Dear , 

How good are you at making lemonade? 

It's an important question to consider because, when life delivers you a truckload of lemons, making lemonade is sometimes all you can do. 

That's how my friend and PR-agency-boss, Filomena, felt when she was suddenly diagnosed with aggressive rheumatoid arthritis earlier this year. Her story - how it snuck up on her, how she figured it out, and how she's handling/treating it - is the subject of this week's special episode of 52 Gifts - The Podcast that Keeps On Giving. 

What's that you say? Never heard of 52 Gifts? I'm not surprised - since I haven't been ready to share it widely. Until now. 

52 Gifts is basically the chronicle of a project I've been working on since January to send gifts to people I know each week of the year (hence the 52😉). What started out as a random idea to give more gifts (because it’s so fun) turned into a bit of a mission when I decided to also give a nonprofit donation each week. (Technically, I know that's 104 gifts but just go with me...)

The donations I make are relatively small and the goal is to show people that even small gifts count and that gifts of any size can make donors feel good. Plus, I hope that listeners will learn about nonprofits they haven’t ever heard of before and broaden their own horizons.

Anyhow, this week's gift was special because it marks the halfway point in the year. 26 gifts and donations down, 26 more to go. To celebrate, I asked Filomena to be my first-ever guest and to tell us about her gift - and her personal journey with RA. It sure was nice to talk to someone besides myself for a change! 

If you want to check out 52 Gifts, it's available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Overcast, and PocketCasts. So, basically, anywhere you get podcasts. Or you can go straight to this week's episode, Gift 26: Wiggle Your Big Toe.

A few facts about my little project: there's no slick production, my jokes are as corny (if not cornier) as they are in real life, and some episodes are #cringe. But also: the people I give the gifts to are amazing (could one of them be you?), the organizations I donate to have been fascinating, and the show titles are genius (if I do say so myself). 

All in all, I’m really proud of this project and the fun it has brought to my life so far. I hope listeners will be inspired to give more gifts (to people and to nonprofits) and appreciate the feelings of joy and connection it brings them; two things that seem to be in short supply lately.

And since you are part of my business fam, , I thought you might appreciate this little outtake from my interview with Filomena. (Although we aren't publishing the video version, some snippets are worth sharing 🤣).

I also love this clip: O.L.S.A.

If you listen and you like my quirky concept, please rate and follow the show. Now that I'm getting the word out, I could use some 5-star reviews. If you're REALLY jazzed about this project, there are additional ways to support it and they can be found here. (If you don't like it, that's cool too, just maybe don't mention it😭).  

Hope you're enjoying the summer!