Eps 141: Local Teen and her Mom on to Talk About Making A DIFFERENCE in the World

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Casey O'Roarty 0:00
Music. Welcome to the joyful courage podcast, my friends, yes, a place to be inspired, informed and hopefully entertained on the parenting journey, I'm your host. Casey arordi, parent coach, positive discipline trainer, and even more importantly, mother to two children who teach me every single day about how to practice showing up in a way that is helpful, connected and humble, who also point out when I am not showing up that way, when we choose into joyful courage, we are choosing into rejoicing in the opportunities for self growth and discovery that exist on the parenting journey. Yes, I did say rejoicing in those opportunities, and it's work, but so worth it. The path we are searching for is in our practice. Super grateful you're here to practice with me. Thank you so much for being a part of the community. Enjoy the show. Hey listeners, welcome to a very special episode of The joyful courage podcast. I am thrilled to get to introduce you to my friend Becky and her 16 year old daughter, Aubrey. I asked Becky and Aubrey onto the show today because I wanted Aubrey to share a bit about a very special project that she has just launched. One of the qualities that so many of us parents hope for our children is to one day embody being in contribution to the world, being in service. It is so inspiring to see a real life example of that in a local teenager. And I just had to have Aubrey on to talk about what it is that she's working on. Welcome Becky and Aubrey to the podcast. Hey,

Aubrey Springer 1:57
hello. Hey for having us. Casey, You

Casey O'Roarty 2:00
are so welcome. Aubrey, please share a little bit with the listeners about what you have going on. So

Aubrey Springer 2:08
it kind of all started this, actually, the third time that we have done bachelors of orders for these shirts. And it started a little over a year and a half ago, when start seeing the news about Syria. And ever since then, it was one of those things I kind of saw and thought about, and then couldn't stop thinking about. And so because our family owns a screen printing business, I figured that would kind of be the perfect outlet to start doing something about it. So I designed a logo, and then just through Facebook, kind of started getting the word out there, and it went a lot bigger than I was expecting. And so after that first one, we reopened it in April of last year, April or May. And then this is the third one, just with the obviously current events going on in Syria so

Becky Springer 2:53
and the the logo is out of darkness, we will shine. And that just really spoke to Aubrey when she was thinking about logos. And one of the articles we were reading about Syria and all of these families and these kids displaced is at night, there was no light out there. And so they were raising funds for solar lanterns so that at night these babies weren't just in the pitch black all by themselves there, and that just really seemed to strike a chord for Aubrey, yeah. So

Casey O'Roarty 3:26
let's go back to that, that first batch so you were reading about and learning about what was happening in Syria, thinking about families. I do the same thing. I listen to the news, and all I can think about are the moms and the babies. Sorry, dads, but that's what I think about, as I think about the mamas and wanting to keep and families, you know, of course, and wanting to keep our kids safe. So you're getting all of this input and learning about the situation. And then Aubrey, you just thought, I've got to do something. I've got to raise some funds and and then the t shirt idea came to your mind, yeah, that's

Aubrey Springer 4:01
kind of how it started. So, I mean, Glenn Doyle is one of, kind of the inspirations, I guess, for this, seeing this kind of the way that she talks about, seeing the news and thinking about it isn't enough, because it doesn't change anything. And so after I kept seeing it, was just something I couldn't stop thinking about. And so kind of with that idea of, if that was us, we wouldn't want someone just change the channel that came on because it was too hard to watch. And so I think that's kind of where it all started, and then through that just got bigger and bigger. Yeah. And the great thing with Glennon is she has a foundation called together rising, where 100% of the money that's donated goes directly to the people on the ground in Syria, and she's super transparent about where it goes and what it's going for and what the need is. And so it was a tangible way for Aubrey to raise funds and then know directly where to send it to, through Glennon well.

Casey O'Roarty 4:53
And yeah, let's talk about that, because that is what I saw yesterday when I was scrolling my little Facebook feed. Becky, you. Had posted, oh my gosh, look who noticed what we were doing. And so tell me about that.

Aubrey Springer 5:07
It was amazing. I mean, seeing all the work that she's been able to do, and how many people she has, like with her platform, you know, which she's able to get the word out there for something like the love flash mob. And it raised almost $600,000

Becky Springer 5:19
in 48 hours.

Aubrey Springer 5:21
Oh my gosh. And so just kind of like understanding that she has connections to that many people. It was amazing to see that she took the time to comment. And, you know, recognize that, you know, doing something which seems kind of small is, you know, it's not necessarily small in the grand

Casey O'Roarty 5:35
scheme of things, yeah, yeah, for sure. And I think that a lot of us, that's part of the inaction is just, what is one person supposed to do? But one person does something, and then somebody who has a million plus people's eyeballs on them says, Oh my gosh, look at what this one person's doing. So what happened to orders? What happened? How did it? How did you feel impacted by someone like Glennon Doyle taking notice and posting about it and responding to it.

Becky Springer 6:02
It's been pretty amazing. Just the it's like, get the ball rolling. And, well, Aubrey, you can tell her how many states. And, yeah,

Aubrey Springer 6:11
it's pretty crazy. So after my mom just commented about what I'd done in the past, some people asked if we could reopen it. And so I did it in two days. Yeah, a day and a half, day and a half, it's been $520 already just through this. Actually, it's

Becky Springer 6:27
up to 600 now, front page,

Aubrey Springer 6:29
and it's in 20 states, plus Canada. There's orders from so it's, it's pretty crazy what's been happening just with her, recognize, you know, commenting on what's happening over, over here in Monroe. It's pretty crazy how that can actually impact the orders.

Casey O'Roarty 6:45
Yeah, over here in Monroe, like I have this huge smile on my face because I'm just thinking about your sweet family and your little print shop, and you all have done work for me that I'm super grateful for, and then here you are pumping out these orders. I'm so excited.

Becky Springer 7:01
It's awesome to see all these states, you know, when the orders come through. And you know just, I mean, just to see it go, you know, across the country, and then, you know, Canada, and who knows where else next. And

Aubrey Springer 7:16
one of the cool things was a person that ordered from Aubrey, well, you can tell about her daughters. It was just like, there's a lot of people out there who want to do something and want to help, but don't necessarily know how. And I think one of the most amazing comments that will actually came out of this was this lady commented that two of her daughters spent their own money on pink tops ordered from this just because, you know, they wanted to help. They've been seeing things, and didn't exactly know how to donate, and so they were able to spend their own money and buy a tank top because, you know, they knew what it was going towards. And it's pretty amazing.

Becky Springer 7:49
I love that need to have something that people wear. Because when I, you know, if I'm wearing a hoodie with her logo in town, people stop and ask, like, what is that about? And so it's a good conversation piece, in addition to the funds with spreading awareness. Yeah.

Casey O'Roarty 8:05
So great. And Becky, you and your family are super active in our little community. Did you and Joe come from families where that's just how the mode of operation was, or did the two of you make a conscious choice about how you'd be in contribution. Talk a little bit about the way that your family holds service.

Becky Springer 8:28
That's a good question. I think we come from Joe was raised in a home where his family did foster care, emergency foster care. They had over 300 kids in and out of their house over the years. You know, they've adopted his younger brother, Joe, would go to bed at night in his room and wake up with six kids sleeping on this floor, you know, who'd been placed in emergency care and so, you know, they've always had that. I uh, service that, you know, I saw. He and I have been together, you know, since we were kids, and so I got to experience a lot of that with him. And then my parents, growing up, were always super involved in our activities, coaching, you know, PTA, things like that. And then, you know, I years ago, I read this article, and I won't use the profanity used, but it was basically, there's enough really crappy people in this world. We don't need more crappy people. We need to help foster compassionate, kind and thoughtful people in this world, and that, for whatever reason, registered. And so we just really wanted to set out with an intentional idea of service, because we all belong to each other. And if, maybe, if people actually thought about that a little bit more, then, you know, this world might be a little more peaceful of a place. Oh,

Casey O'Roarty 9:56
we all belong to each other. I love that. I love that. Yes, thank you for that. And listeners, just full disclosure, Ian, my boy and Becky's son, have played basketball together the last few years, and Joe isn't an official coach, but man, Ian sure does look up to him and appreciate his direction, and so he's making your whole family makes a huge impact on the community. What I appreciate

Becky Springer 10:25
it? You know, I started out with Joe coaching. He we really talked about, when he started head coaching, the team atmosphere would be an intentional family atmosphere, and things just kind of spiraled from there. And it's been a little I'm sure sometimes my kids are like, What are you doing? Where are you taking us? Why are I Aubrey can speak to the first time we went out on the search and rescue vans. I mean, she was looking at me like, this is crazy, but it's just, we're able to help, so we should, yeah, you know, that's just, we just should, yeah, so

Casey O'Roarty 11:04
tell me some of the other ways that you you've told me stories before about some of the things that you've taken your kids out into the world to do. Will you talk a little bit

Becky Springer 11:13
about that? Yeah? Aubre, do you want to share about the Union Gospel Mission bands? Yeah, so

Aubrey Springer 11:18
the first time. So the Union Gospel Mission is an organization that works with homelessness in Seattle, primarily. And so the first time, they have search and rescue vans, and they go out, I think, every night of the week, yeah, seven nights a week, and serve. So they open up, there's two vans, and they have food and everything like that in one van, and then the other one is clothing and hygiene items. And literally, they open their vans in the middle, you know, the sidewalks or parking lots, and people come from all over the place, and just they get what they need for that that night. And then the first time that I went out, we pulled up next to the sidewalk, and I looked around. I mean, there's tents everywhere. Is the first time I've ever really been in the middle of something like that. I started crying. I was like, I don't think I want to do this. I think I just want to go home. And I looked at my mom, and she was like, nope. We drove all the way out here. It's, it's going to be amazing. Trust me, we got out and it was probably the best thing I think I've ever done. It was amazing. And you go out there and you hand someone something, and it's probably the most genuine. Thank you. I think you could get from anywhere. And it's, it's amazing.

Becky Springer 12:21
The cool thing is, it's the vans. One of them on the side of the van says Love and big letters, and the other one says life. And that's really, again, it's the food is great and the supplies are great. But it's actually those human relationships and looking somebody in the eye that Aubrey and I have really been hit by, you know, sitting down on the sidewalk with a hurting homeless person and acknowledging that you know what's your name and hugs and prayers and you know, what can we do for you, and reminding them I see you and I and you are worth it and because we all are, you know, and it's there's no difference between, you know, the person out there on the sidewalk and us and the kiddos and the families in Syria. We are all human beings on this earth. And if you can help, you should be doing something. And so the Union Gospel Mission bands are huge. Aubrey and I serve on those and then I take all three kids to an emergency Women and Children's Shelter, where they do a Kids event once a month, usually, and it's just a time for the kids to do arts and crafts and snacks and have fun and laugh. And the the parents there can the mom, it's a Women and Children's Shelter, so the moms can bring kids in for a couple hours, let us hang out with them. And again, just trying to bring a sense of normalcy and a little bit of a, you know, tough situation that they're in. And it's awesome, you know, I've got Blake is 12, and he goes in there, and the little boys like especially the toddlers and preschoolers, just love him. And the girls adore Ellie and Aubrey and they, you know, just sit and chat. And, you know, there's just, there's a lot of things you can do. We have worked a lot with an organization called the more love project, and they do all sorts of events throughout the year and collect, let collect items for families in need. And, you know, it's aubrey's in the early stages of starting a new club at her high school. And she kind of came along with the tagline local meets global, because I don't we were talking, and Aubrey, you can speak to that part.

Aubrey Springer 14:39
Well, it's just, you know, kind of, I guess, the situation right now is perfect. Kind of, on this topic is, you know, this homeless right here in Monroe and Seattle area. And, you know, connected with, there's similar struggles going on all across the world. And so, you know, meeting that up and saying one place isn't more important than the other, but they can work. Together, and it can, you know, by doing something for one place, you can just make it a little bit bigger and do something for multiple whether it's here in other parts of the world. And so I think recognizing that it's not just in Syria that things are happening, that's kind of where the idea came from. And we'll see exactly where it goes. Oh,

Casey O'Roarty 15:19
man, that's just so I just love, I love what you said. Well, all of it, obviously, but something that I talk a lot about on the podcast in the context of parenting is how our kids show up better in the world when they have a healthy sense of belonging and significance, right connection and knowing that they matter and so, and this isn't the first time I've heard you talk about the Gospel Mission Becky, and it was the same feeling that I got the first time I heard you talk about it, where, yes, yes, food and hygiene and clothing and base those basic needs, but also the gift of knowing that You matter to another human being is something that is so powerful and probably the biggest hardship that people who are especially chronically homeless people, I'm imagining it becomes, you know, how do you you know day to day? Must it takes on such a different toll when it feels as though you know nobody will make eye contact with you, and there's a feeling of just being ignored. So what a gift to go out and to be in conversation.

Becky Springer 16:30
You do, you begin they begin to decide, maybe I'm, you know, maybe I'm not worth it so that you know that connection and you know just I've learned probably more from Aubrey and Ellie and Blake and watching them in service, and just dive right in. I mean, they teach me every day. And, you know, I, I It's inspiring to watch them and to, you know, to dream big and put it in action and do it. And then, you know, just the little day to day places that it becomes normal, I guess is the is what makes me proud of them. It becomes normal to help somebody. It becomes normal to volunteer, step up, do it, and not do it for the attention I told you before we started recording. I mean, this is killing Aubrey, because she does not, she does not love to be in the limelight. She loves to do, but not for accolades, and so to see that in her heart makes me so proud.

Casey O'Roarty 17:30
Beautiful. I love that. So, Aubrey, you're Are you a sophomore? I am encouraging. Okay, so when you think about like, do you feel like all of this work that you're doing is moving you in any particular direction as you think about, you know, forward and onward.

Aubrey Springer 17:48
That is a good question. I have so many interests and things that I like to do. I'm not really sure, but I think doing this more and more, I love photography, and it's something that I enjoy doing, even, you know, football or just doing it, because it's something that I love to do, but I also love journalism. And so with, you know, like I said, this event in particular, you know, going being a journalist, or doing something like that, traveling I love to do. And so putting those together, I think that's something I could definitely see myself doing in the future.

Casey O'Roarty 18:18
And you're not the baker. You're not the baker. Is the other sister, the baker?

Becky Springer 18:25
Yeah, the baker, yeah. You know, it's interesting sitting back watching your kids develop their passions. And I can see aubrey's passion in photography, and, you know, her writing, but then her her heart for serving, and I can I feel like I'm not going to be shocked if that continues to be a path that she goes down. She's saving right now to go next summer to Malawi on a mission trip to work with a school there of kindergarteners, and, you know, wants to incorporate her some of her photography while she's over there doing that. So I won't be shocked if I have a little world traveler documenting some amazing experiences. So

Casey O'Roarty 19:09
great, so great. Well, do you, the two of you, so in the context of, well, two questions, one is any final thoughts? I mean, Becky as you, because it's, it's, you kind of are throwing out there, like, you know, and we roll up to the sidewalk and there's a bunch of tents, and, you know, my daughter was like, Oh, God, I don't want to do it. And you said we're doing it, you know. And it sounds all really easy. And then in the context, like, what can you say to parents who want to be in service, and maybe are, you know, feel uncomfortable and and it's keeping them from from stepping in. What what words of wisdom Could you share there?

Becky Springer 19:50
I would, I would definitely say, you can start. You can start small. There's so many places locally in Monroe that you can volunteer. Or there's no just, I've my husband one time came out of the Little Caesars Pizza, and I was sitting on the sidewalk in front of Little Caesars talking to a homeless man. Ended up bringing him coats and blankets. It didn't, it wasn't a big, you know, production. It didn't take a lot of effort and energy. I think it just takes looking around and that eye contact, he made eye contact with me, and next thing you know, you know, Joe walks out, and he's looking at me like, What is my crazy wife doing now, sitting on the sidewalk with this person. And you know, it's just, it's making it's looking around. It's looking around, looking up from your phones, looking outside of yourself and just being aware and we can all do that better. I can do it better. We can all do it better, but just trying to do that. And I've said to Aubrey over the last couple days,

we're going to be brave together, doing this because, like I said, she doesn't love the limelight. She doesn't. She has been involved in so many things from day one, but likes to kind of be behind the scenes, and so, you know, this has challenged her. And I just said, All right, we're going to do this together. We're going to be brave, because we can do brave things together. And that's

Casey O'Roarty 21:24
right, that's what joyful courage is all about. That's what it's all about. Girl, that's

Becky Springer 21:29
it, because it's that courage. And you know, it might be a little uncomfortable for us, but compared to the folks that you might be able to somehow reach as a family or an individual, that little bit of uncomfortableness for us is nothing compared to, you know, maybe the change that you can make.

Casey O'Roarty 21:47
Yeah, I like to think of it Aubrey as stretching. You're just stretching. You're just stretching into that discovery. And this hasn't been so terrible. This is, this is all right, right,

Aubrey Springer 21:57
not at all. You know, it's been fun.

Casey O'Roarty 22:01
Okay, good. Thank you. She

Becky Springer 22:02
survived. You

Casey O'Roarty 22:03
survived. Well, I am so excited. Listeners, I'm going to make sure there is a link so that you can get right into the shop and see what Aubrey has, and you too can be in contribution to what she has created and is doing for the families in Syria. I'm going to put a link to Glenn and Doyle's organization, rising together together, rising together, rising together, rising knew it was those two words and Yeah, and just thank you so much for taking the time to be in conversation and to share about what it is that you're doing. I'm totally inspired and really excited, and I'm gonna encourage Rowan to join your club.

Aubrey Springer 22:43
Awesome Casey, thank you for taking the time to talk to Aubrey about it. Thank

Casey O'Roarty 22:47
you. You're welcome. Wow, so I am. I am so grateful that Aubrey and Becky wanted to come on and talk about aubrey's project to raise awareness and money and Becky and all that their family does to be in supportive community. You know, I'm just so inspired, and so I wanted to give you all a little bit more follow up, because a couple months ago I came on here pretty fired up around politics and parenting, and it was right after the Parkland shooting, and I've been following those kids and everything that they've done to raise awareness and really call out, call out, the people and organizations that are getting in the way of progress and making the world a better and safe place. And one of the action steps that I mentioned that I would be taking would be showing up to more of the community events and community organizations and really exploring that. And I've been doing that. I went to a rotary club meeting a couple weeks ago. I just got back from a Kiwanis meeting, and you know, I was really in the dark about these community clubs. I didn't really know what they were all about, and I just didn't really pay attention. And I gotta tell you, everywhere I'm showing up in town to find out more about what people are doing to be in service of community. The more I show up, the more I am inspired and in awe and encouraged to be a part of making my community great. And I just want to share that with you, because, you know, we it's really easy to get kind of caught up in our own isolated four walls that we live in, our homes, our family, and it's easy to feel like we don't have time, we don't have money, we don't have XYZ. All of our attention is focused on. Um, really on our own, you know, the people that are immediately around us and and I gotta tell you, when you step out of that and step into community and start to look at the bigger picture and the ways that we can be in service to each other that only encourage that that's nurturing and nourishing and so so important, even for our own little families, right when we step out into community and into service and into wanting to help and wanting to show up and wanting to know our neighbors, it makes our family stronger. It makes our family stronger. And I think that that came out in my conversation with Becky and Aubrey and so I just want to encourage all of you. I want to encourage all of you to start looking at ways that you can be involved in your community, ways that you can show up and step into leadership or support or whatever it needs to look like for you, and be open and be willing to be surprised, like I was about, you know, to find that there are some incredible people in my community that are doing really important work that is absolutely 100% aligned with My values. So I just wanted to kind of close up this show, sharing about that, and I also wanted to take a few moments to remind you that there's still a few more days to enroll in the joyful courage Academy, which is my five week program for parents, where we really get to take the idea that parenting is a opportunity for personal growth and development and turn it into actual practice, action, excitement, yummy, juiciness, right? So it's five weeks with me, webinars, Q and A's solid community, solid content, an invitation to grow inside of your parenting journey this week, and we just started yesterday, I had a live conversation in our academy Facebook group with Lori Petro, who's been a guest and is a friend of the Show. She's from. Teach through love. We will also have Sarah McLaughlin on to do a live conversation with me. Sarah is amazing. She's also been a guest on the show. Kelly covert, who I adore, who has a show called in her voice, is going to come on and just talk about overcoming perfectionist later in the week, and Carrie foreman, who again is, has been a guest on this podcast. She's going to come on in the Facebook live in the academy group, and talk about what it means to be really grounded with what is right being connected to present to what is currently alive in your relationship with your kids? So I don't want you to miss those I don't want you to miss those speakers. They're like bonus speakers. The joyful courage Academy actually starts April 30, but this week right which April 30 is next Monday, this week is kind of a bonus incentive week to get people signed up and excited about being there. And these guest speakers, who are amazing, talk about being in service, right in service to me, and the joyful courage community showing up to be in conversation, to be in conversation with me, as well as with you in the Facebook group. So if you have been on the fence about the academy, oh, there's my pup. If you've been on the fence about the Academy, I encourage you to be a yes, and you can go to joyful courage.com/academy. Joyful courage.com/a. C, A, D, E, M, y, and you can register right now join us. You will not be sorry and you will not be the same parent at the beginning of the five weeks that you are at the end of the five weeks. So I really hope that you come because this is my this is my mission. This is my calling. This is what the universe wants me to be doing. Is connecting with you and supporting you and letting your soul, your soul, your spirit, your purpose, come to life inside of the parenting journey. So check it out. Love you so much. Thank you so much for listening. Joyful courage, community, you're amazing. Big thanks and love to my team, including my producer, Chris Mann at pod shaper. Be sure to join in the discussion over at the live in love with joyful courage group page, as well as the joyful courage business page on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to the show through Apple podcasts, or really, anywhere you find your favorite podcast, you can view the current joyful courage swag over at the web page and tension cards, bracelets. E course offers the. Membership program, one on one coaching. It's all waiting for you to take a look. Simply head to www dot joyful courage.com/yes. That's joyful courage.com/y. E, S, to find more support for your conscious parenting journey. Any comments or feedback about this show or any others can be sent to Casey at joyful courage.com. I personally read and respond to all the emails that come my way, reach out, take a breath, drop into your body, find the balcony seat and trust that everyone is going to be okay

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