Think Good, It’s Friday! 7.10.15

This week, the Today Show explored the “secrets of happiness,” prompted by a recent study that found much of our joy comes from simply being nice. I’m over-simplifying here, but encourage you to read more—the results of this study are interesting and reinforce what we’ve been talking about here at the Trust since kicking off our Centennial year in May… what you do matters.

Whether it’s paying it forward in the coffee shop drive through, cutting a check to the charity of your choice, holding the door open at the store for someone pushing a stroller or volunteering with an organization whose mission is close to your heart—when you do good for others (even when you’re “nice” to others), you make your community a better place.

It’s a pretty powerful concept.

More good news from around the Web:

• The Aurora Beacon-News shares the story of a 68-year-old Batavia man who has been sending checks to young people facing a variety of challenges since his retirement as a Streamwood teacher years ago.
• The City officially announced “Divvy for Everyone” this week, a new program designed to expand access to the bike-share system by offering reduced-cost annual memberships to low-income Chicagoans (via StreetsBlog Chicago).
• Chance the Rapper surprised kids with a trip to the Field Museum on Tuesday as part on his Open Mike Chicago project (via Chicago Sun-Times).
• The Simple Good empowers at-risk youth to bring positivity into their communities through arts and discussion. Their “City of Big Dreams” fundraiser is next week, a multidisciplinary art composition and collaborative showcase uniting five different mediums of art.

Have a wonderful weekend! Please continue sharing your stories of philanthropy here at cct.org, by sending an email to trust100@cct.org or on social media using the hashtag #Trust100.