Happy Tuesday, and Happy October. Is anyone else as excited about fall being here as me? 

We have a jam-packed edition this week full of positive news from around the globe. If you're new here, welcome! We're happy to have you. 

Have a fantastic week🥰.

- Kailyn

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today's newsletter takes ~3.68 minutes to read (981 words).

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I allow myself space to rest and relax. I give myself permission to be calm and content.

Long Island native Yamilée Toussaint has always been passionate about dance and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). She grew up watching her parents pursue STEM careers, and always dreamed of a day when she could follow in their footsteps.

Yamilée was surprised, however, when she went on to study mechanical engineering at MIT and learned she was one of only two Black women in her major. 

• “What struck me the most is I didn’t feel like I was so exceptional that I should be one of two," she said. "I felt like it should be different and can be different.”
• Yamilée realized her situation was not unique to MIT: Black women were very rarely pursuing careers in STEM. A 2021 study found that women make up about a third of STEM employees nationwide, and Black workers only account for 9%.

The solution: Yamilée was also head of the campus dance team while at MIT, which involved a much more diverse group of people. She wondered if there was a world in which she could marry her two passions – namely, introducing STEM through the art of dance.

A few years later, STEM From Dance was born.

For the last twelve years, Yamilée has run the non profit organization, which integrates dance with STEM education with the aim of making these subjects more engaging and accessible. The program works with girls of color ages 8–18 in nine cities across the US, and is free to its participants.

• In past years, girls have learned how to code LED light strips on their costumes to flash in time with the music as they dance. 
• They've also used computer science to create unique music for their performances.

Big picture: The dancers put on a show for their friends and family at the end of each program session, which Yamilée shares is often her favorite part.

“That feeling that they get, we want them to remember that and … remember that they are celebrated for doing things in STEM,” she said. “So, when they face that hard math problem, they’re reminded, ‘I can do hard things.’”

👀 Looking ahead... The 2024 CNN Hero hopes her organization will inspire girls to consider pursuing careers in STEM in their future.

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The Bird of the Year competition is a fierce battle fought each year in New Zealand. Each of the winged nominees is represented by an official campaign manager, who rallies support in any way they can, typically opting for meme wars, celebrity endorsements, and even getting tattoos to prove their loyalty to their bird.

This year, 50,000 people cast their votes, and the hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, was crowned victorious.

🐧 Zoom out: Hoiho conservationists are ecstatic the penguin won this year’s competition, as rates of the rare bird continue to dwindle in the wild. “The campaign has raised awareness, but what we really hope is that it brings tangible support,” said Charlie Buchan, campaign manager for the first-place hoiho.

❤️ Changing the future of homelessness… Four years ago, the Sheraton Wilmington South hotel in Delaware went up for auction. Only a few weeks later, it was reopened as The Hope Center, an emergency housing complex providing safety and shelter for homeless residents just before the state’s first big winter surge of the year. Fast forward to today, and The Hope Center has transformed into a fully functioning ecosystem, offering housing, childcare, computer access, career coaching, and a fully functioning medical center – all free of charge.

🥹 Everyday hero… I was so moved by this story of a UPS driver who saved the life of a 78-year-old woman after she fell in her driveway. Now the two are the best of friends, and Raheem Cooper visits her weekly in the hospital as she recovers.

🌎 Chosen family…. Check out this TikTok by a host mom named Ivy about how hosting foreign exchange students has changed her life. Who knew mixing cultures could be so rewarding?

Believe it or not, we are already a week into fall. With the change of seasons upon us, take some time this week to reflect on your summer and what you learned/what you’re hoping to take into this autumn. Use the prompts below to outline your thought process:

🎃 Fall journaling prompts:

1. What was your favorite memory from this summer? What did it look like, feel like, taste like, smell like? Describe it in as much detail as you can remember.
2. What have you learned about yourself since May? What are some things you want to keep discovering as we move into autumn?
3. What is one goal you have for this coming season?
4. What are some things you want to let go of?
5. What are some things you want to make more space for?
6. How can you slow down this season?
7. List 3-5 things you are grateful for after your summer.

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Welcome to What’s Your Win, the section of the newsletter where we celebrate all of the good news happening right here within our Positive DONUT community. I love reporting on good news from around the globe each week, but there’s something so special about sharing all of your stories.

Before I get too sappy, here are this week’s wins:

👯‍♀️ Joanna G. from Central Massachusetts is celebrating friendship…

• “During COVID I was able to find an amazing online community of friends to play games with and chat/interact on Discord. This past weekend, we just had our third in-person trip where we rented a huge house in Cape Cod and got to spend 4 days just hanging out, playing board/card games, and having the best time! We have people from all over the US in our group and even had a few new members join us for the first time! Everyone had such a wonderful time and I feel so BLESSED that these people are in my life! Several times it was mentioned that we are all not just online/gamer friends, but real friends that love to get together and spend time with each other. We are all so lucky to have found each other <3 and it was seriously one of the best weekends of my life! We're already planning our 2025 trip!”

🎭 Andi L. from Wisconsin is ready to take center stage…

• “In the sense of main characters, I got one of the lead roles in my school’s One Act Play! I’ve been practicing my acting for years and am ecstatic to have it pay off!”

🤞 One anonymous subscriber is feeling hopeful for their career…

• “I just had a job interview! I work in a pretty toxic work environment and have been applying for jobs like crazy with no luck. But I finally had an interview for a job I would love. It would be WFH and is DOUBLE my current salary! I know I don't have the job (yet?), but it's amazing how much hope there is in just getting that interview.”

There's always something to celebrate. Whether it be a new job, a heartwarming conversation with a loved one, crossing an item off your bucket list, or simply enjoying your day a little more than usual, we want to hear about it.

Sharing is caring... Submit your day-to-day wins with us here to be featured in a future newsletter. Who knows? Sharing the positivity in your life might inspire someone to recognize the good in theirs🥰.

Share your wins here.

Today’s theme is animals. How many can you guess?

1. What is the loudest animal on Earth?
2. What is the only mammal capable of true flight?
3. What is the term for the study of birds?
4. Out of all animals on Earth with vertebrates, which has the longest lifespan?
5. How many hearts does an octopus have?

👆 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.

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1. 🐳 Sperm Whale: The Sperm Whale has been known to make sounds up to 230 decibels. For scale, a jet engine is ~150 decibels.
2. 🦇 Bat: Bats are the only mammal that can fly, with wings attached to their hands. Although often mistaken for rodents, they are more closely related to primates.
3. 🦉 Ornithology is the official study of birds. Ornithology is also one of the few scientific fields in which nonprofessionals make substantial contributions.
4. 🦈 The Greenland Shark: The oldest known individuals recorded by scientists have been about 400 years old, though with the large margin of error, it’s possible that they could live for more than 500 years. (Fun fact: The official oldest animal is the Glass Sponge, which can live for 10,000 years, possibly 15,000 years maximum.)
5. 🐙 Three: The octopus has three hearts. Two of them – the branchial hearts – pump blood to the gills where it picks up oxygen. The third, or systemic heart, pumps the oxygenated blood around the body, fueling up the eight tentacles for whatever they and their suckers plan to do.

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).