Our trainings, wellness experiences, and resources help organizations, schools, and communities foster connection, prioritize mental and emotional health, and cultivate tools for thriving.
Here’s some of our joy-infused work.
BECAUSE GRIEF IS RAGGEDY
griefKit: Crowdsourced tools and considerations for raggedy times
There’s no one way to navigate grief. This multimedia resource has articles, books, recipes, communities, music, movement, poetry, podcasts, and other considerations for navigating loss. Please share it with anyone touched by loss or devastating transition. Or include the link in resource guides you create and share.
Since its release in November 2022, we have used the griefKit’s resources and reflections to support community conversations, workshops, and our Literary Therapy Writing Circles.
Download the full guide here or browse by section:
Overview | Introduction | Articles + Essays | Books | Communities + Tools | Mindful Movement | Music + Podcasts | Poetry | Recipes | Submit a resource
We create space for affirmation, connection, education, and exploration.
“I’m so thankful for this space and this support. This check-in turned my week around.”
-GetSomeJoy Mental Health Check-In attendee
WRITE YOUR WAY TO CLARITY WITH A CARING COMMUNITY
Our Literary Therapy Writing Circles offer intimate space to unpack + process grief
In partnership with MindBodyYou
With the guidance of a licensed clinician, Literary Therapy Writing Circle participants spend four weeks exploring topics impacting mental health through writing, group discussion, and collaborating on creative wellness tools and strategies for thriving.
Participants also collaborate with the clinician to develop a Long-Term Wellness Plan.
PRIORITIZING STUDENT WELLNESS
Mercer County Community College Educational Opportunity Fund
GetSomeJoy partnered with MCCC and the Georgian State University Educational Opportunity Fund to bring students a Black History Month Virtual Community Cook-along. While exchanging family food stories and traditions and reflecting on things bringing us joy, we made curry chicken, rice, and fried plantain together.
We prepared a Community Cook-along Workbook + Exploration Guide.
The following year, we hosted a GetSomeJoy@School Community Wellness Forum where we invited students to share their victories (and applaud one another), engage direct support from educators and admin about things impacting their ability to thrive at school, and collaborate on strategies for cultivating a more joyful learning environment.
We brought snacks and fried chicken stickers.
INCREASING PROTECTIVE FACTORS
The Juilliard School
GetSomeJoy supported Juilliard faculty and staff with Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings.
ON EACH ONE, REACH ONE
Normalizing conversations on wellness with Team: Changing Minds
GetSomeJoy co-founder Alex Hardy trains and mentors Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructors for Team: Changing Minds, a collaboration between Futures Without Violence, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and National Council for Mental Wellbeing, who have joined forces to create the country’s first mental health response network specializing in reaching young men.
Monthly cohort meetings offer YMHFA Instructors space for deeper connections, coaching, and collaboration on engagement, implementation, and overcoming challenges.
The collective is working together to equip and support caring community members (coaches, mentors, peers, barbers, gaming buddies, etc.) to help reduce the amount of time it takes men and boys of color to access mental health care (for a variety of reasons).
2023 SUPERINTENDENT’S DAY CONFERENCE
Presenting a vision + strategies for joy-infused education + community building
We collaborated with the Family Violence Prevention Council of Broome County and Binghamton University to bring some joy to educators and administrators at the 16th Annual Superintendent’s Day Conference.
Attendees reflected on joy and strategies for thriving at school on our Community Literary Therapy Wall then collaborated on creative wellness toolkits in a Literary Therapy for Educators and Administrators breakout session.
GetSomeJoy co-founder Alex Hardy ended the day with a keynote presentation inviting attendees to consider how we can work together to cultivate more joyful learning and working environments.
RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES WITH CARE
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
As a Mental Health First Aid National Trainer, GetSomeJoy co-founder Alex helps cultivate and coach considerate, prepared, dynamic Mental Health First Aid Instructors who train their communities to recognize and respond to mental health and substance use challenges.
He has worked as an Instructor for Mental Health First Aid’s Adult, Youth, and Spanish curricula since 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively.
In April 2022, Alex delivered a keynote presentation on Joy-Infused Community Building at the National Council’s Mental Health First Aid Summit.
He previewed a few of the keynote’s concepts in a post on the Mental Health First aid Blog ahead of the summit, “Five Ways to Use Food as a Tool for Practicing Mindfulness, Fostering Connection, and Centering Joy.”
Alex has also supported the National Council’s partnership with the kate spade new york foundation through consulting on training delivery and outreach practices and facilitating Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid trainings for New York- and new Jersey-based art, entertainment, and media professionals.
PEACE, FELLOWSHIP + FEEDBACK
Writing in the Sand Writer’s Retreat
GetSomeJoy was a sponsor of the Writing in the Sand Writing Retreat in Plymouth, Tobago, where writers gathered in a gorgeous villa to create together, receive coaching from Writers-in-Residence, frolic on the beach, relax, swim, and eat well. Shoutout to Chef Ackeel Alexis.
BECAUSE JOYFUL TEACHERS PRODUCE JOYFUL STUDENTS
Centering Joy-Infused Education at the 2023 FOCUS Summer Learning Conference
Our redesigned Community Literary Therapy Wall (designed by Denae Patterson) made its debut in Storm Lake, Iowa at the gathering of educators and administrators, hosted by the Prairie Lakes Atrea Education Agency.
We offered attendees space to reflect and share on our Wall when they were most joyful at school and strategies for cultivating more joyful learning environments. Alex shared a presentation on joy-infused education and strategies for helping educators thrive amidst historic burnout, resignations, and global uncertainty.
They loved the fried chicken stickers.
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SPACE TO PROCESS + SHARE
Support for the supporters: prioritizing wellness + joy for National Urban League’s housing counselors
After conducting a GetSomeJoy@Work Community Wellness Assessment, we supported National Urban League’s housing counselors with:
Literary Therapy Writing Workshops,
ongoing Mental Health First Aid trainings,
and space for leaders to unpack Assessment results & collaborate on strategies for increasing joy, morale, and connectedness at work
SUNSHINE, FEELINGS, AND SUNFLOWERS
That time we prioritized joy + wellness as the official mental health partner of 2023 Oakland Black Pride
CULTIVATING JOY-FLAVORED CONNECTIONS
Twitter Spaces Spark Program
GetSomeJoy co-founder Alex Hardy joined a diverse cohort of audio creators assembled to help launch Twitter's new audio conversation platform, Twitter Spaces. During the program, we facilitated a series of themed community mental health check-ins/resource exchanges.
MAKING TIME FOR JOY @ SCHOOL
Writing about joy, mental health, and goals with Haldane Elementary students
Alex worked with the administration at Haldane Elementary in Cold Spring, NY to cultivate a year-long joy-infused writing program that allowed students space to express themselves with aims of fostering comfort with and appreciation for using writing as a tool for mindfulness, stress relief, and growth.
The program entailed creative wellness resources for students shared across three classroom visits to three classrooms of 20 students, tools for thriving and facilitating classroom reflection via The Joy Report, and a Literary Therapy for Educators session.
JOY + FRIED CHICKEN STICKERS FOR ALL
Literary Therapy @ the Oakland Public Library
After our bright yellow Community Literary Therapy Wall made its debut at the 2022 Black Joy Parade, it spent the spring inviting folks to reflect and share about mental health and joy (and grab a Literary Therapy Exploration Workbook and some fried chicken stickers) at the Oakland Library’s Lakeside Branch and Elmhurst Branch.
FEELINGS + FUN IN THE SUN
A Literary Therapy pop-up @ the 2022 Black Joy Parade
Our Community Literary Therapy Wall made its debut in the inaugural Wellness Village at the 2022 Black Joy Parade. We invited folks to share what joy means to them, what they’re doing to getsomejoy, and how joy looks/smells/feels/tastes to them.
We partnered with OneDegree to provide connections to life-improving community resources and tools for thriving in our Black Joy Parade Edition Literary Therapy Exploration Workbooks. Ashanti was there (performing on a stage across the street) and everything.
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You’re so pretty.
Let’s keep the party going:
© 2021 GetSomeJoy
