We officially are in the midst of holiday season. It is important to remember that while you may be enjoying the holidays with all of its merriment, there are many people, neighbors, ones you see around town who feel especially lonely during this time.

Oftentimes, we reflect as a year comes to a close and a new year is on the horizon. Use this time to perhaps volunteer or donate to a non-profit organization. Since I have joined Family Promise of Sussex County I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with individuals from all kinds of backgrounds but all with the common goal of helping those less fortunate than ourselves. More than once I’ve answered the front door to our agency to meet a former client, who is now in a better position and wanted to donate non-perishable foods or a new toy. Pay it forward, the gesture does not need to be grand to be impactful.

So, while the year is coming to an end, I will not be talking about New Year’s Resolutions since most are broken before February. Mine too, are always the same, eat better, move more, you get the idea. Instead, I ask you to reflect and be grateful for the many blessings we all sometimes take for granted and to maybe in the New Year do something different, selfless in bettering someone else you might not even know. Wishing you a healthy and Happy New Year!

I was researching events that occur in December and stumbled upon this fun fact that except for February 29th which happens every Leap Year, December 25th is the least common Birthday. I suppose that is a good thing so that you don’t have to share your birthday celebration with Christmas every year. Conversely the most popular Birthday is September 9th, followed by September19th, September 12th…you get the idea.

Of course, one’s natural inclination is to go back nine months and see why September is such a baby boom! Well, that time is right after the holidays, the stress of the season is over, company, relatives have gone home, there is still a sense of good cheer and well-being. Some felt that after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 there would be a surge in births in the tri-state area of NY, NJ and CT. Hospitals geared up for the influx which really didn’t occur.

What did occur was a psychology professor had the opportunity to track and monitor a group of pregnant women during this Superstorm. As reported in, The Washington Post, the study, Stress in Pregnancy, “published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, found that children who were exposed to Sandy, a superstorm, while in utero had substantially increased risks for depression, anxiety and attention deficit and disruptive behavior disorders. The symptoms of these disorders presented when the children were preschool-age.”

While we can’t predict when a natural disaster will occur it is interesting to note that this can not only impact the mother but the unborn baby as well. When the day you were born is even more significant than I ever imagined.

What day were you born? What have you noticed or noticed in your children which can be traced to when you/they were born?

The days are getting shorter, the weather outside is frightful, many of us experience the “winter blues”. Collins Dictionary defines the winter blues “as a feeling of depression or deep unhappiness associated with experiencing the cold and darkness of winter.” The blues generally start late Fall into early Winter and last until Spring.

So, what is one to do? Here are some tips to help guide us through this “hibernation period”.
· Practice good sleep habits; try to stick to a consistent sleep schedule
· Get natural sunlight in the morning for better sleep and mood. According to Everyday Health, “Natural sunlight plays a key role in regulating mood and sleep-wake cycles. In particular, getting sunlight first thing in the morning helps tell your body it’s morning and it’s time to be awake…”
· Incorporating exercise can also improve sleep and mood. “Exercise releases natural feel-good chemicals in your brain that can boost your sense of well-being and helps distract you from negative thoughts that may dampen your mood,” according to Mayo Clinic.
· Use light therapy, I tend to light more candles in the Fall and Winter, flameless candles too can give you that cozy feeling when it’s cold outside
· Consider baking. I bake more during this time, it makes the house smell nice and welcoming. The heat of the oven helps warm the house. Here’s an extra tip when you are done baking, turn off the oven and leave the oven door open. Might as well use that energy to help warm your house!
· Catch up on books you want to read or shows you want to binge.

What do you like to do to help cope with the colder months ahead?

This year Thanksgiving will be on November 28th. Our national holiday of gratitude and giving thanks is always held on the 4th Thursday in November. It is a time when we share a meal with friends and family, give back to the community by volunteering, or watching the parade, football, or my personal favorite, the National Dog Show. WorldStrides compiled a list of Thanksgiving fun facts including:

· Turkey wasn’t on the menu at the first Thanksgiving. Venison, duck, goose, oysters, lobster, eel, and fish were likely served, alongside pumpkins and cranberries.
· The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving is 4,500.
· Butterball answers more than 100,000 turkey-cooking questions via their Butterball Turkey Hotline each November and December.
· The tradition of football on Thanksgiving began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. The first NFL games were played on Thanksgiving in 1920.

Want some folklore, courtesy of The Old Farmer’s Almanac?

Thanksgiving Weather Folklore

· Turkeys perched on trees and refusing to descend indicate snow.
· If the first snow sticks to the trees, it foretells a bountiful harvest in the coming year.
· If sheep feed facing downhill, watch for a snowstorm.
· Thunder in November indicates a fertile year to come.
· If there be ice in November that will bear a duck, there will be nothing thereafter but sleet and muck.
· When the winter is early, it will not be late.

What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions? What do you do to give thanks?

Thrifting has recently gained in popularity with more young people catching on to the idea of sustainability. Reusing, repurposing for the greater good of the planet. You are either “a picker and a digger” or you are not. I was raised as a thrifter. I remember as a young child driving around the neighborhood with my mom during the town’s “Throw Out” week, when people placed their unwanted items on the curb for others to pick up and claim as their own. I called it “Throw Up” week as young kids do mixing up words.

About twice a year Family Promise of Sussex County partners with Nick’s Hope in bringing together a Pop Up Thrift Shop free for the community. This year it will be held on November 16th with the First Presbyterian Church of Newton acting as our gracious host.

Interested in thrifting? Here are some pro-tips:

· Don’t go with the idea that you are looking for something specific. Be open minded, use this as an opportunity to try, buy something that you normally would not.
· Some stores don’t have proper dressing rooms or none at all. Wear clothes that you could easily take a layer off or be able to add a layer to try something on.
· Pay attention to labels, fabrics, prints, where it was made – these are all clues for quality.
· Try to find a thrift shop in or near a wealthy community, more apt to find higher quality items at a discounted price.

Just go out there and try, you never know what you will find and the thrill of the hunt especially when your score is amazing. Let us know what has been your greatest second-hand thrift find.

World Kindness Day is held on November 13th each year. It is an international observance introduced by the World Kindness Movement in 1998. The mission of the World Kindness Movement (WKM) is to inspire individuals and connect nations to create a kinder world. People often say it is harder, takes more effort to be mean than to be nice or kind. Here are some simple tips to show kindness to others.

· Buy someone else’s coffee in line
· Pick up the phone and call a friend or family member who you have not spoken to in a while
· Smile or say Hello to someone random you come across
· Offer to help a friend or neighbor with grocery shopping, yard work, baby sitting
· Be Respectful, say please, thank you, let others go before you in line
· Volunteer your time or donate to a local charity or non-profit
· Make and send a care package to someone who needs it

The mission for this year’s World Kindness Day is to highlight the importance of empathy, understanding, and cooperation to create a more harmonious and caring world. Even small acts of kindness have big impact. What do you do to spread kindness?

Family Promise of Sussex County is proud to present a job and resource fair to help support the veteran community. The fair, Service Strong, will be held on Thursday, November 7th from 6-9 pm at the Sussex County Community College Student Center Building D. There will be a variety of employers and vendors in attendance showcasing their programs, services and job opportunities specific to the veteran community.

Nationally, according to Mission Roll Call, “The number of homeless veterans is increasing – rising more than 7% from 2022 to 2023. On an average night in 2023, 20,067 veterans were living in shelters. A staggering 15,507 veterans were living without any shelter at all.” This represents about 7% of all homeless adults in the U.S. with black veterans being overrepresented among all homeless veterans. In the United States, on average about 17 veterans commit suicide a day, 38% of veterans have a mental health condition with 85% struggling to transition to civilian life. These factors coupled with increased difficulty in finding employment or a job that can support rising costs of living and rent make this population more vulnerable to being at risk of homelessness.

As we are nearing Veteran’s Day on November 11th, please remember to thank a veteran. They have sacrificed all so that we can enjoy the freedoms of living in the United States.

Veterans Day Poem: “A Salute to Our Heroes”
In fields of green and skies of blue,
We remember the brave, the proud, the few.
On this day, we pause and reflect,
Honoring those who served with respect.
From battles fought and freedoms won,
Their legacy shines like the morning sun.
They stood tall, in valor unswayed,
For the sacrifices they’ve made, we’re eternally grateful.

Family Promise of Sussex County has funds specifically for veterans’ assistance. Over 90% of veterans that we work with are stably housed. Please contact us at 973-579-1180 to see how we can help.

It’s almost that time of year, Halloween. You may think Halloween is not that big of a deal but about 70% of people in the United States participate in some way to a tune of $12.2 billion! American spending is almost evenly split between costumes and candy with costumes having a slight edge! How did the holiday come to be? According to the Library of Congress, Halloween is celebrated (in part) because October 31 is the eve of All Saints Day, a day in which Christians remember and honor the dead. Whatever your reason for celebrating it is certainly a tradition that seems to grow every year. Below are some top costume trend ideas and top candy choices for your 2024 Halloween!

The most searched Halloween costume of all time is a witch, followed by Spiderman and dinosaur. This year some popular choices are expected to come from movies including:
· Loki
· Wicked
· Dune
· Inside Out
· Clueless
· Jurassic Park

In 2023, according to Candystore.com the top ten Halloween candy choices were:

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
2. M&Ms
3. Hot Tamales (never heard of that one)
4. Skittles
5. Sour Patch Kids
6. Starburst
7. Hershey Kiss
8. Candy Corn
9. Hershey Mini Bars
10. Snickers

I find it interesting that there is a nice even mix between chocolate and what I consider candy in the top ten. Disappointed that Kit Kats are not on the list. What do you think? What will you be this year for Halloween or what do you do instead?

Every year the third week in October is set aside to celebrate the impact that Family Promise has made across the country. This year it will be from October 21st to October 25th. We at Family Promise of Sussex County are part of a national group of affiliates under the Family Promise name. There is even an affiliate in Hawaii! I like to describe it as, “We are like Burger King. Independently owned and operated.” Each affiliate office tailors the services they offer to what is most needed in their community. We focus a lot on diversion and prevention so that people can hopefully avoid becoming unsheltered but for those who do we offer rehousing services and support to help people transition back to stable housing.

It can be quite rewarding working for a non-profit which can be so integral and transformative in people’s lives. But let’s not forget to celebrate the “little positive impacts” we all do or at least could do every day. It can be as simple as smiling at a stranger you pass walking down the street, holding the door open for someone, genuinely asking someone how are they doing today. Remember the huge impact earlier this year that Elmo made by posting online “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” and he’s not even a real person and talks in the third person!

So, while we will celebrate the impacts and accomplishments that we do as an agency and part of a national affiliate organization, let’s not forget to celebrate our own personal impacts we have on each other.

It’s that time of year again where everywhere is pumpkin spice and everything nice! I have to admit that I have little self-control over anything pumpkin. Pumpkin muffins, cookies, ice cream you get the idea. Maybe it’s the warm earthy spices that usually accompany the pumpkin like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. I can’t imagine anyone not liking it.

Last October, a marketing group called Stagwell conducted a “State of Pumpkin Spice Report”, where they “surveyed Americans to figure out if pumpkin spice is a true consumer preference or an overhyped marketing gimmick.” The results? Over half or 58% of all respondents like pumpkin spice and only a mere 15% would rather it go away.

According to Food & Wine, pumpkin spice first appeared in baking recipes in the late 18th century. In the 1930’s McCormick and Co. came out with the blended pumpkin pie spice mix. For those wondering it was 2003 when Starbucks released the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) and it’s been a pumpkin spice craze ever since! I try to every year get one PSL at Starbucks, for me, for some reason they don’t have the same taste as they did back in the day. Here’s an insider tip I learned years ago if you want to have a small taste not spend so much money order a “short” at Starbucks.

So, whether you are in to pumpkin spice or not, it’s Fall Y’all. Go outside breathe in the cool crisp air and indulge in a sweet treat or beverage that makes you feel cozy and uniquely Fall. It only happens once a year, although on the way out of a supermarket this year in August I saw a display of those pumpkin flavored ginger snaps!