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Hey, everyone, it's Sophia. Welcome to a

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bonus episode of Work in Progress. Ye

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First of all, thank you so much for listening

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to Work in Progress through and

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congratulations everyone we made

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it somehow to the end of this year.

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When I look back on the past year, I'm going

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to frame the high highs and low

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lows by the guests we've had on the show and

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the conversations I've gotten to have and learn

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so much from. As I think

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back on this year, I'm struck by

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how much all of us are doing in our day to day

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lives and as a society, and

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even more by how much there still is to

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do and our motivation to get

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it done. To that end, I thought

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I'd take an opportunity to help make

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sure we can all pitch in to start off

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right. Let's start it on one of those high notes

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with a few charitable organizations that can

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use your donations or volunteer

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time or your voice to make a

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difference. Now, these aren't in any

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particular order, and you may recognize a

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few of them from some of our regular and

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bonus episodes from

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Let's Chat giving back In

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the past couple of weeks, we've all been having

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some pretty intense discussions on social

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media about what's going on in the world. And

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one of the things that is the hardest pill

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for me to swallow is our epidemic

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of gun violence, and especially how

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it affects young kids, from

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school shootings to firearm

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accidents in homes where those firearms are

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not locked up. We have a problem.

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And I know there's a big debate about responsible

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gun ownership and and the hobby that

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comes with it. And by the way, I'm a hobbyist

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too, so I I come to

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this debate from both sides at the same

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time, as a person who grew

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up with that being part of my family

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life and as a person whose family has been touched

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by a gun violence. Guys,

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the reality is that gun violence touches every town

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in America. It touches every place

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that we live, every community,

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and unfortunately eventually every

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single one of us. And

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for too long, life saving

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laws and policy have been thwarted

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by the gun lobby and by leaders

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who refuse to have a

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same debate on ways that we can

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all take common sense steps that will

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save lives. Now, I don't think

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saving children's lives should be partisan.

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I don't think protecting families should

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be partisan, but a lot of big

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corporations have spent a whole lot of money to make

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us think that these conversations are and

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I think we can do better. Part of the

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reason I believe that we can do better and I believe

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in change is because of

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every town and Moms Demand action.

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More than six million mayors, moms,

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teachers, survivors, gun owners,

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students, and everyday Americans

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from all over this country have come

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together to make their communities safer.

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Shannon Watts founded and leads

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Mom's Demand. I am so honored that through

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this work, I not only call her an idol,

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but I call her a friend. And she has inspired

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people everywhere, and I know she will

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inspire all of you. Every

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town in Mom's Demand starts

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with us, met you, and

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it starts in our neighborhoods. By introducing

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evidence based solutions in every

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town, we can end gun

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violence. And I believe we

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can do this together, and

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I really believe that we have to. So

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if you want to get involved, if you

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were as freaked out in the second week of December as

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I was about a TikTok challenge going

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around encouraging gun violence in schools

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like what is happening? Things have gone

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too far. If that freaked you out,

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if you are from a town that has been touched

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by gun violence, if you know someone whose

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family has been touched by gun lands, and

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even if you think you don't, you know me so

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you do, please consider

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getting involved. You can learn, you can

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listen, you can show up, you can volunteer, and

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the best place to start is to download

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their app. Every Town and Mom's

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Demand share an app which makes it easy.

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You don't have to have to and

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you can download. We'll put the link in the show

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notes. You can donate, You can volunteer

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on their text or call team.

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Visit the website every town

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dot org or Mom's Demand

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dot org to get started.

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Together, we can prevent the gun

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violence that we all know is preventable,

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and I think together we can remain

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committed to doing what it takes to keep our families

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and our neighbors safe. When we

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think about how things affect kids, like

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the epidemic of gun violence we just

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referenced, we also need to pull

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back and think about how whatever

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they're facing, whether it is that epidemic,

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whether it is the pandemic of COVID whether it's

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poverty and community, whatever it is

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kids are up against, it affects their mental

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health. And I know so many of us are

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coming to terms with talking about our mental health and

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what we need to take care of it as adults.

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You know, Millennials and gen Z were really

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open about those struggles

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and those gains that we're making. But

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what about kids? That's

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where On our Sleeves comes in. On Our Sleeves

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as a national movement that is working

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to break stigmas around children's mental

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health because they believe, as I do,

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that no family should struggle alone on that journey.

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And so many kids are reporting

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issues of mental health, anxiety, depression,

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stress, a hard time focusing in school, and

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the idea that you know, an

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eight year old, a five year old could be dealing

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with this stuff just breaks my heart. And I'm so

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relieved that On our Sleeves exists to

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provide free mental health and educational

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resources to every community in America

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to educate families and empower advocates.

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They support access to services by connecting

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families to trust the local resources,

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and they even provide resources for classrooms

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so that teachers, as they run

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their curriculum can include curriculum

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about mental health and communication.

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That really helps kids open up about this

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and that helps parents too. So

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if you want to get involved in supporting kiddos,

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whether they're yours or kids you love,

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or siblings in your family, you

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can visit on our Sleeves dot

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org. You can pledge to do one small

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thing, you can plan an event, you can plan

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a fundraiser, and you can check out the

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show notes for more news about the incredible

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work that On Our Sleeves is doing. The

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next group I'd love to talk about also

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involves a former work in progress guest chef,

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Jose Andres and his incredible

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organization, World Central Kitchen.

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World Central Kitchen uses the

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power of food to nourish communities

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and strengthen economies through

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times of crisis and beyond. Whether

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there is a natural disaster like a hurricane

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or a flood, World Central Kitchen is

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on the ground. If there is a community that is

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suffering, World Central Kitchen is on

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the ground. Jose Andres shows

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up where people are needed,

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and one of the things that people need most when

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they're going through something is a hot

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plate of food and the knowledge that

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they're cared about, Especially

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with the outbreak of COVID and what happened

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all across the globe. The world changed

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profoundly, and World Central Kitchen

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activated in communities all around the US

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and around the world to meet the daily needs

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of families in need of a warm plate of food, and

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they supported thousands of local restaurants

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in the process. That's one of the things that I think

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is so cool. Whether it's a health crisis

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or a man made or natural made disaster,

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they show up to keep people fed,

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loved, and to keep local businesses

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alive. And I'm just endlessly

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inspired by what they do. If you

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missed Jose Andrea's episode of this

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show, I highly suggest you check it out so that

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you can learn from the man himself. And

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if donations that bring fresh meals

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to frontline medical staff and communities

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need inspire you, please visit

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w c K dot org that stands

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for World Central Kitchen dot org. You

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can follow them on Twitter. They are hiring,

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you can volunteer, and of course you can

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donate. And finally, I want to talk about an

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organization that I'm incredibly proud

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to have helped co found and that

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I'm so honored to be a part of, and that is

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I Am a Voter. Guys, I Am a Voter

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is a nonpartisan movement that is aiming to

8:29

create a cultural shift around voting and civic

8:32

engagement. We need to unify around

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a central truth. Our democracy

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works best when we all participate, and

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we all participate best when we are informed.

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It's easy to get started with I Am a Voter. You

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can text the word voter v

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O T E R to to six seven

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nine seven. We will not bombard you with a

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whole bunch of information, but what we will

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help you do is registered to vote. Check your registration

8:55

status, because y'all know there are nefarious groups

8:57

out there purging voters from the rolls and that is

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not hey. So you can register,

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you can check your status, you will get election

9:03

reminders, and of course you

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can donate, volunteer your time, whatever it

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is you choose. To learn more, visit

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I Am a Voter dot com, follow

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us on Instagram at I Am a Voter,

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and remember that when you vote, you're

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powerful and honestly sexy.

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Cific engagement is sexy. Let's be honest about

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it. I want to say thank you again. I

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just can't express enough how much getting

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to do this show means to me and how much I appreciate

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you all for listening and supporting the podcast

9:31

extra thanks to our Wondery plus subscribers,

9:35

and for all of you, seriously thank

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you for being a part of Work in Progress.

9:39

The fact that we I'll

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meet here in this digital space

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to share thoughts and to learn lessons

9:46

and to learn how we can further

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work on ourselves makes me feel like we

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all share a common goal of progress,

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more goodness, more kindness, more ideas,

9:56

more thought, and that

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that's the thing I cherish most is year ends.

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So happy New Year to all of you. I'm

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grateful for you.