and why you love being a part of the Lancaster community.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Want to know what makes people happy?

What they love about Lancaster?

Watch the LancHappy videos online at LancHappy.com to learn why Lancaster is a fantastic place to live.

Sponsored by our Media Partner, LCTV 66.

Did you get a LancHappy wooden nickel from your favorite local downtown business?

If you received a free cup of coffee, shot of wheatgrass, or cupcake, don’t forget to pass it on!

Let our paid-in-full happy gesture serve as a reminder to spread the joy of giving to others by passing it on. Instagram #LancHappy to share your own do-gooder deed and watch the happiness stack up.

Kindness is magic!

WHAT DOES HAPPINESS MEAN TO YOU? .COM

We asked the people of Lancaster to find out!

Read their answers on the following pages or watch the video online.

(LancHappy.com)

t h e l a n c h a p p y p r o j e c t LancHappy.com #LancHappy

Lori

“ The last time I was happy was this morning. There’s just nothing better than waking up in the morning being with the two people that you love most in the world.” –SI MEON

John

Simeon

Sean

Sally Amy

Geoff Joan

Mimi

James

HAPPY THOUGHTS “ I share happiness with a smile or a handshake or a hug. When you’re happy you feel warm and you want to share it.” –lori “ All the little things are really what makes a life. I think that happy has to do more with heart and understanding that if you think with your heart you make better choices. If you think with your heart you do nicer things.” –mimi “ We have an amazing built environment and wonderful people.

This is my hometown and I’m fortunate to have a hand in shaping the future of this place through design of public spaces and also private spaces.” –john “ Something that makes me sad is seeing people live in poverty or be homeless or without a meal for their families or children. I mostly turn that sadness in my heart into motivation to do something about it. I take action to help them through Brothers Through Christ Ministries.” –sean “ My favorite thing about Lancaster is going to the art gallery [Friendship] to paint. I like doing different things with it, like doing flowers and cats and painting in circles.” –amy

“ Thinking positively helps you feel better. I think that your state of mind affects your health and your emotional wellbeing completely.

Even if you smile, your body and your mind will feel better from the act of smiling. In other words, you can make the feeling follow the behavior. So just smiling sometimes when you’re not happy can turn that around for you.

I think happiness is a state of mind and it’s good for your overall health.” –joan “ There were missions and food banks and people helping people, which is something that was foreign to me when I came here and one of the reasons why I stayed. I had no intention of staying here when I came, but I’ve been here for 8 years.” –james “ Happiness is peace. It’s joy. It’s love.

It’s kindness. It’s a lot of things.”

–sally “ I think people are happy when they are together—any time there is something social happening, or just feeling connected with one another.

And I think food does that a lot. I think food allows people to gather and eat together and share stories and feel connected.” –pete

“ There are so many people [in Lancaster] who really believe in this community and love this community and want to do whatever they can do to contribute in a positive way to this community, to give.” –john “ I think that there is a choice involved with thinking positively.

I think you can choose positive or negative. Positive is a lot easier to live with and it takes a lot less energy.” –linda “ The last time I was happy was when my mom got me a dog. Preta likes to play with people. And she likes to lick a lot.” –analuisa “ If you make someone else happy ...they might spread on the feeling to other people and it might keep spreading and then that person who you made happy might become friends with you. And he might become friends with other people. And the friends might start coming together by sharing happiness with each other.” –jack “ My favorite thing about Lancaster is that you don’t have to be worried and it’s a fun place to live and there are lots of parks. I like Long’s Park and Monster [Musser] Park.”

–emily

t h e l a n c h a p p y p r o j e c t LancHappy.com #LancHappy

Zena & Jack

Meredith

Loryn

Julie

Jim

Grace & Claramae

Alexa

Mark Erica & Jessica

Cylo & Pete

t h e l a n c h a p p y p r o j e c t LancHappy.com #LancHappy

Diane

Scott

John

Cullen

Abby, Stephanie, & Troy

Sarah

Melissa

John

Richard & Anne

Martha

Margaret

t h e l a n c h a p p y p r o j e c t LancHappy.com #LancHappy

“ Music has always been a very big part of my life. It’s what makes me happy. In Lancaster, 5 years ago, I started the Music For Everyone Community Chorus as a way to cultivate that happiness into the power of music. The most contagious thing about being in the choir is the spirit and the happiness that’s produced through it. I’m always very happy to share my happiness with people through what I love to do—which is music.”

–aj

t h e l a n c h a p p y p r o j e c t LancHappy.com #LancHappy

“ The best way to share happiness is by showing your smile because smiles are contagious.”

–K AT I E

“ Just walking around with a smile on your face is like the best thing ever. If you’re lucky enough to be in a place that you’re happy, you might as well share it.” –jeff

“ One of my old bosses, years ago, said, ‘You pick your attitude every morning when you wake up.’ That helps me through the day. It sets the stage for how my day will go.”

–dean

Katie, Rachel, & Lauren

“ I think that happiness means to be able to enjoy where you’re at, at this particular point in life, even if you’re not—even if you haven’t reached all of your goals.” –marie

t h e l a n c h a p p y p r o j e c t LancHappy.com #LancHappy

“ I think I have an optimistic brain chemistry. There are some people who struggle looking on the bright side, but it’s something that has always come to me pretty easily.

Day to day, I do tend to be a bit of a Pollyanna.” –mark “ I like the parks around Lancaster.

I like the rose garden and Buchanan Park. I like the Conestoga House.

I like County Park. Lancaster is just a beautiful place.”

–margaret

“ If you don’t have much to give it’s very easy to just be kind—to say ‘hello’ and give them a smile and that can go a long way toward making someone happy.” –abby “ I was ecstatically happy yesterday when I called my oncologist for results on my latest CT and realized that as of yesterday I am cancer free! And being able to tell my family and my friends—those were happy tears.” –jessica

“ It’s possible to be happy. You “ My favorite thing about Lancaster actually don’t have to hate yourself is how this is such a close-knit if you eat x, y, or z. You can be City. And how we can walk down happy. Happiness is not skinny, the street and tall, straight or “ E very day we’re faced with know everybody curly hair.” difficult challenges. You and say ‘hi’ –julie and we can all never know how you’ll feel “ My favorite thing stop and have in the morning but to be about Lancaster good stories— County is how we negative about it, it changes especially at collaborate as a Market where we your entire dynamic.” community.” can introduce –T Y G A N T –beth ourselves to new people and we “ When you’re happy you feel this can have our friends at the stands.” peaceful sensation of being right –alexa where you should be and not having a need to do more or find something “ I gave my dad a hug and he smiled. different—it’s just being content I gave him a kiss too. I like to tell with where you’re at. Peaceful, jokes. And dance.” relaxed, at ease.” –martha –claramae “ I think people are happy when they make connections. I got familiar with Lancaster by taking my son to new places [like Central Market].

Feeling invested in something is really important.” –zena

“ I think giving from what you have makes people happy, especially if one can create from what one has.”

–alison

t h e l a n c h a p p y p r o j e c t LancHappy.com #LancHappy

“ I don’t know what happiness means…but you know it when you have it.” –jim “ I’m the biggest fan of watching people do what they love to do.

When I watch people do what they love to do, whether it’s music, dance, art, and they’re passionate about it, it makes me happy, even if it’s not my thing.

But I love the way people being their authentic self and doing what makes them happy—it makes you happy.” –dawn “ I share happiness with those around me by cooking authentic Greek food from the heart, things that bring back happy memories for me and making that food and sharing it with the general public of Lancaster, giving them a taste of our homeland.” –mike “ My job makes me very happy.

I work at the Disability Empowerment Center. We’re very proud of ourselves for what we do. We serve the people of Lancaster. Our office is a happy, positive place for people to feel empowered. For me, being empowered is a really big part of why I’m a happy person because I’m a big selfadvocate for myself, as a person with a disability, and we like to encourage people of Lancaster to make positive choices for the community.” –melissa

Beth

Dawn

Michael & Pete

Emily & Analuisa

Elise

Linda

Alison & Samuel

Ty

Jonathan

t h e l a n c h a p p y p r o j e c t LancHappy.com #LancHappy

Thank you to the Lancaster community for sharing your thoughts and smiles with us.

Thank you to George from Winchell Media for creating the LancHappy video.

WATCH THE HAPPY VIDEO What makes the people of Lancaster happy?

Watch. Listen. Smile. Visit LancHappy.com.

LANC HAPPY PARTNERS

THANK YOU TO OUR 2015 SPONSORS Service to our patients always comes first.

Providing quality, state-of-the-art orthopedic care for generations. fixbones.com

Helping People Back into the Swing of Life. twponessa.com

An exceptional 50 plus community that is alive with congeniality, conversation, and creativity. gardenspotvillage.org

Sharing God’s love and spreading His joy around the City and around the world. fpclive.org

Where people make the difference. northwestsavingsbank.com

Giving Partner

Clipper Magazine Stadium is the home of family fun in the City of Lancaster.

Baseball. Concerts. Soccer. Events.

Media Partner

Enhancing Our Community with Local Programming on Lancaster Comcast Channel 66.

Bringing families together through sports, entertainment, and events.

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spookynooksports.com

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lancasterbarnstormers.com