1. Caring for the World Together
Soaringwords and VIA Character Strengths
Positive Health and Wellness
Presented by:
Lisa Honig Buksbaum, CEO & Founder, Soaringwords
lisa@soaringwords.org
8. 8
Soaringwords’ mission is to lessen the negative impact of serious illness by embracing hospitalized
children, families and staff, encouraging positive health and healing. Soaringwords provides fun, creative
and educational activities both in person and online based on positive psychology concepts that enhance
well-being in the midst of illness. Soaringwords is unique because it is the only organization that
motivates ill children and their families to “pay it forward” which fosters altruism, reciprocity, empathy,
well-being and resilience.
9. Each day, pediatric patients battle against serious medical challenges and the multiple
indignities of living in an institutional setting while struggling to maintain a pre-hospital
identity.
10. 1010
What is so inspiring about what you do with
Soaringwords is that you are helping to
remind people of the fundamental truth that
they can share positive emotions with
others, even in the most difficult times. It's
especially important in those difficult times
because it helps people rediscover their
resilience and their ability to thrive, despite
the suffering.
- Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, Principal Investigator at
the University of North Carolina Positive Emotions
and Psychophysiology Lab, President International
Positive Psychology Association, and bestselling
author of Positivity and Love 2.0.
Soaringwords Video:
Incorporating Positivity & Love Into Each Day
11. Soaringwords’ Unique Contribution:
Paying-it-forward
• The only organization that motivates ill children and their families to “pay it forward”
through pro-social activities which foster altruism, reciprocity, well-being and
resilience.
• Invites everyone – ill children and their families, healthy children and volunteers - to
pay-it-forward sending encouragement to others, enhancing their own feelings of
meaning, purpose, health, resilience and happiness.
• Encourages individuals to help others in need which enables them to transcend their
own suffering and experience a greater sense of well-being and resilience. This
practice is especially helpful for hospitalized children and their families.
11
In between chemo treatments, Taylor and her family donated
hundreds of SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to children at
Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian.
The opportunity for sharing a simple altruistic gesture of
humanity elevates the giver and the receiver. -Grant, 2013
12. Youth Groups
Community Groups
School Children
Other Hospitalized Children
Hospitalized Children
When a child is ill, the entire
family and extended
community are affected
Employee Volunteers
13. 26% of children in the U.S.
suffer from a long-term health
problem.
(Journal of American Medical
Association, 2010)
Five Year Survival Rate Children
with Cancer:
1975 – 1977 58%
1996 – 2004 80%
(Reis et al., 2007)
14. When a child is seriously ill, his or her
social and emotional worlds can be
shattered.
• isolated from friends, classmates,
siblings, and daily routines
• stressful and painful experience
• limited opportunities for choice and
control
• bombarded with invasive
procedures
• sensory overload
(Thompson, 2009)
17. PERSPECTIVE
BRAVERY
JUDGMENT
LOVEOFLEARNING
cr eati vi tyCURIOSITY
perseverance
ZEST
HONESTY
love
kindness
socialintelligence
teamwork
FAIRNESS
LEADERSHIP
forgiveness
HUMILITY
PRUDENCE
self-regulation
appreciationof
beautyand
excellence
GRATITUDE
HOPE
humor
spirituality
Source : VIA Character Strengths and Virtues
18.
19. SHARING:
Child gives superhero to
someone they know or to
a stranger.
Superhero displayed in
the hospital room.
Superhero posted on
www.soaringwords.org.
Ill child makes a
superhero
message for
someone else
Ill child receives
a superhero
message
20.
21.
22. A patient and her sister at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, creating artwork and
messages for others.
30. Soaringwords has pioneered a new model to enhance well-being of patients and
volunteers.
• Somatic: take physical action and feel emotionally engaged
• Outcomes: measure empirically
• Agency & Altruism: sense of control in choosing to engage in altruistic activity for another
person
SOAR: A new positive psychology construct
• Reciprocity & Resilience: reciprocity is
feeling deeply connected to others in personal and
emotional ways (Grant, 2013). Resilience is the
capacity to prevail in the face of difficulty and is a
measure of heightened well-being (Reivich & Shatté,
2003). Reciprocity and resilience strengthen patients’
coping capacity for present and future challenges.
31. Testing Soaring SuperHeroes
How do you feel right now?
“I feel excited”
“I feel bored”
Responses: Less than before the activity,
about the same, more than before activity
250 pediatric patients participated in the study
220 completed the full survey
30 completed a partial intervention
32.
33. “Today was the happiest day of my life because I learned I could help another person.”
34. References
Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Love 2.0. How our supreme emotion affects everything we feel, think, do and
become. New York: Hudson Street Press.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2009). Positivity: Groundbreaking research reveals how to embrace the hidden strength of
positive emotions, overcome negativity, and thrive. New York: Crown Publishers.
Grant, A. (2013). Give and take. New York: Viking.
Howell, R. T., Kern. M.L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). Health benefits: Meta-analytically determining the impact
of well-being on objective health outcomes. Health Psychology Review, 1, 83-136.
Huppert, F. (2009). Psychological well-being: Evidence regarding the causes and consequences. Applied
Psychology. 1, 2, 137-164
JAMA Add
Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Peterson, C. & Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Reis, H., et al. (2007). Add
Seligman, M.E.P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York:
Free Press.
Thompson, R. (2009). Handbook of Child Life: A guide for pediatric psychosocial care. Springfield, IL.: Charles
C. Thomas Publisher
