Week #9 – Fun (with Deanna Day Young) - Rise and Write with Grace & James

Week #9 – Fun (with Deanna Day Young)

In Episode #9 we interviewed Deanna Day Young — writer, speaker, and non-profit builder. (Oh, and did I mention she has a full-time job too?) Deanna shares with us how grief turned her life’s calling of spreading a little kindness every day — into creating BUCKETS of kindness for kids suffering with cancer.

In our interview, Deanna not only tells the inspiring story of how her non-profit, Bucket Buddies Mission, came to be — but how it fulfills her personal mission to make a difference to someone every day.

Deanna has always been a joyful giver…but it takes more than that to run a non-profit. With focused intention, organization, support and supplies, she’s been able to scale her efforts to not only touch the lives of children across the country — but the lives of those who assemble and deliver the gifts too!

Above all, through grief and giving, Deanna has learned how to take care of herself and keep things fun. I’ve gotten to see first-hand how encouraging and cheerful Deanna is — but I know that often comes at a cost. Deanna and I both lost siblings in midlife to cancer and I know it’s hard to be “the strong one” when you want to fall apart.

We got around to asking her how she navigates the danger zone of depletion…and her secret is simple: in addition to helping others, Deanna makes sure she does something fun/kind for herself every day.

“You have to identify what it is that’s making you feel depleted…because if you don’t identify it, you’re not gonna deal with it.”

And then, you have to turn that generous nature on yourself:

“If you don’t do something for yourself every day, you’re gonna get in a rut, and you’re gonna get resentful.”

I believe you, Deanna! I really do! Now…what about you? Are you waiting for joy and generosity to find you…or are you willing to set an intention to go out and find it?

In addition to generosity and self-care, we talked about:

00:00 – INTRODUCTION – We introduce Deanna and everything she’s working on: her blog, her website, and her effort to make a difference for someone everyday (and coaching others to do the same); we also talk about her non-profit, Bucket Buddies Mission – which provides buckets of fun for kids in children’s hospitals (and how she grew that effort during Covid)
3:34 – COLLABORATING – Jim asks Deanna about the challenges of collaborating as it relates to her non-profit; gathering support, funds, execution, delivery, and presentation; the surprising challenge of pulling everyone together to gather/deliver exactly what is needed; and ultimately delegating the duties
7:00 – MISSION STATEMENT – Grace asks Deanna about how her personal mission statement occurred to her and when it came about; we talk Random Acts of Kindness vs. Intentional Acts of Kindness; and her 365-day challenge to herself
9:30 – TOUCHED BY CANCER – Deanna talks about how her family has been touched by cancer and why it became a motivating factor for her to reach that community; she tells the story of her sister who died of cancer and had a heart for children and how that led to Bucket Buddies.
10:50 – THE BIRTH OF A NON-PROFIT – Grace asks Deanna to detail the timeline and story of how Bucket Buddies came to be; from the very first bucket in 2014 to over 9,000 buckets in 2021!
16:10 – DEANNA’S SISTER – we ask Deanna what it meant to her to be able to share the fulfillment of BBM with her sister before she died; and how it helped Deanna through grief and healing.
17:30 – SUPPORT – Deanna talks about what any show of support means to her, from donors, to assemblers, to her board, to her benefactors.
18:55 – VISION – Jim asks Deanna what she thinks of how her vision has evolved; Deanna shows a sample of the bucket and talks about how the presentation has changed over the years, including the containers they are delivered in.
20:30 – FEEDBACK – Jim asks about feedback that Deanna has received and how that’s touched her; not necessarily from the recipients — but from the people who gather to assemble and deliver them!
23:45 – GIVING FOR GIVING’S SAKE – Grace and Deanna talk about the importance of giving anonymously (and getting others involved)
25:00 – GENEROSITY – Grace asks Deanna about the nature of generosity; and how a person might cultivate that hobby into a habit and then into a lifestyle; Deanna returns to the word “intentional”; “once you start, you start seeing opportunities, and it just becomes a way of life…If this is something you want to do, it can be learned, your heart can change, you just have to work at it.”
37:42 – GIVING IDEAS – Deanna gets lit on fire to share quick and easy ways to give; everything from sharing a slice of cake to depositing money in someone’s bank account; “so we have three things in our life…time, money, and energy; at different points in your life you have more of one than another so whatever you’re blessed with and whatever stage you’re at in your life, take that and use it for your gratitude journey.”
30:15 – WHAT FILLS DEANNA’S BUCKET – routines; we ask Deanna about her morning routine, including her peculiar viewing of watching someone else clean her house!
32:00 – SOMETHING FUN EVERY DAY – Deanna gives us the secret to her success that she learned in the year after her sister died: she does something fun for herself every day; and once a month she does something extra fun/special; and her surprising advice to her colleagues during Covid! (For herself and others). “If you don’t do something for yourself every day, you’re gonna get in a rut, and you’re gonna get resentful.”
34:37 – DEANNA’S COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS – Deanna shares her laminated list of fun things to do at Christmas (her favorite holiday!)
35;40 – RECIEVING – Deanna talks about how she shared the joy of giving by receiving lunch from a little girl the day we recorded.
36:00 – SELF CARE AS SURVIVAL – we ask Deanna why she thinks it’s important to take such good care of herself.
37:05 – DEPLETION – I ask Deanna how she guards that tripping point into depletion; faith keeps her strong and grounded; “one of the main things is that you have to recognize when you are getting depleted…and don’t ignore it.” You have to identify what it is that’s making you feel depleted…because if you don’t identify it, you’re not gonna deal with it.
41:37 – WRAP UP – Grace and Jim offer their immediate reflections on the interview; we could all be more generous; good self care; it’s good to be reminded that there’s a lot of good we can do and good people out there; you have to go FIND it; Generosity is a muscle; you can build it; start small; set goals; meet challenges; knowing where your edge/boundaries are; heed the yellow light.

What about you?

Want to add to the conversation? We would love to talk with you about your experiences with content creating, collaborating, and keeping fun company for the journey! Join us in our private Facebook group where we break these discussions down each week, share tools and techniques, and hold each other accountable to the work we have been called to create.

Because we know it’s hard…we want to talk about how!

Up next: Tune in to our Facebook page tomorrow when we talk with writer, speaker, full-time momma, and financial coach Cassie Rajewich! (You ladies have amazed me!)

Until then, set your alarm for whatever time YOU feel most creative and productive, and then…

Rise and Write!
Grace

About Our Guest:

Deanna Day Young’s mission statement for her life is “to make a difference to someone every day.” She has a passion for random acts of kindness. She loves to take that passion and encourage others to become the person God created them to be by helping individualize their personal goals.

Another one of her passions is to help others make a difference with
their hands, their hearts and their homes through practical decluttering, organizing and decorating ideas. She also loves sharing Christ through scripture, life experiences and humorous stories in her speaking and writing ministry.

Deanna is the author of Extra Hot Fudge Please, a collection of daily
devotions. She is also President of Bucket Buddies Mission, Inc., a
non‐profit created in memory of her sister, which provides
buckets of goodies to children suffering from cancer and other life‐
threatening illnesses.

Connect with Deanna at:
Website: https://deannadayyoung.com/
Instagram: @deannadayyoung
Facebook: Facebook.com/DeannaDayYoung
Book: Extra Hot Fudge Please – available on Amazon