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00:00I'm Lucy Fink and this week is five days of giving. And now let's get into the
00:04video which was in partnership with Rakuten. If you're a big fan of this
00:08series, you may remember that a few years ago I actually already did five days of
00:12giving. That video actually turned a little bit more into five days of
00:15volunteering, and throughout the episode I worked at a soup kitchen, an animal
00:19shelter, with children, the elderly, and more. But it was such a huge success and
00:24such an amazing thing to do around the holiday season, so this week I'm back
00:28with part two of that episode. So this time instead of try living with Lucy, we
00:32are going to try giving with Lucy. With a little help from Rakuten, which is an
00:37online site that lets you earn up to 40% cash back at over 3,000 stores. One of my
00:43best friends has been non-stop raving to me about Rakuten. It's her absolute
00:48favorite way to shop online because of the cash back that you get when you make
00:51purchases. So I used it for all of my purchases this week. With the holidays
00:56right around the corner, it's that time of year when gratitude and the whole idea
01:00of giving moves to the forefront of our minds. We all have so much to be thankful
01:04for in life, and this time of year reminds us of that better than any other. There
01:09are innumerable ways and things that you can give. You can give locally or globally
01:13to a person you know or to a stranger. You can give physical items, your time, your
01:18money, your skills... Honestly, there's not really anything I can think of that you
01:23can't give. Giving is limitless, which can seem a little bit overwhelming when
01:27you're challenging yourself to try five days of giving. So to break things down,
01:30I'm structuring this week's episode into five categories, and on each day of this
01:34week I'll be giving to five different areas of my life. So now let me take you
01:38back to Monday. Monday was all about giving to my husband Michael. As you might
01:44know, I recently married the love of my life, my high school sweetheart, and my
01:48boyfriend of ten years. He's not only my best friend, but in this new chapter of
01:53our lives together, he's truly the person that I rely upon most every single day.
01:57He constantly does so much for me, so I knew in this week of giving that the
02:01first person I wanted to give back to was him. When I think about giving gifts to
02:05people, I often try to think about both the tangible and the intangible. It is
02:09really great to get a tangible gift and to have a gadget or an object or
02:14something that you've been wanting that can help you in your life or make
02:17things easier for you. But at the same time, it's really nice to get something
02:21intangible. Something that's all about meaning and emotion and connection, and
02:25it's not a physical item that you're gonna throw away one day, but it's just a
02:29meaningful gesture. As for the tangible gift, I tried to figure out what Michael
02:33has been talking about recently, and something he's been working on is tracking
02:37his fitness markers. He just signed up for a gym membership, he's been trying to
02:41track his steps, his sleep, his heart rate... So I figured what is a better gift for him
02:46than a smartwatch that can track all of that stuff for him. I scrolled through
02:49QVC until I found the perfect watch for him. And before making my purchase, I
02:54activated my shopping trip using the Rakuten browser extension. This is a very
02:58easy way to earn cash back on all of the holiday shopping that you're already
03:02going to do. I know that this is a gift he will actually use in the future and
03:16will really appreciate. It was very satisfying to watch him unwrap it and put
03:23it on for the first time. So I thought long and hard coming up with this
03:26intangible gift to get Michael for the holiday season, and I came up with what I
03:30think was the perfect idea. Once we got married, we pretty much got our photos back
03:35right away, but it took a little bit of time before we saw any video footage from
03:39the day. And I've been working secretly on the side with our videography team to
03:43edit together this final wedding video, and on Monday I sat Michael down and I
03:48surprised him by playing him the full and final video. Ready? I'm ready. Okay. Today is the day
03:54we've waited over a decade for. Today I will give you my hand and will promise to
04:00be yours for the rest of time. I still can't believe that I've ended up with
04:05someone so gorgeous, full of life, ambitious, down to earth, loving and sweet to
04:12share my life with. Here we are, a little more than ten years after you finally gave
04:17me a chance. We're standing here in front of the people we love most in the world,
04:23marrying each other.
04:36It looks so good! We smiled so hard watching it together. Seriously, my cheeks
04:42couldn't stop hurting. And we were transported right back to that beautiful
04:46day in September that we both are calling the best day of our lives. What do you think?
04:50So good. You liked it? Yeah, I loved it so much. Thanks, Lou. Love you too.
04:56On Tuesday, I felt a strong desire to give by donating my time. No matter where you live,
05:02I can pretty much guarantee that there is a charitable organization somewhere nearby
05:07that is looking for people to come in and donate their time and services. And giving in this way is
05:12honestly one of the most fulfilling ways to give to others. I headed to Freedom House,
05:17which is a highly safe space created to help individuals with disabilities escape from
05:21domestic abuse. Freedom House is a place where these people can rest, grow, and feel comfortable
05:26in a clean, safe, and welcoming environment. Hi! Hi! So good to see you! Welcome to Freedom House!
05:34When I first arrived, I met with the manager, Lynette, who took me on a tour of the space. Freedom
05:38House is
05:39open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We house roughly 95 individuals. 60 of those are children,
05:46so we have some very small families and some very big families. The stay here is relatively short
05:51because we are a crisis tier 1 shelter, so our families are here between 90 to 180 days. So this
05:56is child care. She showed me the spot where the children spend most of their time, an incredibly
06:01colorful arts and crafts room full of games, positive affirmations on the wall, tons of color, and just an
06:08overall warm and fuzzy feeling. My favorite part of coming here is always the snacks. Yes! Always
06:13always in the mood for a good snack. Child care is there between 8 and 6 pm. They take care
06:19of the
06:19babies when moms are at appointments or have things and things to do within the building. While the kids
06:24are playing or learning, the parents can have access to counseling and job resources and whatever else
06:29they might need to help build a new life on their own terms. Food and food everywhere, right? Yeah! Our
06:35food
06:35pantry was established to help families until their benefits can kick in and even if they're not
06:42entitled because we have a lot of people who migrated to this country and they may not be eligible for
06:47benefits and we can feed them right now for up to three months. Wow! But also this food is donated
06:52to
06:52us from the Food Bank of New York City which is great so we get it at little to zero
06:57cost. It was incredible
06:58to see that they have a well-stocked pantry with tons of food, diapers, and feminine products and it was
07:05easy to see that everyone who walked through those doors would be well taken care of. Here at Freedom
07:10House everyone has their own space, their own living space with a kitchen, a bathroom, everything that's
07:16theirs. That's amazing! Yeah! She shared that the facility has a 95 room occupancy which doesn't
07:22necessarily seem that large but they're actually the only facility in the entire country that caters
07:28specifically to these individuals with disabilities. She let me take a peek into one of these rooms and it's just
07:33amazing to see how accommodating they are for these survivors. They walk into their room, they have a
07:39kitchen, they have a bathroom, they have bed, they have bedding, they have a wheelchair accessible stove.
07:46After my tour I met some of the people who are currently residing at Freedom House and then I led
07:51a small workshop for four women focused on the principal idea of trying new things which is something
07:57that I've become somewhat of an expert in over the past few years of hosting this very YouTube series.
08:02Okay! Hi everyone! Hi! Thank you guys so much for having me here at Freedom House. I just got a
08:07great tour from Lynette. Seeing as Freedom House is such a safe space, they have a strict policy against
08:12filming any of the people that are currently staying there. So as you might notice in this footage,
08:17you're just going to see hands and hear the voices of these women, but you're not going to see their
08:21faces
08:21in this video. It's a very empowering thing to be able to try new things, explore, get out there.
08:27So I have for you guys some gift bags. I'm going to give everyone a gift. As part of this
08:33workshop,
08:33I gave each woman a gift bag filled with warm winter clothes, blankets, hats, and scarves. And then
08:39I gave them each a journal which they use to write down all of the new things that they've been
08:43wanting
08:44to try. We went around and shared some of these ideas and it was incredible to see that we as
08:48a group
08:49were making connections and solving problems and bringing these women one step closer to actually
08:54achieving the things they've been wanting to do. I would like to start knitting. I was told
08:58like from somebody like really relaxing and calm. I do it on Saturdays. And you can get the yarn and
09:04the needles around the corner at Luna's. Okay. One woman wanted to knit and she just didn't know how,
09:11and some of the other women in the group said that they have a knitting club every Saturday and
09:15invited her to join. Another woman mentioned that she wanted a personal blender so that she could
09:19make more smoothies and someone else in the group actually had a personal blender that she never
09:24used and didn't want. So we made that connection and she got a blender. By the end of our group
09:28discussion, we had totally started the ball rolling and set things in motion so that these women can
09:34start doing some of the things that they've been wanting to try. And if nothing else, this hour that
09:39we spent together definitely put some smiles on their faces. Thank you. I love you. I love you back.
09:46Wednesday of this week was dedicated to giving gifts to my family members that I knew would come in
09:51handy for them and their particular needs. I remembered to activate my cashback using Rakuten's
09:56browser extension, but you can also browse their site to see all of their cashback offers and click
10:02through to their retailer sites to start earning cashback. And with Rakuten, you can earn double or
10:07triple cashback on top of any existing holiday deals. When it comes to giving gifts to others,
10:13I noticed that sometimes people just pick up a gift that they personally actually like,
10:17but they don't think twice about if the person they're giving it to actually has a need for it.
10:22So I really put on my thinking cap and I considered what is going on in my family members lives,
10:27and what is one area where I can really help them reduce stress and increase their happiness and
10:33enjoyment. For example, my brother Robbie is in a band called East Love and he's constantly on the go,
10:39with headphones in his ears, listening to the band's rough cuts or edits, and I cannot even count the
10:44amount of times that he's come to my apartment with his headphones in and the wires are all tangled
10:49up. One of the ears of the headphones doesn't even work and this poor guy is trying to listen to
10:54his
10:54band's music to make edits. Poor guy. So I knew that the perfect gift for him would be to get
10:59him a pair of
11:00brand new wireless earbuds. Finally, something that is good quality that will not have tangling wires.
11:06For my twin sister Allie, she's been telling me non-stop that she wants to start listening to more audio
11:11books and podcasts,
11:13and I noticed she's been borrowing her boyfriend's wireless earbuds, but I can tell that this girl wants a pair
11:18of her own.
11:19So I gifted her the same wireless earbuds that I gave Robbie, and I'm really excited to watch her start
11:23achieving her goals.
11:25And as for my parents, they are starting to begin the process of moving, which I know is a very
11:30rigorous and strenuous process.
11:32Seeing as they're both huge music fans, I mean my dad's a radio DJ, and my mom and dad both
11:37spent an entire year of their lives together
11:40nocturnally as they danced at Studio 54 every single night, I knew that the perfect holiday gift for them
11:46would be a pair of speakers that they can put in their new home. Everyone knows that music,
11:51especially through good sounding speakers, can really change the entire ambiance of a space.
11:56Having brand new speakers in their new home that's going to help the sound travel beautifully around the new space
12:01is going to make the experience of moving so much more inviting and welcoming.
12:06And as I've been mentioning throughout this entire episode, one of the best parts of shopping for these gifts using
12:11Rakuten
12:11was that I earned cash back for all of the purchases.
12:14It's so simple and it's so easy to use, you just sign up for free at their website and start
12:19racking up your holiday cash back.
12:21Always gotta get that cash back.
12:25On Thursday, my form of giving was giving thanks to a fan of this very YouTube series.
12:31I try not to take for granted the fact that I get to make fun videos like this one for
12:36my job.
12:36But don't get me wrong, it's not easy.
12:38There is a ton of back-end work that goes into producing each of these episodes, shooting them, editing them...
12:44It takes a lot of time and energy, and I can assure you that even if the final product looks
12:49like it was a breeze to shoot,
12:51it was not. Never is. Never easy.
12:54All that being said, I am still entirely grateful that I get to do this.
12:58And at the end of the day, the reason I get to do this is because of you.
13:02All of you.
13:03You, you, you, and you.
13:06And the person that honked outside.
13:08Just kidding, he's not part of it.
13:09The people that watch the videos are the backbone of the entire YouTube series.
13:14So to give thanks to a fan and follower, I had my colleagues over at Refinery29 set up a secret
13:20day in Central Park for me and one of my followers.
13:23My team at R29 found a follower of mine who lives in New York City.
13:27They contacted her via email and set up this special day for the two of us.
13:31They put us back to back in Central Park, and then we walked backwards until we walked into one another.
13:44And without knowing it, my team at R29 picked a person who I actually knew.
13:49Tanika is someone that I met just the week before at an event.
13:53She's a blogger and a content creator of her own, and she also makes YouTube videos.
13:57We backed into one another.
13:59I was so surprised to see that it was her.
14:02Then we rented bikes and helmets, and spent a beautiful day together in Central Park.
14:12We relaxed in the sunshine on a rock.
14:17I could totally use a cup of hot chocolate right now.
14:20Me too.
14:20Do you want to go get hot chocolate?
14:21Yeah, let's go.
14:22Let's do that.
14:23I'm getting cold.
14:24I'm getting, my feet are numb.
14:25You think we can get off this rock safely?
14:27Oh, one, two, three.
14:32She's up, she's down.
14:34All right.
14:34Got some hot chocolate and had some amazing conversations together.
14:39It was amazing to spend a full day with another content creator, especially someone that I actually
14:44knew and who was a fan of all the stuff that I've been working on.
14:48It was honestly a quintessential autumn day in New York City.
14:51The changing leaves were crunching on the ground.
14:54The colors around us were vibrant and beautiful.
14:57The air was crisp and cool, but not too cold, and the two of us had so much fun together.
15:03I gave her a Visa gift card that she can use when shopping at her favorite stores through Rakuten,
15:07and now she can start racking up her own cash back.
15:10And I also gave her a personal goodie bag filled with some of the beauty products that I love.
15:18At the end of this week, I just couldn't stop thinking about Freedom House and the amazing day
15:22that I spent there on Tuesday, and I realized that I wanted to do a little bit more for them.
15:26I was able to give some really nice gift bags to the four women that I met on Tuesday,
15:31but I realized that there are so many more people staying at Freedom House,
15:34and they can all use more help given that it's winter.
15:37So I put together a winter clothing drive with my fellow R29 employees,
15:41and I collected a giant bag of warm winter essentials that I then brought back to Freedom House on Friday.
15:47I was also feeling incredibly inspired to do even more work with Freedom House in the future.
15:52So on Friday, I chatted with the manager, Lynette, about coming back one day in the near future,
15:57donating a juicer to them, and bringing tons of fresh fruits and vegetables to make fresh juice for all the
16:02residents.
16:03And on Friday, I spent a little bit of time perusing some of the amazing retailers on Rakuten's app,
16:08and I picked out a gift for myself that I'm going to buy using the cash back from all of
16:13the other gifts that I've purchased on Rakuten.
16:15Don't forget, in the midst of this gift-giving season, to give to yourself.
16:19I hope this episode inspired you to give back to those around you this holiday season.
16:24Thanks so much for coming back, and we'll see you next time on Try Living With Lucy. Bye!