Our Braver Angels segment for the Month of January was about managing strong emotions and important relationships at the start of a new presidential administration. David Lapp, Co-founder of Braver Angels and Director of Citizens Commission on Immigration, and Rhona Myers, Braver Angels member, spoke about separating feelings about political leaders and people in our lives. They also shared what happens when two opposing sides no longer interact with one another as they want to associate with those who agree with them

 

also on the program;

 

The holidays are usually a time for socializing, celebrations, and cocktails. However, some people decide to bring in the new year by not indulging in alcohol at all by participating in Dry January. Dry January is a month where one refrains from drinking any alcohol as a personal challenge. According to Dr. Melissa Brown, UPMC Clinical Psychologist, society has played a role in the challenge of becoming more popular.

Our <a href="https://braverangels.org/">Braver Angels</a> segment for the Month of January was about managing strong emotions and important relationships at the start of a new presidential administration. David Lapp, Co-founder of Braver Angels and Director of Citizens Commission on Immigration, and Rhona Myers, Braver Angels member, spoke about separating feelings about political leaders and people in our lives. They also shared what happens when two opposing sides no longer interact with one another as they want to associate with those who agree with them
&nbsp;
also on the program;
&nbsp;
The holidays are usually a time for socializing, celebrations, and cocktails. However, some people decide to bring in the new year by not indulging in alcohol at all by participating in Dry January. Dry January is a month where one refrains from drinking any alcohol as a personal challenge. According to Dr. Melissa Brown, UPMC Clinical Psychologist, society has played a role in the challenge of becoming more popular.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark Weekly 1.05.2024: Dry January and Braver Angels

Brightside Opportunities Center in Lancaster is changing lives with its innovative programs from fitness and wellness to education and youth initiatives. Sally Winchell, Wellness Director at Brightside, has been at the center for ten years. Winchell helped to design the layout of the fitness center.

“We have strength and conditioning. We have some Zumba classes. We have a senior pound class. I work with younger people with lifting weights, doing personal training all the way up through people that are in their 90s, “said Winchell.

Isiah Perry, Program Director at Brightside says the center offers nutrition programs as well.

“Through these nutrition programs that we're doing with seniors, but also for the kids. Sally came into Stem camp and did a whole day all about nutrition, how to read a food label. My kids, we call them food detectives. What to stay away from Red dye is terrible for you. Sugar in these sodas is three times your daily limit. We're uplifting them to make healthy choices so that they can live of, well, vibrant life, “said Perry.

Sometimes, participants can be a little hesitant when joining due to fear or self-doubt. However, Perry and Winchell work hard to build confidence among people in their fitness programs.

“Or some people believe, I want to do this by myself and get down to a certain level before I enter into a public space. And the educational programs, I see the same thing with the youth, where they are shy to explore educational activities outside of the classroom. And that can be with learning loss due to Covid, whether or not confidence in their abilities, whether that's math or reading. But really that self-doubt is something that we have to overcome by instilling a sense of community and giving them a purpose, “said Perry.

<a href="https://www.brightsideopportunities.org/">Brightside Opportunities Center</a> in Lancaster is changing lives with its innovative programs from fitness and wellness to education and youth initiatives. Sally Winchell, Wellness Director at Brightside, has been at the center for ten years. Winchell helped to design the layout of the fitness center.
&ldquo;We have strength and conditioning. We have some Zumba classes. We have a senior pound class. I work with younger people with lifting weights, doing personal training all the way up through people that are in their 90s, &ldquo;said Winchell.
Isiah Perry, Program Director at Brightside says the center offers nutrition programs as well.
&ldquo;Through these nutrition programs that we're doing with seniors, but also for the kids. Sally came into Stem camp and did a whole day all about nutrition, how to read a food label. My kids, we call them food detectives. What to stay away from Red dye is terrible for you. Sugar in these sodas is three times your daily limit. We're uplifting them to make healthy choices so that they can live of, well, vibrant life, &ldquo;said Perry.
Sometimes, participants can be a little hesitant when joining due to fear or self-doubt. However, Perry and Winchell work hard to build confidence among people in their fitness programs.
&ldquo;Or some people believe, I want to do this by myself and get down to a certain level before I enter into a public space. And the educational programs, I see the same thing with the youth, where they are shy to explore educational activities outside of the classroom. And that can be with learning loss due to Covid, whether or not confidence in their abilities, whether that's math or reading. But really that self-doubt is something that we have to overcome by instilling a sense of community and giving them a purpose, &ldquo;said Perry.

Brightside Opportunities Center offers fitness programs for the youth and seniors

Where the Nile Meets the Sea: Mystery of the Great Giza Sphinx is a fictional tale about two characters Geb and Luna. Local author, Andreja B. Gunjaric was a guest on The Spark to share more details about her debut book.

“Where the Nile Meets the Sea is a fictional adventure tale about GEB and Luna, their prehistoric siblings in the late Stone Age. And they go on a long adventure along the Nile River, where the Nile meets the sea is the point. In the Nile River's meeting with the Mediterranean, where the river separates, and the ancient Egyptian gods once lived as humans in my story. And that is where the primary action takes place. But Gabert Luna follows the Northern Star. Their father has told them stories about the North Star and how he believes that ancestor souls pass through the spiraling stars into the heavens, and they hope to meet their ancestors there.”

Gunjaric was inspired to write the book during the Covid lockdowns as she began researching her genealogy. She knew that her ancestors were originally from Switzerland and was traced back to the 1300’s. However, her husband didn’t know much about his genealogy.

“My husband knew nothing about his other than they had come from a particular country that once was aligned along the Roman Empire, the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. And so we researched on 23 and me, we submitted DNA samples, and we also consulted cousins that were older than Andrew to learn more about our ancestors and discovered the village from which they came. And after that, I began to trace the migration of people and how they arrived at the country where they eventually ended up living and decided I wanted to write a story about the migrations of people over a series of time. And this is really the first of six books. This discusses a migration from ancient Africa up to Dagger Land, which is a part of the North Sea, submerged between the British Isles and the European continent.

Ten percent of Where the Nile Meets the Sea royalties earned will be donated to Tree Aid, a international NGO supporting communities to tackle poverty and the climate crisis through the power of trees. Their project supports the Great Green Wall- an initiative to prevent the Sahara desert’s expansion by planting a wall of trees from Senegal to Sudan.

 

<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Where-Nile-Meets-Andreja-Gunjaric/dp/B0DF6JTD6X">Where the Nile Meets the Sea: Mystery of the Great Giza Sphinx </a>is a fictional tale about two characters Geb and Luna. Local author, Andreja B. Gunjaric was a guest on The Spark to share more details about her debut book.
&ldquo;Where the Nile Meets the Sea is a fictional adventure tale about GEB and Luna, their prehistoric siblings in the late Stone Age. And they go on a long adventure along the Nile River, where the Nile meets the sea is the point. In the Nile River's meeting with the Mediterranean, where the river separates, and the ancient Egyptian gods once lived as humans in my story. And that is where the primary action takes place. But Gabert Luna follows the Northern Star. Their father has told them stories about the North Star and how he believes that ancestor souls pass through the spiraling stars into the heavens, and they hope to meet their ancestors there.&rdquo;
Gunjaric was inspired to write the book during the Covid lockdowns as she began researching her genealogy. She knew that her ancestors were originally from Switzerland and was traced back to the 1300&rsquo;s. However, her husband didn&rsquo;t know much about his genealogy.
&ldquo;My husband knew nothing about his other than they had come from a particular country that once was aligned along the Roman Empire, the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. And so we researched on 23 and me, we submitted DNA samples, and we also consulted cousins that were older than Andrew to learn more about our ancestors and discovered the village from which they came. And after that, I began to trace the migration of people and how they arrived at the country where they eventually ended up living and decided I wanted to write a story about the migrations of people over a series of time. And this is really the first of six books. This discusses a migration from ancient Africa up to Dagger Land, which is a part of the North Sea, submerged between the British Isles and the European continent.
Ten percent of Where the Nile Meets the Sea royalties earned will be donated to Tree Aid, a international NGO supporting communities to tackle poverty and the climate crisis through the power of trees. Their project supports the Great Green Wall- an initiative to prevent the Sahara desert&rsquo;s expansion by planting a wall of trees from Senegal to Sudan.
&nbsp;

Author Andreja B. Gunjaric shares about her debut book, Where the Nile Meets the Sea

For many, the new year means new fitness and wellness goals. Jesse Cracco is a certified personal trainer, functional nutrition coach, and behavior change specialist who works with women to naturally speed up their metabolisms so they can stop the dysfunctional yoyo diet cycle and learn to maintain fitness and health for the rest of their lives.

“So my background in school is in psych psychology and wanting to help people. So I went to school to eventually do a clinical psychology path, and I totally diverted and went this direction because I see nutrition and fitness as a way to proactively prevent disease and help mental health and anxiety and depression and all those things. So yeah, that's kind of my, my background wanting to help people and being able to prevent disease rather than deal with it once it comes and deal, “said Cracco.

Jill Harbarcuk has been a high-level nutrition coach and personal trainer for over eight years. She is a functional nutrition coach, PN, Level 2 Master Health Coach, and National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach but most importantly, she has a talent for understanding the deeper psychological needs of her clients, which has led to hundreds of success stories.

“Mine wasn't necessarily school related. When I was pregnant, I was on bed rest and gained a lot of weight. And one of the goals I set afterwards was to compete in a bodybuilding competition. And it just kind of spiraled into wanting to be a trainer and then coaching online. It's definitely evolved from a physique focus to now just to kind of add on to what Jesse said, just a health focus and being proactive about your health and just feeling good inside and out, really, “said Harbarcuk.

In this podcast episode, Jill and Jesse spoke with The Spark Host Asia Tabb and fitness trackers, body image, weight loss drugs, pricing of healthy food, and more. Listen to the podcast to hear more from this conversation.

For many, the new year means new fitness and wellness goals. <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7Jq4jNO3ojrDo5j97HnXQh?si=YlvQhbvZS3igNfxVELvN8Q&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=a50e9690200c413f">Jesse Cracco</a> is a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jesserefit/">certified personal trainer</a>, functional nutrition coach, and behavior change specialist who works with women to naturally speed up their metabolisms so they can stop the dysfunctional yoyo diet cycle and learn to maintain fitness and health for the rest of their lives.
&ldquo;So my background in school is in psych psychology and wanting to help people. So I went to school to eventually do a clinical psychology path, and I totally diverted and went this direction because I see nutrition and fitness as a way to proactively prevent disease and help mental health and anxiety and depression and all those things. So yeah, that's kind of my, my background wanting to help people and being able to prevent disease rather than deal with it once it comes and deal, &ldquo;said Cracco.
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reality-check-podcast/id1754197444">Jill Harbarcuk</a> has been a high-level nutrition coach and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jillianrfit">personal trainer</a> for over eight years. <a href="https://fueledcoaching.co/">She</a> is a functional nutrition coach, PN, Level 2 Master Health Coach, and National Board-Certified Health &amp; Wellness Coach but most importantly, she has a talent for understanding the deeper psychological needs of her clients, which has led to hundreds of success stories.
&ldquo;Mine wasn't necessarily school related. When I was pregnant, I was on bed rest and gained a lot of weight. And one of the goals I set afterwards was to compete in a bodybuilding competition. And it just kind of spiraled into wanting to be a trainer and then coaching online. It's definitely evolved from a physique focus to now just to kind of add on to what Jesse said, just a health focus and being proactive about your health and just feeling good inside and out, really, &ldquo;said Harbarcuk.
In this podcast episode, Jill and Jesse spoke with The Spark Host Asia Tabb and fitness trackers, body image, weight loss drugs, pricing of healthy food, and more. Listen to the podcast to hear more from this conversation.

The Spark Weekly 1.05.2024: Dry January and Braver Angels

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