Snapshots from 3/20/17 International Days of Happiness in Tucson

Our events kicked off at Cafe 54 with Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild reading the City's Proclamation for Tucson's 3rd International Days of Happiness.

#HappyActs and Do Happy Today Happy Wall at Cafe 54.  This is one of thirteen Tucson Happy walls!

Columbus Library launched 2017 with their Happy Wall.  Photo by Tima Farhat, librarian

The Tucson Jewish Community Center started their Happy Wall during Rodeo Week (picture is from that week by Andrea Wright, JCC staff).  It continued through 3/20 and was an activity that helped boost happiness during bomb threats when the building was locked down for safety.

Limberlost Neighborhood Association serves as the 501-c3 for Do Happy Today and their event (with City of Tucson staff, Irene Ogata), took place on 3/19 at Limberlost Family Park.  City funded improvements to that park, including a FengShui Well-being Walking Path first featured in the 2016 Do Happy Today Celebration, will be dedicated in Fall 2017.

An example of one of 359 posts from the Downtown Pima County Public Library Do Happy Today and Live Happy #happyacts Happy Wall.

Each post was thematically counted by Community Renaissance in the Community Room, City of Tucson Ward 3 office which also hosted a Happy Wall.

A summary report of the data gathered from all of the Happy Walls will be available in May at www.communityrenaissance.biz

List of events 3.12 for Do Happy Today/Intern. Day of Happiness 2017

Do ‘happy’ in March

Series of Do Happy Today events held during March

The third annual Do Happy Today series of events will be held during March and culminate with Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild signing a proclamation at noon on March 20 at Café 54. March 20 is the International Day of Happiness.

Do Happy Today is an all-volunteer collaborative community effort dedicated to encouraging personal and community happiness and well-being, as well as engaging southern Arizona communities in positive change. DHT is coordinated by Community Renaissance, a locally owned community development business.  This year Do Happy Today is partnering with two national efforts: Happiness Alliance www.happycounts.org and Live Happy Magazine’s #happyacts and Happy Walls. The Happy Walls are popups, and content shared will be collected and thematically summarized by Community Renaissance and share via social media.

Do Happy Today Partners Weekend, March 18 and 19

·       7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., March 18: Tucson Habitat for Humanity Do Happy Today “Rainbow Build” at Copper Vista II, 5761 S. Copper Plate Drive. To volunteer, contact Joseph Howell at 520.260.9959 or joseph@habitattucson.org

·       10 a.m. to 3 p.m., March 18: DHT at Rillito Bend Neighborhood and Tucson Valley of the Moon Home/Garden Art Tour and Live Happy Wall, 2544 E. Allen Road. Bring your Walkabout Talkabout Book. Free download at www.communityrenaissance.biz .

·       March 18-20: 10:30 a.m., March 18: Storytime on Happiness at Himmel Park Branch, Pima County Public Library, 1035 N. Treat Ave. March 18-20: People can fill out a blank flower-shaped paper available at the library’s information desk and answer “What makes me happy?” or “How do I share happiness?” (520.594.5305 or www.library.pima.gov/himmel)

·       10 a.m.-2:00 p.m., March 18: Celebrate Historic South Park Community at Park Ave. Between 27th Street and 31st Street. Family activities, food, music and more. Contact Glenn Davis (520) 870-8109.

·       4 to 6 p.m., March 19: Limberlost Neighborhood Association Community Fair, Limberlost Park, 4255 N 4th Ave.  Café 54 Food Truck (invited), Live Happy Wall, Architectural Design Display for City of Tucson first feng shui well-being path, Limberlost Little Free Library and info from various community groups. Bring your Walkabout Talkabout Book. Free download at www.communityrenaissance.biz/happyu. City of Tucson’s Do Happy Today Proclamation will be featured at the event.

March 20: Official International Day of Happiness

·       Noon to 2 p.m., March 20: Café 54, 54 E. Pennington St., DHT and TENWEST – Live Happy Wall available to share personal happy thoughts; featuring Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild reading Proclamation at Noon. (www.cafe54.org or 520.622.1907)

·       March 20: DHT Flowers – Southwest Fair Housing Council to deliver to participating partners

·       March 20 to March 25: Bentley’s House of Coffee & Tea, 1730 E. Speedway: Live Happy Wall available to share personal happy thoughts. (www.bentleyscoffeehouse.com)

·       March 20 to 24: Happy Wall at Connect Coworking

·       March 20 to March 24: Make Way for Books, 700 N. Stone, Happy Wall; story time on March 24 at 10 a.m. will focus on happiness (www.makewayforbooks.org)

·       March 20, noon-3 p.m.: Himmel Branch Library, 1035 N. Treat Ave. – Mah Jong, Healthy Brain and Happiness; 5 p.m. – UA Master Gardener Presentation on Warm Season Vegetable Gardening/Eat Healthy and Happiness

·       March 20, 4-6 p.m.: Girl Scout Resource Center, 4300 E. Broadway Blvd.: Girl Scouts Troop 1934 “Science of Happiness” Merit Badge Activities, including Happiness Survey, Making a Happiness Journal, Gratitude Cards and Bliss/Happy Bags

·       March 20: Live Happy Wall for Tucson Medical Center staff and visitors only

·       March 20: Tucson Downtown Partnership will host an outdoor Live Happy Wall, time and location to be announced.

·       March 20: Woods Memorial Library, 3455 N. 1^st Ave., will host a Tree of Gratitude. Patrons can add their thoughts about what makes them happy www.pima.library.gov/woods .

·       March 20: Joel D. Valdez Library, 101 N. Stone Ave., will host a Live Happy Wall in the lobby.

·       March 21, 6-7 p.m.: Tucson Tuesday Laughter Yoga, Friends Meeting House, 931 N. 4^th Ave., (520.449.0213 or http://laughteryoga.org)

·       March 21, 4-7 p.m.: University of Arizona Village Farm, U-Pick, 4210 N. Campbell Ave., (https://tucsonvillagefarm.arizona.edu)

More information about Do Happy Today is available at www.dohappytoday.com, www.facebook.com/dohappytoday or   www.communityrenaissance.biz .

Happiness Alliance Blog: Big Data for Bigger Happiness?

Happiness Alliance Blog: Big Data for Bigger Happiness?: Big data officially hit the happiness movement at the World Government Summit mid-February in Dubai. This blog post is the third that repo...

Tour of Zappos and more

Last week, as part of my continuing research on happiness and well-being (part of #dohappytoday), I was in Las Vegas (my hubby was attending a motorcycle auction).  We scheduled a tour of the fulfillment center, Zappos, (http://tours.zappos.com) and met with a Happiness Alliance colleague (www.happycounts.org) about the work she is doing through Lift Up Las Vegas.  I learned a lot from both the Zappos experience and the conversation with Alice Edwards.  Here's my quick summary:

From Zappos--where the WOW! culture is working to deliver happiness via a happy workplace.  I think many of these elements could be implemented in any workplace!!

• Inspirational quotes from diverse thought leaders are on walls and elevator doors.  NOTE:  Zappos is located on an eight acre campus that was formerly the Las Vegas City Hall and jail.
• The jail has been transformed into a 24/7 work out/fitness center with "mother care" rooms nearby where new moms have access to free breast pumps.  Child care is not provided, but kids and pets (pets are vetted through a work team) are welcome.
• Three full-time Life Coaches offer paid for 6 week life coaching classes for all employees.
• Walls are splattered with plexiglass work design boards, book covers (recommended as part of their company university.  See www.deliveringhappiness.com/zappos-core-values
• "Funengineers" help plan "dream experiences" for employee teams.
• Customer Loyalty Teams (CLT, i.e. call center employees) are encouraged to have unlimited customer call time and promote "personal emotional connections."  Based on the customer call, an employee can send Zappos gift cards, various freebies, even arrange a Zappos party for the customer if the employee feels the customer needs some extra happiness in his/her life.
• Compared to the average one year term for call center employees, Zappos CLTs average five years.
• It can take up to 84 days to "hire" employees; they complete a 5 1/2 week training course (IT folks also learn how to be a part of a CLT) and, upon graduation, new employees are greeted into the company with a "parade" hosted by other employees.
• All employees are full-time.  Hourly earnings are $10.00/hour during training; $14.00/hour after graduation and pay increases are decided by the teams/circles as part of their management approach:  holacracy www.holacracy.org
• Benefits include complete medical, dental, workforce housing benefits, health management and wellness education and training.
• There are multiple ways to earn Zappos dollars, purchase prizes for doing WOW, giving coworkers monthly WOW bonuses.
• Free snacks, free ebook downloads (for participation in the company university).
• Lunch areas have free or less than $5.00 healthy menu choices with ping-pong, miniature golf, and bikes to check out (with helmets provided) to do meals in the city.
• Self-management and peer-training are the tools for team-building.
• Work cubicles are decorated per each individual and employees are identified by Zappos-styled "license plates" that mark years of employment.
• Work areas have designated local charity donation boxes that are determined monthly by circle teams.  Teams get bonus points for volunteering in the community.

From my conversation about LiftUp Vegas:

• Though the Vegas survey (via the Happiness Alliance) has been promoted since November, few have responded.  I suggested the "donation" button may be suggesting a donation is needed to do the survey--which it isn't.
• Although the survey produces a happiness profile (I have done it twice), and offers links to PPT slides on how to increase one's happiness, there may need to be a quicker "gift" in response to doing the survey--maybe an emoji sticker.
• Alice is hoping Las Vegas can become a Blue Zone City.  This was the biggest "aha" for me--I think Tucson, our region, other parts of Arizona can become part of the Gallup-Healthways Blue Zone Project www.bluezonesproject.com 
• Alice has a strong technical background and is familiar with the holacracy software.
• Her ideas include setting up a platform for a web-based "white labeled" well-being and happiness app.  While much of this info is beyond my understanding, I wonder if folks at StartupTucson  might be interested in this www.startuptucson.org
• NEXT STEPS for LiftUp Vegas--build up the current survey, expand well-being classes, increase online technology, partner with other happiness and well-being groups.

So, yes, there is more to do, see, and learn about in Vegas than poker, fancy food, or expensive celebrity shows!!

Goodbye 2016 Hello 2017

Near the end of the year, 2016 as partial response to the poetry prompt from Poets & Writers, 11/17/16 edited 1/1/17

Sports:  Cubs win, Olympics in Rio are a bust.

Politics:  Bernie’s tufts of white hair, Hillary’s white pantsuits, Trump’s “Make America White Again”.

Home:  New carpet is a mottled cloud, Gray (the cat) helps us play quiet, neighbors come and go, wave their hands, avoid making eye contact while dead palm tree fronds clutter the pool.

Work:  Like a kid struggling to ride a bicycle, I fall off TENWEST, pick myself up with TEDx, bump into BuildUp^; and coast through do happy today.

Writing: Mostly stuck in 2^nd gear and shifting slowly into third.  Poetry is my harbor; fiction is my reading compass; non-fiction is my bread and butter.  Blogs are bittersweet.

Travel:  Too brief a time in Maui where the water is warm, the sand pillows around my toes and wind blows flower petals across my eyes. I learn hula and let go of my hips, eat homemade granola for breakfast, and am delightfully dampened by mist at a luau.  My husband and son learn to play together again. We go to California to say goodbye to Auntie and play in Harry Potter World at Universal Studios.  In between we travel to Phoenix and watch Diamondbacks play ball.

TEDx Tucson: Imagine Annual Conference

What better way to start off the new year than by imagining a world full of positive and creative ideas. TEDx Tucson will be offering its annual conference on January 14th and here is the complete info on the event.

IMAGINE! 

IMAGINE! 

TEDxTucson’s day-long Conference on January 14, 2016

Program runs from 9am to 5pm (doors open at 9, after-party starts at 4)

Watching TED and TEDx talks on the web is great, but IMAGINE sitting in the audience! Now you can. Please join us for an educational and illuminating day.

TEDxTucson creates unique community events featuring diverse, multi-generational thought leaders from all walks of life.  We support contemporary themes and highly interactive learning. We facilitate community discussions so that, together, we can envision the impact of emerging ideas.  You can buy tickets now to attend our annual event. 

We aim to promote innovations and to inspire lifelong learning among our community members. Our priority is to build a community of ideas, with an engaged and thoughtful audience. We'd be thrilled to include you!  Join us!

Tickets

Get tickets at TEDxTucson.com or at bit.ly/imagineTEDxTucson

Tickets are going fast!

   

    $50 for General Admission

    $35 for Students or Retirees

    $65 for VIP tickets

The ticket price includes

    10 fantastic speakers

     2 delightful musical acts

     LUNCH!!

     Catered breaks

     Legendary After-party

Enjoy our interactive experiences while networking with Tucson’s best and brightest!

Venue – the beautiful Berger Theater, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ  85745.  Free parking. bit.ly/TEDxTucsonparking

Doors open at 9:00 a.m.

Program runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

After-Party starts at 4 p.m.

Presenters

Sharing a Single Breath - Teré Fowler-Chapman.  An award winning, gender fluid writer, she is a wordsmith. Community organizer. Educator. Family Man.

How to Achieve Your Most Ambitious Goals  - Stephen Dunerier.  As an accomplished business leader, institutional investor, author, coach, professor and artist, who in his spare time has learned to unicycle, slackline, fly aerobatically, play the drums, perform comedy and race cars, while building a global community of artists across 43 countries and all 50 US states, Stephen is what happens when the right brain and left brain learn to work together.  He calls himself “just some guy.”

Warrior Spirit: Bringing Sexual Abuse out of the Shadows - Danielle McFarland .  Taking us through her own journey of recovery from early childhood sexual abuse using her inner healer and warrior spirit as guides, author Danielle McFarlin shows us how we all can transform and heal in a rape culture society.

Healing with Better Health Literacy - Molly Hottle.  Molly strives to use her strategic communication expertise to help close the literacy gap between medical professionals and the patients they treat to improve the overall health of the country and beyond.

Diagnosing Dog Behavior Correctly Will Save Dogs' Lives -  Karyn Garvin.  The “Divine Dog” Trainer, Karyn is a professional dog trainer, devoted to saving dogs’ lives.

Planting the Rain to Grow Abundance - Brad Lancaster, social advocate, author and artist. Brad is the author of the award-winning books Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond.

Lost and Found - Jitesch Vaswani, a techie by profession, and a yogi by heart, speaks about how to remain present.

Immersive History - Using Virtual Reality to Understand the Past - Tony Ford.  He  has over 25 years experience in media, marketing, and business development   He is the co-founder of ArtFire.com, PopCongGo.com, and is currently creating new storytelling methods for film and virtual reality As CEO of Darc Fusion.

When Did Poverty Become A Death Sentence? - Josiah Cantrall.  As a child of poverty himself, serial entrepreneur Josiah Cantrall proves what is possible when individuals refuse to allow their hopes and dreams to be limited by their circumstances or mindset.

Skating Downhill: The Art of Claiming Your Life - Adiba Nelson.  Adiba has yet to find a reason to sit down and shut up.

Tickets

Are through EventBrite, and include catered breaks.  You can go to TEDxTucson.com or at bit.ly/imagineTEDxTucson.

After Party

Our after-party is what distinguishes TEDxTucson as an experience, not just an event.  We host drinks and little nibbles back stage (everyone has backstage passes).  We encourage all of our attendees – the ones that appeared on stage, as well as the ones from the audience – to engage in conversation about Tucson and how we imagine our future. 

Learning about Pokemon Go and Holographic Tech at TENWEST Festival

photo by anita c. fonte

My first session at Tucson's TENWEST Festival last week was titled: Augmented Reality, and began with two enthusiastic speakers from the City of Tucson/Reid Park Zoo.  The executive director, Jason Jacobs and their event planner, Melissa McCargar, shared the "fast track" story about how the zoo incorporated Pokemon Go (an augmented reality game) into their summer schedule.  Expecting 500-1,000 paying patrons on 2 nights at the zoo, who would be looking for Pokemon characters, the event ballooned into 3-4,000 people and extended to 5 nights. Partnering with Tucson Comic-Con and the local business, Heroes & Villains, the expanded event netted $68,000 for the zoo and 200 new memberships.

The second speaker, Peter Nolan, from Tactile Company/Phoenix promoted Microsoft's HoloLens--a tech tool combining virtual and augmented reality=mixed reality.  As he demonstrated the tool, holographic 3D images were shown (using google maps) of Reid Park Zoo and (for 3D excitement) Niagara Falls.

Although much of this information (and the tools) are beyond my practice, learning about them helped me imagine how to embrace the new tech world with a little less anxiety and consider the possibilities for: a) using these resources to expand interest in and support of entertainment venues (such as the zoo), and b) using a HoloLens to train employees in "how to" do a virtual task without having to actually "do" it, thus avoiding unnecessary risks on the job.

So, right from the start, Tucson's 2nd TENWEST Festival www.tenwest.com had me at "hello."