Once again, on the 3rd Tuesday in August, sidewalks across the nation will be full of colorful, uplifting sentiments as people spend a little time chalking messages of inspiration, joy and love in an effort to make others smile.  Messages like: always bring your own sunshine, you are awesome, yes you can, you are loved, today I am thankful. The […]

Kim’s Taekwon-do helps people work toward personal transformation every day through the martial art they teach. And now they’re also doing it through a powerful message on a billboard.  The big yellow board simply says, “Believe in yourself”. It’s one of the inspiring billboards put up every month by local positive thought organization, The Joy Team, and can be found […]

    We are happy to announce the appointment of Kim Hash to our Board of Directors.  Kim was elected with a unanimous vote on July 26, 2013 and officially joined the board immediately. Kim Hash is the Director of Development for Children’s Center, a nonprofit mental health agency serving the needs of children, youth and families in our community.  […]

2012 has been an amazing year for The Joy Team. In January we started The Junior Joy Team to help children ages 5-12 to discover the warmth of spreading joy and building community. With hand-drawn notes of appreciation in Happy Packets the kids assembled themselves, The Junior Joy Team started by spreading joy to Vancouver City Hall. After partnering with […]

The Joy Team needs 1,300 jars (18 oz and plastic only) of peanut butter. And we’re going to need them every month, September through June. Here’s why. 25.4% of kids in Clark County live in food insecurity. Which is higher than the national average of 21.6% of kids, according to Feeding America. Through a new program launching this month called […]

Chalk the Walks 2012 is coming right up!  Join us on Tuesday, August 21st in this international event of spreading joy, optimism and inspiration through the magical power of positive messages and sidewalk chalk. Here’s how you do it: Join the Facebook event: Chalk the Walks 2012! Chalk where ever you are (check with your city, but typically chalking is […]

Looking for a sign that the holiday weekend will be as wonderful as you hope for?  You’ve just found one. And, if you happen to be driving northbound on I-5 in Portland, Oregon, today you’ll see quite a few more. The Joy Team and The Junior Joy Team will be out spreading joy, optimism and inspiration through the power of positive […]

Yesterday, Vancouver Police were visited by a joyful group of elementary school kids who showered Happy Packets on the West Precinct.  Heart-covered bags for every employee of the Vancouver Police Department–caringly stuffed with personalized notes of appreciation, a Hersey’s chocolate kiss, a Bit-O-Honey and a Love Your Life card from The Joy Team–were handed out, left on desks or put […]

We’re going to Hough Elementary (go Hough Hawks!) today for our very first JOY Assembly, and we are super excited! Nearly 300 students will learn why joy matters, hear from The Junior Joy Team members who go to school there, and learn more about the second recipients of our Happy Packets: The Vancouver Police Department.  Officer Tina Smith will talk to […]

The very first Junior Joy Team project went so well that the heart of the city was swelling with joy.  The kids had so much fun sharing smiles that Junior Joy Team member, Carter Jacob asked before walking out the door of City Hall, “Can we do this again tomorrow?” And as for the folks at City Hall, did it […]