SPRING 2 0 1 8
HOW TO BE
Happy
EVERY DAY
HAPPINESS
9
Tammy Lawrence Johannson was born and raised
on the North Shore and resides in West Vancouver.
She spent over 10 years working with government,
communities, schools, sport and recreation
organizations and individuals setting up structures
and programs to encourage more girls and women
to be physically active. Tammy also spent five years
fundraising and event planning for Big Sisters while
completing a master’s degree on self-esteem and
young women. She currently runs a private family
foundation, volunteers with her children’s schools
and stays active while raising her family of five.
Tammy is the vice president on the 365give Board.
BY: Tammy Lawrence Johannson, 365give Board of Directors
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY. A simple statement, yet an
elusive goal. We all want to be happy, don’t we? So how come
we are not? The World Happiness Report states that over 220
million children and over 1 billion adults suffer from anxiety,
stress and conduct disorders. So what can we do to decrease our
anxiety and stress while increasing our own happiness and the
happiness in the world around us?
Social entrepreneur and mother of three, Jacqueline Way has one
answer: daily giving. A simple concept that researchers from
around the world have proven increases happiness. Not only is
it fulfilling, it’s also easy. The idea began as a project that Way
started with her three-year-old son to introduce him to pro social
behaviour. Together, they committed to give back to the world
every day for 365 days. Way created a blog to record their daily
giving adventures. The blog’s intent was to share their daily
giving stories with friends and family and just maybe inspire
others in their own lives. Simple daily giving activities included
recycling and picking up garbage to protect the environment,
small donations of blankets and towels to support a local animal
shelter and visiting the seniors center handing out handmade
Christmas cards to share the cheer.
365give quickly spread via social media and they soon had a
worldwide following. After a successful year of giving, Way
still wanted to do more. A good friend and teacher reached out
to see how she could incorporate 365give into her classroom.
They created an educational program, a tool for teachers that
incorporated a daily giving practice directly into their everyday
school curriculum. Their vision was to empower children
through education to change the world, one day, one give at a
time. The called it The 365give Challenge. What started with
300 students as a pilot project has now touched 7,000 children
around the world. In March 2017, Way completed a TED Talk
titled How to Be Happy Every Day: It Will Change the World.
The talk has had hundreds of thousands of views from around
the world and The 365give Challenge is now being incorporated
into schools, families and corporations.
365give is a small grass-roots charitable organization now
with a global reach. The vision for 365give is to create a global
movement that makes altruism possible for everyone. No matter
where you are from or how old you are. A global community
that can make the world a happier world, a better world. And it’s
so simple a three year old can do it. So – don’t worry – this will
make you happy. One give, one day at a time.