Can you believe it?! We're three!!😍

Back in 2021, myself and The DONUT's founder, Peter, launched Positive DONUT in hopes of bringing some joy back to the news and straight into your inboxes. Over the last three years, we've seen Positive DONUT grow from humble beginnings to a community of 23,000+ like-minded people, determined to always see the good in our world. Cue all the sappy feels now🥹.

Whether you've been here since those first few editions or are just joining us, I'm so grateful you're here. Thank you for reading each and every week; your support means the world to me! 

Here's to many more years of positivity to come🥳.

- Kailyn

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today's newsletter should take ~3.43 minutes to read (915 words).

P.S. We'll be off next week as I celebrate my own birthday (and I didn't even mean for it to coincide with Positive DONUT's!). See you back here on October 1st.

I am resilient. I am strong. I am capable.

🎃 When is it too early to start decorating for Halloween? For Ohio resident Bill Pyles and his family, the answer is never; their decor has already been out for weeks.

The Pyles Family has spent the last few years leading up to Halloween decorating their yard with skeleton statues of all shapes and sizes in various scenarios. The skeletons have been spotted washing cars, playing cornhole, bowling, and more, and the foreman family changes these "tasks" twice weekly.

But while some may say mid-August is a bit too early to start with the Halloween displays, for fellow Ohio resident Tammy Weihe, this year they were a welcome distraction.

• The Oxford resident was diagnosed with breast cancer back in May, and had to drive by the Pyles house every day on her way to radiation treatments with her husband. The day before her final treatment, she decided to leave the family a note in their mailbox:
• “I’ve been driving past your house for the past 19 days on my way to radiation," it read. "A highlight of my journey has been checking to see who else has joined the Bone family and what they’re up to. Thankfully, Wednesday, Sept. 11, is my final radiation treatment, though I may need to continue driving by once in a while to see what’s new. Thanks for the diversion, Tammy.”

When Bill found Tammy’s note in the mailbox, he and his kids knew just what to do. Six hours later, their newest display was up in the yard. 

As Tammy drove by the next day, the skeletons were holding handwritten signs congratulating her on finishing treatment, with a couple of them in cheerleading uniforms holding a sign that read “Way to go, Tammy!”

❤️ Kindness matters… Tammy was absolutley blown away by the personalized display from a family she had never met.

• “It was very touching that somebody would go out of their way to make this special, and congratulate me on finishing,” Tammy said of the gesture. “Kindness matters.”
• Bill, on the other hand, was just happy to make someone smile – the whole purpose of his skeleton displays to begin with. “There’s not enough good stories, and there’s not enough humor in this world,” he shared with The Washington Post. He continued: “Try to brighten one person’s day, and you’ve done your job.”

Get ready for side-splitting fun with Flip Side, where guessing how different groups think about the same issue could score contestants a cool $10,000.

• 🤔 Ever wondered, “Who are people secretly Googling at 2 am?” or “What’s the one reason they won’t quit that awful job?” Now’s your chance to find out – and laugh at unexpected answers.
• 🎤 Hosted by the iconic Jaleel White (aka Steve Urkel), Flip Side is packed with surprises, wild guesses, and plenty of family-friendly chaos.

Flip Side is premiering this week on Game Show Network – watch the preview here.

This adorable little puffin👆. 

You’re looking at the first and second-place winners of The Washington Post’s 25th annual Travel photo contest (everyone feel free to “oooh” and “ahhh”).

📸 The Post sorted through more than 1,000 submissions this year to find the best shots from around the world. 

• In first place: Photographer Julie Gould's shot of an Atlantic puffin mid-flight at the Ingolfshofdi Nature Reserve in Iceland. 
• In second place: The “fairy tree,” a shot by Jonathan Fleuchaus capturing a miniature tree growing out of a small log in Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Check out the other 13 finalists here.

🐠 When trash = treasure… Last year, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority partnered with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Reef Project to drop two old subway cars into the ocean. The cars, submerged off the coast of Georgia, are now teeming with lively fish, curious turtles, and the beginnings of a new coral reef.

🌊 Surf's up, dudes… The island of Tierra Bomba in Colombia has a major waste problem, and local organization Amigos del Mar is tackling it one surfboard at a time. As part of their Olas Paz program, the organization is transforming the thousands of plastic bottle caps polluting the island into recycled surfboard fins, and offering free lessons for residents.

👴 Racing grandpa… Eighty-five-year-old Eric Hughes has been a runner most of his life. Now, he volunteers at free 5K Parkruns around the UK, hoping to give back to the community that has been a part of his life for decades. Most recently, Eric raced against his great-grandson, who only beat the octagenarian by seven minutes.

I've always been a night owl. Lately though, I've been consciously working on building an enjoyable morning routine to get me up and going after my dreaded alarm goes off. 

Part of that morning routine includes 10-15 minutes of journaling to wake up my brain and check in with myself at the start of the day – and boy, oh, boy has it helped. 

✍️ Grab your pens... When I found these morning journaling prompts by mindmatterswithdiv, I was genuinely excited to get up and going with my daily journaling. Whatever time of the day it is for you, try out some of these prompts below. I'm sure you'll feel better – and more in touch with yourself and the world around you – by the end. 

🤔 Prompts:

1. How can I show up for myself today? 
2. Who can I reach out to and tell them I'm thinking about them? 
3. What energy do I need to remove today (negative energy or self talk, toxic people)? 
4. How can I take one simple step towards the person I want to be? 
5. What do I need emotionally right now? 
6. What relationships in my life are bringing me joy? 

+Editor's note: This section first ran in August 2023. It was so sweet (and ever-pertinent) that we had to share it again.

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It’s time for my favorite part of the newsletter, What’s Your Win, where we get to celebrate all of the positive news happening right here in our DONUT community (how awesome is that?🥹). Big or small, there’s always something to stop and be grateful for.

Check out this week’s wins!

🎉 One anonymous subscriber from Virginia is celebrating a decade of work she loves…

• “Last week I celebrated my tenth work anniversary with my employer. When I first began working for this organization I had zero expectations. Now, ten years later, I have grown and learned so much. It’s definitely a win.”

❤️ Sie H., also from Virginia, is feeling extra proud of their partner…

• “My significant other, Kelly, started her new job! She’s been waiting for a while and applying to a bunch and finally got one she really wanted, working in the field she’s been waiting to and getting to use her degree. I’m so proud of her!”

🙏 Margaret W. from Florida is thankful for her faith…

• “I’ve been going to Revival at my church this week, and it has been wonderful praising and worshipping the Lord.”

👯‍♀️ Another anonymous subscriber from Mississippi is excited to make memories with her roommates…

• “My roommates and I are going to have our first Sunday night dinner!!! I’m so excited, because we’re inviting some people over to join us and I’m going to attempt making tortillas.“

P.S. We received so many submissions last week, I couldn’t fit them all in today’s newsletter (TYSM though, ILY!!). If you don’t see your win here, keep an eye out for it in future editions❤️.

Now I totally get it: life can get busy and overwhelming. It's hard to see the bright side sometimes.

But this isn't about toxic positivity – it's about perspective and expectations (which some, like our CEO, say is the secret to happiness). There truly is always something to be grateful for, even if it's as simple as your favorite cozy blanket or a fantastic latte you had earlier today.

• What's Your Win is about taking a moment to remember the good things in life. And who knows? Sharing your win might inspire someone else to recognize the good in theirs🥰.

Share your everyday wins and gratitude here for a chance to be featured in next week's newsletter and have a positive impact on a stranger's life.

Submit a win – or a friend/partner/family member's win – here.

In honor of the Emmy Awards this past Sunday, this week’s theme is TV shows. How many questions can you get right?

1. What does Michael Scott eat for lunch on The Office that makes him fall asleep?
2. Michael Cera's character in Arrested Development shares a name with which pop legend?
3. Which Game of Thrones star was nominated for an Emmy for every single season?
4. What current TV show is the longest-running live-action primetime show ever?
5. In The Big Bang Theory, at which restaurant is Penny a waitress?

(keep scrolling for answers)

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get, just for introducing people you know to little old us. 

What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like Positive DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize.

Start referring.👇

1. A whole chicken pot pie
2. George Michael
3. Peter Dinklage
4. Law & Order: SVU
5. The Cheesecake Factory

Hit that reply button and let me know, I read every response. Have a great week!🥰

–Kailyn

P.S. Enjoying this newsletter and want to support my work? It'd mean the world if you told a friend or two about Positive DONUT. You can even win sweet, sweet prizes for each person you refer using your unique link (found two sections above).