Giving is Like Chocolate Cake

An Invitation to Give to Heartlift International

“Generosity lights up the same part of your brain that responds to food and sex: Neuroscientists at the National Institutes of Health demonstrated this in a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Similar results came from scientists at Stanford and Harvard universities. The fMRI scans showed that kindness is like ‘pscyhological chocolate,’ as Stanford researcher Jamil Zaki has put it: When study participants acted equitably their brains brain's orbitofrontal cortex, which assesses rewards.”

—Sandra Gurvis ¹

Today is Giving Tuesday²—a day set apart worldwide for generosity.

—Illustration Credit: Ralph Voltz³

Gurvis writes:

“Generosity has been found to reduce stress, increase longevity, and produce happiness hormones like dopamine. When subjects helped others, they felt more energetic and stronger and even experienced a sense of euphoria, or ‘helper's high,’ according to volunteerism expert and author Allan Luks, who analyzed the effects of volunteering on some 3,000 men and women.

Gift size is irrelevant, researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Harvard Business School found. In a study, participants received $5 or $20 and were instructed to either spend the money on themselves or spend it on others. Those who spent on others said they were happier at the end of the day than those who didn't.”

An Invitation to Give to Heartlift International

Three years ago, I began a non-profit, Heartlift International—with a vision to reach out to my community and world via these five arms:

Through a podcast guest, I found the Women’s NonProfit Association⁴, and with their remarkable wisdom and support, Heartlift International⁵ was born.

This Giving Tuesday, I invite you to be a “warm-glow giver”⁶ and support Heartlift International.

Thank you if you are already a paid subscriber here on Heartlift Central. Your support empowers the work that I do here.

Vision Casting for 2025

“Visioneering is the course one follows to make dreams a reality. It is the process whereby ideas and convictions take on substance.”
― Andy Stanley, Visioneering: Your Guide for Discovering and Maintaining Personal Vision

It is that time of year for visioneering.

As I’ve written, I’ve been in a considerable vocational pivot.

Retiring from full-time private coaching and therapy allows me to focus more intensely on Heartlift International's podcast and publishing arms.

I am incredibly excited about the focus of this work in 2025 and can’t wait to share it with you. I can share this: the entire year is centered around all ages and stages of mothering.

If I’ve learned anything as a mother, now grandmother, and 13 years of private practice, it is this one truth: a mother’s emotional and mental health is the foundation for a child’s health and well-being. In a recent study (2023)⁷, researchers found:

It is time to delve into this topic, and I can’t wait.

Your prayers, support, and ever-present encouragement motivates and moves me.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out to janell@janellrardon.com.

Learn more about Heartlift International and my umbrella sister company, Women’s NonProfit Association, on Better Unite⁸.

1. https://www.case.org/resources/10-reasons-why-people-give-and-5-reasons-they-dont

2. https://www.givingtuesday.org/

3. https://www.case.org/resources/10-reasons-why-people-give-and-5-reasons-they-dont

4. https://womensnpa.org/

5. https://www.betterunite.com/heartlift-donate

6. https://www.case.org/resources/10-reasons-why-people-give-and-5-reasons-they-dont

7. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/well-read/202406/supporting-mothers-mental-health

8. https://www.betterunite.com/heartlift-donate