Earth Day Made Easy

 

Spring has arrived, and with it, the melting snow is giving way to a greener world.  The brighter days have brought with them thoughts of how we can make the world around as healthy and beautiful as possible.  Given the fast-paced nature of  so many of our lives, however, we wanted to provide you with a few simple suggestions to make the planet look its best.

 

Embrace “e” options:

Send e-invitations for your summer party, pay your bills online, and reduce paper junk mail...

Reading Road Trip

Dr. Seuss once famously said, ““The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”  In celebration of his March 2nd birthday, as well as National Reading month, we thought we would take you on a journey through our list of ideas to encourage your family to read more.

First, as adults, it’s important that you understand the benefits, not only to your children, but to you, as well.  Studies have proven that reading can...

Cold-weather Crackdown

While slow to arrive, Winter has made its presence felt the past few days with daily school closings and Facebook memes indicating that “Michigan is closed until further notice.”  With the onset of  bone-chilling cold, we thought we might take this month’s newsletter to suggest some ways to combat “Old Man Winter.”

Home  There are a few areas of your home (beyond the usually suggested topics of heat tape, gutters, and furnace filters) that you may have overlooked when prep...

Summer Scholars

The early morning alarms are silent and the buses aren’t rolling now—for the next couple months anyway.  While you may be glad for the less hectic start to the day and the lighter traffic on the road, there is a downside to summer break: “summer learning loss.”  Statistically, children and teachers must spend six weeks of each school year re-learning old material to make up for the knowledge lost over the summer months.  Because our hope for your children and ours is for the...

A List for Life

Graduation season is upon us, and we thought we would use this festive season, when we celebrate the students in our lives, to share a few thoughts to both encourage these young people as they embark on their next journey in life and also to remind the rest of us that there’s still time and need for us to pursue our dreams, as well.

Build Your Bucket List

Make a list of a few things that you want to do between now and Labor Day.  To help motivate you, we’ve included a few of o...

The Truth About The Holidays That No One Really Talks About

The Christmas season is now in full swing, and there’s always much that gives us cause to feel that “holiday cheer” mentioned in many of our favorite yuletide tunes.

However, for many, this time of year brings with it increased feelings of stress and anxiety: the American Psychological Association once completed a study to measure the increase of stress that takes place and discovered that as much as 38% of participants reported fee...

A Community That  Cares

There are nearly 1,000 non-profits in Grand Traverse County, nearly 100 of which are designated as “public charities.”  We are blessed to live in a place where giving is at the center of what we do.  A few short weeks ago, we were fortunate to be able to participate in the 2017 Circle of Friends Luncheon benefitting the Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center.  As we listened to the speakers share their touching stories and looked out over the crowd of attendees, we we...