Good News Break | October 2015

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
– Albert Camus

October Holidays and Dates to Remember

October 2nd: World Smile Day – Celebrated on the first Friday in October and was initiated by Harvey Ball, who was the artist that created the smiley face.

October 12th: Columbus Day – Celebrates the day when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas back in 1492.

October 12th: Canadian Thanksgiving – Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving too, it just happens to be a month earlier than the U.S. Thanksgiving.

October 27th: National Music Day – A day to celebrate all things music, so don’t be afraid to crank that stereo.

October 27th: Matt Williams‘ Birthday! He’s just an awesome designer.

October 31st: Halloween – Has been thought to have originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain where people would have bonfires and dress up to scare off ghosts.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is breast cancer awareness month, where all month long we remember those who have been affected and their families. Breast cancer awareness is know by the color pink and many people are encouraged to “think pink” during the month of October.
There are many events taking place in the month of October to get involved with breast cancer awareness. To find out about the events click HERE.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October is also domestic violence awareness month, where all month long people promote and raise awareness of domestic violence. Domestic violence awareness is known by the color purple and during the month of October people are encouraged to wear the color purple to show their support for raising awareness.

Dad Builds Costumes for Children in Wheelchairs

Halloween can be a fun time for kids. They get to dress up as their favorite superhero or favorite princess, but for Keaton who needs a wheelchair to help him get around, dressing up for Halloween can be a challenge. Keaton’s dad Ryan found that out the hard way when Keaton wanted to be a pirate for Halloween. He was faced with the challenge of finding a way to dress Keaton as a pirate along with his wheelchair. Ryan had to get creative and found a way to dress Keaton up as a pirate and his wheelchair into the pirate ship and Keaton was the talk of the town that Halloween.

After the buzz of his son’s costume in 2008, Ryan started a nonprofit called Magic Wheelchair, the volunteers at Magic Wheelchair work together to create wheelchair friendly costumes for kids whenever Halloween rolls around. The Weimer family is no stranger to wheelchairs as three of their children are wheelchair bound. Ryan hopes to see that this one day out of the year “being in a wheelchair is an asset, not a disability.”

Magic Wheelchair took to Kickstarter this year asking for donations to help fund the effort to make five kids wheelchair friendly costumes. They had a goal of $15,000 and the Magic Wheelchair team achieved their goal and then some, as they ended up raising over $25,000. Kids can enter to win one of these costumes by having their family create and upload a fun three minute video.

Read more HERE!

The Crayon Initiative, Dad Recycles Old Crayons Into New ones

Did you know that about 35 tons of crayons end up in a landfill somewhere? The crayons that kids get at restaurants are one time use and get thrown out with the trash. Bryan Ware found out about this and decided to do something about the crayons being thrown out. That is when The Crayon Initiative was born. Bryan collects all of these crayons that are being thrown out and boils them down to reshape and repurpose the crayons for kids in need. His nonprofit startup is making new boxes of crayons out of old ones and is even changing the shape of the crayons so it is easier for special-needs children to hold.

Now Bryan asks that restaurants donate their old crayons to him and more than 100,000 boxes have been donated and turned into 800,000 new thicker and triangular shaped crayons. Since this is a start up Bryan has been doing all of the work from his kitchen filling two large pots with crayons and melting them down for many hours a day. The Crayon Initiative has already sent out lots of new crayons, but many old crayons are piling up to be melted down. Bryan knows that he needs a facility to be able to mass produce his new crayon, but for know he will continue to work from his kitchen.

Read more HERE!

Groovy Principal’s Daily Dancing Has Kids Feeling Cool For School

Waking up on a Monday morning can be hard for anyone, but Principal Gary Logan at Woodrow Elementary in Conway, Arkansas knows how to wake his students up and get them ready for the school day. Every morning Gary greets his students by singing and dancing out in front of the school. Each morning the kids are greeted with music and are encouraged to join in with their principal to sing and dance along with him.

“Kids have fallen in love with the idea,” Logan told KOLR News. “They love that Whip/Nae Nae and they want me to play it every day and dance every day.”

Read more HERE!

Spooky Halloween Party Playlist

“Love Potion #9,” The Searchers
“I Put a Spell on You,” Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
“Howlin’ For You,” The Black Keys
“Witchcraft,” Frank Sinatra
“Black No. 1,” Type O Negative
“Castin’ My Spell,” Johnny Otis
“What’s a Girl to Do?,” Bat For Lashes
“Black Magic Woman,” Fleetwood Mac
“Love Song for a Vampire,” Annie Lennox
“I’m Your Boogie Man,” KC & The Sunshine Band
“E.T.,” Katy Perry
“Little Ghost,” White Stripes
“Disturbia,” Rihanna
“Howl,” Florance + the Machine
“She Wolf,” Shakira
“Monster,” Lady Gaga
“Monster Mash,” Bobby Pickett

Fall Inspired Recipes

Apple Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup cranberries
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon-style prepared mustard
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 10 cups mixed salad greens, rinsed and dried
• 2 Red Delicious apples, cored and thinly sliced

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread walnuts on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 8-10 minuets or until lightly toasted.
2. In a food processer, combine the cranberries, vinegar, onion, sugar and mustard. Puree until smooth; gradually add oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. In a salad bowl, toss together the greens, apples, and enough of the cranberry mixture to coat. Sprinkle with walnuts and serve.

Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. ground beef
• 1-1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 garlic cloves finely minced
• 1 28oz. can stewed or diced tomatoes
• 2 16oz. cans kidney beans, 1 light and 1 dark
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• shredded cheese

Steps:

1. Brown ground beef, drain grease
2. Chop onion, green pepper and garlic
3. In a pot put in ground beef, chopped onions, green peppers and garlic along with the tomatoes and beans undrained.
4. Stir in salt, black pepper, cumin and chili powder
5. Turn heat on high until it comes to a light boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
6. If it is too spicy add a sprinkle of cinnamon
7. Top off with shredded cheese

Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies

(this recipe makes a lot of cookies so don’t be afraid by the large amount of ingredients!)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of Vanilla extract
• 3 cups of dark brown sugar
• 1 pound of unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 5-1/2 cups of whole-wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 5 cups of dark chocolate chips
• Maldon salt

Steps:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix butter and dark a regular sugars until creamy (3-5 minuets)
3. Add vanilla and eggs and continue mixing for about 3 minuets. Should be a light brown creamy mixture.
4. In another bowl, mix all dry ingredients
5. Slowly add dry ingredients to the creamy mixture
6. Stir in chocolate chip slowly
7. Put cookies onto a cookie sheet (greased or on parchment paper) Tip: Use an ice cream scooper to get equal amounts of dough so that cookies will be the same size!
8. Bake until golden brown around the edges. (13-15 minuets).
9. Put the remaining dough in the freezer covered with tin foal. (If you don’t use all of the dough)
10. ASAP put a small amount of Maldon Salt on top. Be real easy with the amount of salt. A little goes a long way!

Hi y’all,

My name is Sarah Roberts and I am the newest intern here at P.L.A. Media and I have the privilege of writing this month’s Good News Break. I am a recent transplant to Nashville coming from the great state of Texas. going to Belmont University studying Public Relations and Marketing. When I am not doing school work you can usually find me at any coffee shop here in Nashville, at a concert or where any live music is playing. Fall is my favorite time of the year, so I hope that this Good News Break gets you excited for fall weather.