Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. Giveaway What happens if you trust people to be generous? That’s the question behind Drop Dead Generous, a social experiment that is giving 1,000 people $500 each — half a million dollars total — to commit acts of kindness.  Since donating a kidney, co-founder Tom Cledwyn’s life has been shaped by acts of generosity towards strangers. “The feeling I had when I woke up from that operation is something I want other people to experience,” he told Positive.News in a story shared by RTBC Contributing Editor Michaela Haas. Michaela says: What would you do if you were gifted $500 to help others? Some give out flowers, some build a house (in Uganda). Lessons in hope “I’ve been on the faculty at Duke University for five years now, and this past one has been the most challenging and the strangest by far,” writes Frank Bruni in a New York Times opinion piece that resonated with Executive Editor Will Doig. Bruni is asking the question that many people in teaching and mentoring roles are asking themselves: How do I prepare my students for life in a world full of trouble and uncertainty while still providing hope? “I need to communicate that for all this country’s current trials, it still brims with opportunities, its promise greater than its woes,” Bruni concludes. “And a blurry future isn’t the same as a bleak one.” Will says: When I was an American Studies major, I had a college professor who often lectured about the oppression, corruption, unfairness and bias woven throughout this country’s systems. But she always framed it as something we could change, through our participation in what she referred to as “the greater social project.” That optimistic takeaway had a huge influence on my mindset. Young adults need that kind of hope if they’re going to make a difference. What else we’re reading The Soundtrack to Philly’s Waning Gun Violence — shared by Executive Editor Will Doig from the New York Times As ICE shipped Minnesotans to Texas, El Paso groups stepped up — shared by Editorial Director Rebecca Worby from Sahan Journal How Camden, N.J., Cut Its Murder Rate to a 40-Year Low — shared by Audience Engagement Editor Steven Davis from the New York Times In other news… Last week, we published a powerful story by Michaela Haas about how formerly incarcerated mentors are changing lives in California. Peer support specialists, as they’re called, help others navigate trauma, addiction and life after prison.  “We harness our lived experience and come alongside people in their recovery,” Tyson Atlas, who facilitates peer support trainings, tells Haas. “All the years someone spent incarcerated — those experiences can prevent someone else from going down the same path.” The story has also been republished by our friends at MindSite News. The post What We’re Reading: What Good Deed Would You Do With $500? appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.