Tag Archives: Christmas

EPISODE 37: How 1 pandemic won’t stop the show

How 1 thing, 1 day, 1 time is still a monthly matter–but with masks and social distance. The 25th Project masks up, tweaks protocols and keeps the service moving.

Welcome to another installment in Planet Noun’s COVID catch-up series—chats with past podcast guests to find out how they’ve been faring during this rough year.

This time, I’m catching up with Jay Herriott from The 25th Project—an organization that started by helping the homeless at least once a month—on the 25th. The inspiration stems from the last time Thanksgiving’s roving date matched up with the static date of Christmas…the year both were on the the 25th of their respective months.

Jay says the organization and its volunteers are still fulfilling their mission—but to keep everyone involved safe from volunteers to the homeless people they help, they’ve made tweaks recommended by health experts. Other than that—they’re keeping things moving.

Thanks for listening to Planet Noun where it’s all about the People, Places, Things and Ideas that teach us, prompt us to make a difference and do more with what life presents.

Here’s where to learn more about Jay Herriott and The 25th Project—on their website. You can also listen to Jay’s Planet Noun interview from last year, learn more about the initiatives they’re undertaking throughout the year—from the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, their ongoing propane drive during the winter months as well as their yearly Soup and Socks drive.  If you feel so inclined, drop them a donation.

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Podcast Episode 3–Bonus: Balikbayan boxes–care packages in reverse

Greetings! Merry post-Christmas, pre-New Year! Here’s a bonus episode of Planet Noun to end the year!

It’s an interview I found so interesting and relevant to the holidays, I couldn’t wait! I adore learning new things, and this was definitely newly-interesting!

Question: What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

When my siblings and I were younger, my parents would always pack a brown paper lunch sack with natural treats…. an apple…an orange… unshelled walnuts, pecans and almonds. One of my parents even snapped a photo of me dancing around our green shag-carpeted living room holding one of those bags on Christmas Day in 19-something-ty something.

That’s an example of a received gift. But what about family traditions surrounding gift-giving to others? What about traditions involving family members who are far away—separated not only by land, but oceans?

Well, I learned something new in this interview with Illinois based photographer and artist Jason Reblando. He wrote a piece for CityLab about special boxes that members of the Filipino diaspora send home each year for Christmas. They’re called balikbayan boxes.

That was Illinois-based photographer and artist Jason Reblando. Find more about what he learned about balikbayan boxes in this piece he wrote for CityLab.

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