Happy Tuesday, and welcome to Positive DONUT. This newsletter's one and only goal is to have you going from this:

To something a little more like this:

Let me know which sections and stories are your favorites; I love hearing from you!

Have a fantastic week. 🥰

–Kailyn

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s newsletter should be a ~3.58 minute read (953 words).

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Today I choose peace over pressure, presence over perfection, and progress over comparison.

A rainy roadside goat stand in rural England has turned into a $15,000+ fundraiser for shelter dogs, thanks to one determined 6-year-old and a wave of helpful strangers.

Let’s rewind… Last Saturday, Buddy Braley sat outside his family’s farm near Gloucester beneath an umbrella next to a handmade sign reading: “Stop here! To feed goats for charity!”

Buddy’s plan was simple: Visitors could feed his goats, Bella and Bertie, while donating money for local animal rescue centers in memory of his dog Brody, who died unexpectedly from bone cancer last month.

• At first, business was slow. Buddy and his goats waited nearly an hour without a single visitor.
• Then one man stopped by, fed the goats, and handed Buddy about $80.
• “I cried, my husband cried,” Buddy’s mother, Abbie Braley, told The Washington Post. “Buddy was in disbelief because it was a huge amount of money.”

Word quickly spread after Buddy’s grandmother shared the fundraiser in a local Facebook group. Soon, a steady stream of people were making the drive out to the Braley family’s 2.5-acre farm to meet Buddy and feed the goats.

By the end of the first day, Buddy had raised about $155. Then social media stepped in. Abbie Braley, who shares videos of the family’s rural lifestyle with 2+ million followers, said their supporters kept asking how they could help. A GoFundMe followed, with more than $15,800 pouring in from hundreds of donors within just a few days.

• The fundraiser carries extra meaning for Buddy’s family. 
• His parents say spending time with animals helped him overcome selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that once made speaking difficult in certain settings.

Now, Buddy says he hopes Brody would be proud of what’s happening in his name. “I think he would like me to help other dogs that don’t have families to love them,” Buddy said.

Did you know you blink 80% less when you stare at a screen? Hours of reduced blinking can leave eyes feeling dry, irritated, watery, and heavy by the end of the day. Peep Club's Instant Relief Eye Spray is clinically proven to instantly relieve dry eye symptoms with wild-harvested Sea Buckthorn Oil and Sodium Hyaluronate — two ingredients that hydrate and restore instead of just masking the problem like basic drops.

This preservative-free mist sprays over closed eyes — no mess, no fiddly eye drops, no blur. It's gentle enough for sensitive eyes, contact lens wearers, and can even be used over makeup.

🛠️ Meet Ian Vanveen, a 20-year-old college student from Wisconsin who spent 200+ hours building a custom electric guitar in his parents’ garage. 

• He started out with leftover deck wood and a “really bad” first attempt.
• Eventually, Ian's efforts evolved into a sleek, hand-built guitar designed to be extra thin, extra loud, and fully customizable.

Vanveen taught himself the basics of woodworking, electronics, and sound engineering along the way.

🧠 Positive masculinity… Black Men Heal is helping more Black men access free mental health support and challenging long-standing stigmas around therapy. The nonprofit connects participants with licensed therapists for up to eight free sessions, while also working to normalize such conversations in communities where it has often been discouraged.

🎸 A Colorado elementary school recently staged a 75-minute musical inspired entirely by the jam band Phish—and yes, it was every bit as delightfully chaotic as it sounds. Students at the Watershed School performed original scenes and songs based on Phish lyrics, complete with costumes, choreography, and plenty of goofy energy.

🐢 We’re two months into turtle nesting season, and scientists are already celebrating a record-breaking number of baby turtles.

If you've been around for a while, you know that I'm a big fan of meditation. The simple act of sitting still with our breath for a few moments can have some pretty incredible effects on our overall well-being.

❤️ Taking care of you... If you could use a little mental reset, try out this quick and simple Fresh Start Meditation. It'll only take ten minutes of your day, and it's Positive DONUT-guaranteed to have you feeling more grounded than a lightning rod by the end😌.

Try it out here.

Pain. Stress. Exhaustion. All second-nature when working in service, but it follows them home. Many veterans don’t ask for help. They just keep going until they break.

WarriorWOD meets them there with structure, training, and mentors who understand that mindset. It gives them a way to rebuild without having to explain it.

Because What’s Your Win? is here. Welcome to the section of the newsletter where we celebrate all of the good things happening right here within our Positive DONUT community.

Check out the wins below!

🎶 One anonymous subscriber from New England is rediscovering their love of music…

• “In hopes of improving my mental health and cognitive functioning, I started playing an instrument (again) after years of neglecting it. It’s been about a year since I started taking lessons and my initial goal was just to be able to play anything with a local, community orchestra, which I have been doing and it’s great! A friend asked me why I wasn’t striving to do more since I’ve been doing pretty well with the orchestra and I suddenly realized that I don’t typically strive beyond the basics of learning. So, a month ago, I decided to challenge myself further by telling my teacher that I wanted to try to learn how to play some tunes by ear (without sheet music). Last week I played my third tune on my own with no sheet music-all memorized! This feels like a huge win for me because I truly didn’t think I could do it (I’ve been dependent on sight reading sheet music my whole life plus I’m an older person now and I guess I have been doubting myself that I can learn new things!) Now I am wondering if there are other things I should be striving to do beyond the basics…”

😍 Jasmine C. from Boston, MA, is growing her career…

• “I am a freelancer, and this year has been really, REALLY hard. It's been crickets. I have been mostly living off unemployment and I was really starting to lose hope. But I just booked a job that will keep me and my wallet safe for June. This job starts on the first and ends on the 30th. I am not entirely sure how I am paying the rest of my bills for May, but it's nice to know that I will have 4 weeks of not having to worry. :)”

🐾 Vicki L. from Point Reyes Station is a proud pup owner…

• “Working with a very sweet, smart, willing, wild and untrained rescue dog and a fantastic dog trainer...we're making headway!”

📚 Looking for a summer read? Every Summer After by Carley Fortune is my current obsession. If you’re not a reader, the romantic drama was also just adapted into an 8-episode series on Amazon Prime called Every Year After, releasing next month!

🐦 Birdwatching is somehow cooler than it was in your grandparents’ day. With a live camera and AI capabilities, the Birdfy Smart Feeder lets you keep tabs on every feathered regular swinging by for a snack. Snag one for yourself. ✨

✨Affiliate link. If you make a purchase, Positive DONUT earns a small commission at NO additional cost.

1. What is the oldest known form of literature?
2. Who wrote 1984?
3. "To love another person is to see the face of God” is a famous quote from which novel by Victor Hugo? (Hint: It's also a famous Broadway musical)

(Keep scrolling for the answers)

I asked, you delivered. Here's why readers like you are loving What's Your Win: 

• "I didn't want to wait to let you know how important I think this section is – perhaps more important than the [positive] news presented. Culturally, we are more withdrawn, isolated, and distant, both physically and relationally, from others than ever before in human history... Stories and headlines about human kindness, creativity, positive tenacity, and joy are rarely 'sexy' enough to make the cut.
• "Ironically, these are the exact realities and examples to which we all need regular exposure...I deeply appreciate the "What's Your Win" section and highly value it for the potential good and life-giving fortification it may provide to a species and culture that is truly hurting and in desperate need of it."

Anotha one: "I love the ‘What’s Your Win’ section! It’s so inspirational. You are so very encouraging about submissions – it’s my own ‘roadblock’ that after reading them I don’t feel like my little accomplishments are worthy .. which, of course, is the whole purpose of that section!! Maybe others feel same. I hope it stays part of the newsletter.. it lifts my heart 🫶." 

A HUGE thank you to everyone who sent in feedback; I can't tell you how much it means to me! So what are you waiting for? Submit your day-to-day wins here for a chance to be featured in a future newsletter.

1. Poetry
2. George Orwell
3. Les Misérables

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