Happiness Grows When We Give

Privilege

I was born in the United States with advantages much of the world will never experience.

Even growing up in a single-parent home without much money, I still had opportunities that billions of people don’t.

That contrast has never left me.

I’ve seen what it feels like to live close to the edge. I’ve also seen how much farther the edge stretches for others.

Now, I use what I’ve been given to help create more opportunity for those who were given less.

Heart Opening Adventures

In 2007, I left the country for the first time.

Traveling changed me.

I saw beauty, resilience, and joy in places that had so little by Western standards. I also saw inequality up close.

Over and over, I noticed something unexpected:

Happiness wasn’t tied to wealth.

Some of the most joyful people I met had the least.

That realization shifted everything.

Pedal Beyond

While studying Environmental Science at the University of Oregon, I wanted to understand the world more deeply.

So I bought a bicycle, packed a tent, and started pedaling.

Indonesia. Tasmania. India. New Zealand.
Twenty-seven countries. Eight of them on a bike named Amelia.

I slept in homes, shared meals with strangers, and learned one simple truth:

We all want the same things.

Clean water. Safe shelter. Healthy food. Meaningful work. Education for our kids.

The basics of a good life.
And yet, for many, those basics are out of reach.

Trials and Tribulations of Generosity

In 2013, I tried to raise money to give bicycles to people in need.
It didn’t go well.

I worked sixty-hour weeks, lived in an abandoned building, and saved for a year in Australia.

I returned to Guatemala full of hope and started a nonprofit in Xela.
We created art festivals. Built community. Dreamed big.

But the momentum faded.

By 2019, I was exhausted. My savings were gone. The vision felt heavier than the impact.

For the first time, I questioned whether I was meant to help at all.

Failure can be clarifying.

Keep it Simple

In February 2021, recovering from knee surgery during the pandemic, I decided to try something small.

I asked a neighbor if I could shovel the snow from their driveway.

I filmed it. Danced a little. Posted it.

Something unexpected happened.

The joy came back.

That simple act reminded me why I started.

Generosity doesn’t need to be grand. It just needs to be real.

Family

What started as one small act has grown into a community of over 1.5 million people.

Together, we’ve raised and given tens of thousands of dollars to people in need.

But the real impact isn’t the numbers.

It’s the messages.

Stories from people who tried their own small acts of kindness.

People who felt something shift.

That’s the movement.