We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elizabeth Buechele a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Elizabeth, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
On November 9, 2011, I was driving home from high school down the same back country roads I’d ridden on my entire life. It was unseasonably warm for fall in Western Pennsylvania so I had my windows down and my radio up. It was a fairly routine drive until all of the sudden I had this very clear thought in my head:
“Day 1: Happiness is.. those perfect car rides where the radio just plays all the right songs.”
That was immediately followed by a confused “hmm… that’s not how people usually think.” And of course, that’s not how I usually think either. It was strange to think in that way but it stuck with me the rest of the ride. When I got home, I turned on a shared family computer and did what any 17-year-old does in 2011 when they think they have a world changing idea—I logged onto Facebook and posted that as my status. I wrote it in a notebook and then promptly forgot about it.
The next day I was in the Costco parking lot with my mother. I had hopped atop the cart and was riding down the hill, much to her distress. That’s when an older woman across the aisle shouted over, “It’s alright! My husband still does that!”
We shared a laugh and suddenly I realized I had a “day 2.”
Every single day since November 9, 2011, I have logged onto Facebook and posted a status in the format of a “Happiness is.”
It’s been over 10 and a half years.
I never could have imagined that such a simple action repeated day in and day out would make such a profound impact on my life.
With that as my guide, I went on to start a nonprofit organization called The Smile Project. It’s grown and changed over the years, but at our heart, remains the story of a perfect car ride where the radio just plays all the right songs.
Elizabeth, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Absolutely. The Smile Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading Happiness through youth empowerment, intentional acts of kindness, and daily gratitude practices.
As I mentioned, we were founded in 2011 when I was 17-years-old with the recording of that single thought: “Day 1: Happiness is.. those perfect car rides where the radio just plays all the right songs.” Every single day since, I’ve posted a “Happiness is” on my social media accounts. This simple practice of recording daily joy transformed my own life, and now I want to help others experience the life-changing impact of “Happiness is.”
Since then, The Smile Project has grown to include SPARK kindness clubs in high schools & colleges, a thriving ambassador program, specific kindness projects like Joy Day and the internationally celebrated Birthday Givebacks, and a 28 state #SmileProjectRoadTrip.
The Smile Project empowers young people to start SPARK (Strengthening Positivity and Reinforcing Kindness) clubs in schools, allowing them to learn valuable leadership skills and better their communities with intentional acts of kindness and service. Currently, we have active SPARK clubs at the college and high school level, though we have run the SPARK program at middle school down through elementary as well and even at a summer camp!
Another way to be involved is through the #SmileProjectAmbassadorProgram. This program pays homage to the origins of The Smile Project by encouraging folks to start their own “Happiness is” journal. Whether on social media, in the note section of their phones, or in a journal by their beds, ambassadors are encouraged to prioritize their wellbeing by recording little moments of Happiness in their days.
There are two big days of service that Smile Project HQ organizes. #JoyDay is celebrated every November 9 in honor of the first “Happiness is.” And #BirthdayGiveback is a personal tradition tied to my core belief that birthdays are for giving. Each year on (or around) my birthday on May 20, I do some formal service project and encourage others to do the same. Past projects have included #24HourGiveNYC (spending 24 straight hours volunteering in New York City); #25Cities25Acts (a project that encouraged folks to do kindness projects in 25 cities—and ultimately ended up with 39 cities represented across 6 countries and 4 continents); #26ActsofDigitalJoy (a pandemic-focused project that shed light on the ways we can safely serve without leaving home); and more. Now, The Smile Project encourages others to plan their own #BirthdayGivebacks as well.
In the summer of 2018, we also spent 2 months traveling around the United States managing a “pay it forward” project and meeting with local nonprofit organizations.
By the numbers:
– Drove for 56 days across 28 states (and 12,896 miles)
– Distributed 300 sea star pins
– Donated over 200 articles of clothing
– Delivered $100s of animal supplies to 2 different shelters
– Bought meals and coffee for over 35 people
– Worked with over 30 organizations
– Made the news in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Omaha
– Helped 1 lost dog get home
In addition, The Smile Project blog is very active both on the website and social media with new posts coming out twice weekly. And, I have been so lucky to frequent leadership conferences, schools, camps, and more speaking about The Smile Project and the importance of authentic kindness.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
For a very long time, I’ve wanted to publish a book about my work with The Smile Project. Once when I was spending a lot of time actively working on it, I had a major computer malfunction and lost about 6 months of work. I was completely devastated. I remember feeling like I’d lost a part of myself.
I knew I needed to take a step back and I allowed myself some space and time to be angry and sad and frustrated and disappointed. I was so ready to throw in the towel with everything related to The Smile Project. It was just too devastating of a loss at that point.
Fortunately, I have a lot of really good people around me and it was in talking with one of my friends and mentors that I was able to reframe it. They asked me: “Is this going to be about how you did this really cool thing once when you were young or is it going to be about how you hit a major setback but didn’t let it keep you down for long because you got up and you kept going?”
I mentally revisit that conversation frequently and feel very grateful for the people in my life who allow me to fall down but don’t allow me to stay there.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Our reputation is one of authentic joy and kindness. We don’t try to be anything we aren’t. And while I think the folks I’ve been so lucky to work with all embody this on a personal level, I think it says a lot that we’ve been able to move that forward as an organizational value as well.
The other factor is consistency. People know that no matter what, they will see a “Happiness is” from our account every single day. It’s the promise that we’ll be there that has really meant a lot to our community.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.the-smile-project.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesmileprojectofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smileprojectgroup
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28594883/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SmileProjectInc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvrIua2HiwgkZOFw45BTaHg