Elizabeth Banks attends the American Greetings Thanklist event at The New Museum in New York City on March 24, 2015.
Related Media: ThankList
Gratitude and giving back
Gratitude is never more top-of-mind than during the holiday season, but are we actually expressing it? While an attitude of gratitude is often difficult to muster up amid the holiday stress, #ThankList from American Greetings remedies that by providing a quick and easy, but very impactful, way to connect with the important people in your life as you share thankfulness.
To create your own #ThankList, just share the names of the people for whom you’re thankful on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook (and don’t forget to add the hashtag #ThankList). Much like a bucket list of things you want to accomplish in your lifetime, a #ThankList is a list of people you want to thank to feel alive.
Additionally, during this season of gratitude and giving back we will be making a special donation to longtime community partner, United Way. Between November 1 and November 30, we will donate $1 to United Way Worldwide for each #ThankList shared on social media (for a maximum donation of $30,000). As we look forward to sharing a Thanksgiving meal with loved ones, it’s fitting that the funds donated during this campaign will be allocated for hunger prevention.
While 71 percent of Americans say something causes them stress during the holidays, creating your own ThankList can contribute to a happier holiday season.
So tell us… who are you grateful for?
My mother gave me life… twice: Tahnie’s #ThankList
As a part of our ongoing #ThankList campaign, we are sharing stories of gratitude from our community of friends and fans. If you have a story you’d like to tell, tweet us @amgreetings!
Just barely a year into the world, baby Tahnie’s future became a fragile one that would require an intense fight for survival. Born with a rare disease, each passing year brought her closer to an inevitable battle. Then the day finally came when the waiting was over, and her mother stepped in to save her. Here is Tahnie’s amazing story of a mother’s love to save her child, and how Tahnie was given a second chance at life and “conquered her impossible.”
In 1984, a few months after my first birthday, I was diagnosed with the ultra-rare disease, Cystinosis. My mother became aware of the fact I would need a kidney transplant at some point in my life. Fast forward through the years, amid several hospital stays intertwined in a happy childhood, that time came when I was 10 years old. She stepped up to donate one of her own kidneys to me without thinking twice.
Because of her gift, I was able to completely avoid dialysis, the process in which a machine filters the blood in the body, acting as an artificial kidney. It is a treatment that works, but it’s riddled with often severe side effects and can be incredibly challenging to tolerate.
{ How do you thank someone who gave you life not once, but twice? I don’t think there is a way. However, I live my life to the fullest, not daring to waste any extra days her generosity has given me. }
How do you put into words the tremendous gift of giving you more life so that you could become a mother yourself? There are only about 9 other women in the world with cystinosis, who have survived the high risk pregnancy. My daughter, in many ways, owes her existence to her grandmother. For this, I will never be able to repay her! And yet, spending my days chasing after my dreams with gusto is one thing I aim to do with every fiber of my being.
To read more about Tahnie, follow her at today is a miracle and a happy girl, where she continues to celebrate “conquering your own impossible.”
Inspiring Gratitude: A free Mary Engelbreit Printable Quote
As a part of our #ThankList movement, we’ve reached out and asked our own associates and content partners what they are grateful for. When we asked our dear friend Mary Engelbreit what she’s grateful for, we had a feeling that art would play a major role, but we are just continually impressed by her humility:
{I’m thankful I can draw and that people seem to like those drawings. I’m really thankful for the constant support from the very beginning, not just for my drawing but in every aspect of my life, from my parents and my family.}
In the spirit of inspiring gratitude in others, Mary was kind enough to design this free printable quote for you to print, hang up and enjoy in your own home or office!
Download your free printable gratitude quote here!
Feeling inspired to say thank you? Send a Thank You ecard today!
Thanks Be to God: Karen’s ThankList
By Maria Isabella
Karen Michelle Miller has many reasons to be thankful. She is loved by a devoted husband and two beautiful daughters. She has a successful career as a gifted author, poet, and motivational speaker. And…she’s a recovering alcoholic/drug addict. Yes, she has much to be thankful for.
“I LIVE for Him, really,” says Karen. “He has given me another chance, and I am NOT going to waste it!”
It was almost exactly 10 years ago to the day that Karen found herself at rock bottom. She was escaping a sad, painful past while avoiding all the uncertainties of tomorrow. Alcohol had helped her cope since the age of 14, then drugs slowly took over. And unhealthy, life-destroying decisions were being made all along the way.
Suddenly, on that decidedly fateful day, while the deepest despair surrounded her, Karen heard a loud voice. “What the hell are you doing?!” it boomed. Karen turned around. To her shock, no one was there.
{“Something told me that voice was shouting down from the heavens to knock some sense into me before it was too late,” she confessed.}
So Karen mustered the little strength she had left and slowly, resolutely pushed aside her feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and self-doubt. She checked herself into a recovery home in order to give sobriety one more try—one last try. For the sake of her daughters.
“I am now 10 years clean and sober,” says Karen, beaming. “I am happy and content. That’s a BIG deal for me.”
Karen and her sisters (Photo courtesy of Karen Miller)
She goes on to add, “I believe with all my heart that ‘the voice’ I heard [that day] was, in fact, the voice of God. I am now fully committed to being a good mom, wife, daughter, sister, and friend…AND to sharing hope with young women who are suffering, particularly from addiction and depression.”
When asked what she would say to God this very moment if she could, without even a moment’s hesitation, Karen replied, “THANK YOU. Please continue to guide me to do YOUR will and not mine.”
We deeply admire and respect Karen for her life-changing efforts and her altruistic determination to make a difference in other women’s lives. Her gratitude to God for all His gifts is just one more perfect example of how ThankList is showcasing the power of love and thankfulness.
Karen Michelle Miller wrote her first poem, featured in her newly released book, Words to Ponder About Life, Love and Men, while residing in a recovery home with 13 other women over 10 years ago. Today, she continues to share her message of hope via her Book, Facebook, and Twitter.
Gratitude and Grief: Kristin’s ThankList
Photo credit: Brooke Collier Photography
When we launched the ThankList, we knew that we would likely hear compelling stories of gratitude from others. Once the concept of a ThankList is explained, it’s hard not to start creating the mental list of those who have had an impact on our lives. But the outpouring of support for our mission and desire from our fan base for their stories and voices to be heard has been truly humbling.
One of those conversations revealed a compelling, inspiring story that we wanted to share here with you.
In 2007, Kristin Meekof’s husband Roy was diagnosed with advanced stage adrenal cancer. Yet somehow, despite the grim prognosis and enduring an aggressive treatment schedule, Kristin found Roy not only accepting of his diagnosis, but relishing in moments of gratitude for the life he’d been given.
He never said, “Why me?”. Instead, he said, “Why not me?”
Despite being widowed at age 33 only 8 weeks after his initial diagnosis, it was Roy’s open heart and attitude of gratitude that has stayed with her. She says that he taught her that gratitude is the answer to nearly every question. Inspired by both his spirit and her ability to turn something tragic into something beautiful, we had a few questions we wanted to ask about Roy and his legacy.
Q: Tell us a little about your husband Roy.
Kristin: Roy was a middle school teacher, a veteran, and a gentle soul. My husband lived with an open heart and very much believed in living in the light, literally and figuratively. Before we were married we exchanged gratitude lists with each other via email, so thankfulness wasn’t something foreign to him. It was part of his being.
{Gratitude when you are diagnosed with terminal cancer
is bringing light out of a very dark well.
In this light of gratitude is the place that he dwelled. }
Q: Do you think he knew how he changed you? Did you ever get to say thank you?
Kristin: I would like to think that he knew that his presence, our marriage, our friendship changed me, but I don’t know if he knew how deep it was. Since we were in the habit of exchanging gratitude lists, something we started before we were married, I did say thank you.
And since my late husband’s death, I make it a point to give a handwritten thank you cards to my dear friends because their kindness matters to me. It is important to put these things in writing and thank you cards are a beautiful gesture of kindness.
Q: How has your life changed because of his perspective?
Kristin: With gratitude comes an openness and a sense of bravery. About three years ago, I decided that I wanted to co-write a book for widows of all ages, and I interviewed many widows about their experiences. The widows were incredibly generous with their time and thoughts and for each of them I am eternally grateful. It is all bittersweet because the impetus for this research and book is loss, but gratitude made it possible. Gratitude opened the door for this book project and as a result I’ve formed some incredible friendships.
Q: If you could speak to him today, what would say?
Kristin: I would tell him that I still think of him daily and continue to love him. I would thank him for teaching me that gratitude is the answer to nearly every question.
I think he would be surprised to know that I co-wrote a book, and then I’d explain that I decided to write the book for widows so that they would feel less alone. Then, I would talk about all of the beautiful people who helped me with this three year project, and some of the gorgeous opportunities that I’ve been given.
Kristin is a Huffington Post contributor and co-author of the book A Widow’s Guide to Healing: Gentle Support and Advice for the First 5 Years. As a part of her dedication to helping grieving widows around the world, she’s traveled to Kenya with a charity organization.
Behind the scenes: our ThankList launch event
On Tuesday, March 24, we introduced ThankList to the world by cohosting an event with Huffington Post at the New Museum in NYC.
A panel discussion on the benefits of practicing gratitude took center stage to kick off this memorable event. The panel was moderated by chair, president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, Arianna Huffington, and the panelists included Deepak Chopra, actor, director and producer Elizabeth Banks, psychologist Dr. Randy Kamen, New York Times Best-Selling author Gabby Bernstein and two-time Oscar award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple.
This event also served as a premiere of an inspiring and compelling documentary series by Barbara Kopple in partnership with American Greetings that followed five real people as they created and fulfilled a their own personal ThankList. You can watch their stories here and see how two little words can mean so much.
For a closer look at the event, check out the photos below:
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Photo credits: Phillip Angert
Now it’s your turn! Join us in our efforts to make the world a more thoughtful and caring place on www.thanklist.com where you can make your own personalized video and view what others are grateful for.
Introducing #ThankList
As you well know, American Greetings is rooted in helping to create meaningful connections. For more than 100 years, we‘ve been bringing people together through expressions of happiness, laughter and love through our words and artwork. Recently, we decided to take our efforts to make the world a more thoughtful and caring place to the next level.
And that’s why we’d like to invite you to join our ThankList movement! It‘s an initiative that challenges people to create a list of individuals they want to thank for helping to shape their life. They can be family, friends, teachers, mentors… anyone who has made a difference in your life. The ThankList is a catalyst for expressing gratitude and heartfelt forum in which to do so.
We’re all familiar with a bucket list–a list of things you want to do before you die. But a ThankList? That’s a list of important people in your life that you want to thank to feel alive.
How can you join in the #ThankList movement? It’s as simple as saying two words–thank you.
We created a digital experience that encourages everyone to start practicing gratitude by writing their own ThankList. Via written word or a dynamic personal video, all messages of thanks are aggregated into a collective, never-ending ThankList. You can also watch a compelling documentary series by two-time OSCAR® winning filmmaker, Barbara Kopple that follows five real people as they created and fulfilled a their own personal ThankList.
Lastly, you can also join in by using #ThankList on Twitter or Instagram and sharing your stories of gratitude. We’ll be sharing your stories here.
The importance of gratitude
Where has the gratitude gone?
If it’s true that we learned everything we need to know in kindergarten, than it seems a large part of our society needs to head back to the classroom to be reminded of the pillars of human kindness. In our modern tech world, our heads are looking down at our phones and we’re more disconnected than ever! In fact, a 2014 Civility in American study conducted by Weber Shandwick, Powell Tate and KPC Research revealed that 95% of Americans believe we have a civility problem in America. The good news is that the same study showed that 87% of people are willing to do something about it!
Here at American Greetings, we’d like to present a remedy for a rude world–gratitude. We’re on a mission to put gratitude back on the map and make the world a more thoughtful and caring place one ‘thank you’ at a time. To start, we’ve partnered with Harris Poll and learned some eye-opening statistics about gratitude in America.
Were you surprised to read that people are craving to hear the words, “thank you?”
Help us make a difference! Visit ThankList.com and together we can make the world a little bit nicer if we simply remember to show gratitude, share, and above all—hold hands and stick together.
