5 Days Of Giving | Try Living With Lucie | Refinery29 - video Dailymotion

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On this week's Try Living With Lucie, our host, Lucie Fink tries 5 days of giving. Just in time for the holiday season, she works out the 5 of the best ways to give back. Watch this episode to be inspired to give back to others!  ABOUT SERIES Try Living With Lucie follows our favorite R29 millennial, Lucie Fink, as she dives headfirst into social experiments — five days at a time. From a week without sugar to full-blown street performing; there is nothing she won't try!   ABOUT REFINERY29  Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life.   RELATED CONTENT 5 Days Of Natural Remedies https://youtube.com/watch?v=pi0HXBpSvHA 5 Days Of Meal Prep https://youtube.com/watch?v=DWaU47V3rMU 5 Days Of A Capsule Wardrobe https://youtube.com/watch?v=Di9Bjf_OPj4  SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29 Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29  TALENT Follow Lucie Fink on Instagram: https://instagram.com/luciebfink/ Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered/ Follow OnHerTurf on Instagram: https://instagram.com/onherturf/ Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/

Transcript

00:00I'm Lucie Fink and this week is 5 Days of Giving. Hey everyone, welcome back to

00:05Refinery29's YouTube channel. If you're new here, be sure to click on the little

00:07subscribe button below and give this video a thumbs up if you're excited for

00:115 Days of Giving. Also, be sure you're subscribed to my personal YouTube

00:15channel at Lucie B. Fink, and now let's get into the video which was in

00:18partnership with Rakuten. If you're a big fan of this series, you may remember that

00:22a few years ago I actually already did 5 Days of Giving. That video actually

00:27turned a little bit more into five days of volunteering, and throughout the

00:30episode I worked at a soup kitchen, an animal shelter, with children, the

00:34elderly, and more. But it was such a huge success and such an amazing thing to do

00:38around the holiday season, so this week I'm back with part 2 of that episode. So

00:43this time instead of try living with Lucie, we are going to try giving with

00:47Lucie. With a little help from Rakuten, which is an online site that lets you

00:52earn up to 40% cash back at over 3,000 stores. One of my best friends

00:56has been non-stop raving to me about Rakuten. It's her absolute favorite way

01:01to shop online because of the cash back that you get when you make purchases. So

01:05I used it for all of my purchases this week. With the holidays right around the

01:10corner, it's that time of year when gratitude and the whole idea of giving

01:14moves to the forefront of our minds. We all have so much to be thankful for in

01:18life, and this time of year reminds us of that better than any other. There are

01:22innumerable ways and things that you can give. You can give locally or globally to

01:27a person you know or to a stranger. You can give physical items, your time, your

01:32money, your skills. Honestly, there's not really anything I can think of that you

01:36can't give. Giving is limitless. Which can seem a little bit overwhelming when

01:40you're challenging yourself to try five days of giving. So to break things down,

01:43I'm structuring this week's episode into five categories, and on each day of this

01:47week I'll be giving to five different areas of my life. So now let me take you

01:51back to Monday. Monday was all about giving to my husband, Michael. As you

01:57might know, I recently married the love of my life, my high school sweetheart, and my

02:02boyfriend of ten years. He's not only my best friend, but in this new chapter of

02:06our lives together, he's truly the person that I rely upon most every single day.

02:10He constantly does so much for me, so I knew in this week of giving that the first

02:14person I wanted to give back to was him. When I think about giving gifts to people,

02:18I often try to think about both the tangible and the intangible. It is really

02:23great to get a tangible gift and to have a gadget or an object or something that

02:28you've been wanting that can help you in your life or make things easier for you.

02:31But at the same time, it's really nice to get something intangible. Something

02:35that's all about meaning and emotion and connection, and it's not a physical item

02:40that you're gonna throw away one day, but it's just a meaningful gesture. As for

02:44the tangible gift, I tried to figure out what Michael has been talking about

02:47recently, and something he's been working on is tracking his fitness markers. He

02:51just signed up for a gym membership, he's been trying to track his steps, his

02:55sleep, his heart rate... so I figured what is a better gift for him than a smart

02:59watch that can track all of that stuff for him. I scrolled through QVC until I

03:04found the perfect watch for him. And before making my purchase, I activated my

03:08shopping trip using the Rakuten browser extension. This is a very easy way to earn

03:13cash back on all of the holiday shopping that you're already going to do.

03:16How lucky am I? Very lucky. A newspaper? Thank you. Oh my god. I know you wanted a

03:23smart watch. Thanks, Lou. I'll put it on you. I know that this is a gift he will

03:28actually use in the future and will really appreciate. There you go. Wow. Wow. It was

03:34very satisfying to watch him unwrap it and put it on for the first time. So I

03:38thought long and hard coming up with this intangible gift to get Michael for the

03:41holiday season. And I came up with what I think was the perfect idea. Once we got

03:46married, we pretty much got our photos back right away, but it took a little bit

03:50of time before we saw any video footage from the day. And I've been working

03:53secretly on the side with our videography team to edit together this final wedding

03:58video. And on Monday, I sat Michael down and I surprised him by playing him the full

04:03and final video. Ready? I'm ready. Okay. Today is the day we've waited over a decade

04:09for. Today, I will give you my hand and will promise to be yours for the rest of

04:14time. I still can't believe that I've ended up with someone so gorgeous, full of

04:20life, ambitious, down to earth, loving, and sweet to share my life with. Here we are. A little more than

04:29ten

04:29years after you finally gave me a chance. We're standing here in front of the

04:34people we love most in the world. Marrying each other.

04:49It looks so good! We smiled so hard watching it together. Seriously, my cheeks

04:55couldn't stop hurting, and we were transported right back to that beautiful

04:59day in September that we both are calling the best day of our lives. What do you

05:03think? So good. You liked it? Yeah, I loved it so much. Thanks, Lou. Love you, too.

05:10On Tuesday, I felt a strong desire to give by donating my time. No matter where you

05:15live, I can pretty much guarantee that there is a charitable organization

05:18somewhere nearby that is looking for people to come in and donate their time and

05:23services. And giving in this way is honestly one of the most fulfilling ways

05:28to give to others. I headed to Freedom House, which is a highly safe space

05:31created to help individuals with disabilities escape from domestic abuse.

05:36Freedom House is a place where these people can rest, grow, and feel

05:39comfortable in a clean, safe, and welcoming environment.

05:43Hi! Hi! Hi! So good to see you! Welcome to Freedom House. When I first arrived, I met with the

05:49manager, Lynette, who took me on a tour of the space.

05:51Freedom House is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We house roughly 95

05:56individuals. 60 of those are children, so we have some very small families and some

06:01very big families. The stay here is relatively short because we are a crisis

06:05tier one shelter, so our families are here between 90 to 180 days. So this is

06:10childcare. She showed me a spot where the children spend most of their time, an

06:14incredibly colorful arts and crafts room full of games, positive affirmations on the

06:19wall. Tons of color and just an overall warm and fuzzy feeling. My favorite part of

06:23coming here is always the snacks. Yes! Always in the mood for a good snack.

06:28Childcare is there between 8 and 6 p.m. They take care of the babies when moms are

06:34at appointments or have things and things to do within the building. While the kids

06:37are playing or learning, the parents can have access to counseling and job

06:41resources and whatever else they might need to help build a new life on their own

06:45terms. Food and food everywhere, right? Our food pantry was established to help

06:50families until their benefits can kick in and even if they're not entitled because

06:55we have a lot of people who migrated to this country and they may not be

06:59eligible for benefits and we can feed them right now for up to three months.

07:03Wow! But also this food is donated to us from the Food Bank of New York City which

07:08is great so we get it at little to zero cost. It was incredible to see that they

07:12have a well-stocked pantry with tons of food, diapers, and feminine products and

07:18it was easy to see that everyone who walked through those doors would be well

07:21taken care of. Here at Freedom House everyone has their own space, their own

07:26living space with a kitchen, a bathroom, everything that's theirs. That's amazing!

07:31Yeah! She shared that the facility has a 95 room occupancy which doesn't

07:35necessarily seem that large but they're actually the only facility in the entire

07:40country that caters specifically to these individuals with disabilities. She let me

07:44take a peek into one of these rooms and it's just amazing to see how

07:48accommodating they are for these survivors. They walk into their room, they

07:51have a kitchen, they have a bathroom, they have bed, they have bedding, they have a

07:57wheelchair accessible stove. After my tour I met some of the people who are

08:02currently residing at Freedom House and then I led a small workshop for four

08:06women focused on the principle idea of trying new things, which is something

08:10that I've become somewhat of an expert in over the past few years of hosting

08:13this very YouTube series. Okay! Hi everyone! Hi! Thank you guys so much for

08:18having me here at Freedom House. I just got a great tour from Lynette. Seeing as

08:22Freedom House is such a safe space, they have a strict policy against filming any of

08:26the people that are currently staying there. So as you might notice in this

08:30footage, you're just going to see hands and hear the voices of these women but

08:33you're not gonna see their faces in this video. It's a very empowering thing to be

08:37able to try new things, explore, get out there. So I have for you guys some gift

08:43bags. I'm gonna give everyone a gift. As part of this workshop, I gave each

08:47woman a gift bag filled with warm winter clothes, blankets, hats, and scarves, and

08:52then I gave them each a journal which they use to write down all of the new

08:55things that they've been wanting to try. We went around and shared some of these

08:59ideas and it was incredible to see that we as a group were making connections and

09:03solving problems and bringing these women one step closer to actually

09:07achieving the things they've been wanting to do. I would like to start knitting.

09:10Knitting? I was told like from somebody like really relaxing and calm. I do it on

09:15Saturdays. And you can get the yarn and the needles around the corner at Luna's.

09:20Okay. One woman wanted to knit and she just didn't know how and some of the other

09:24women in the group said that they have a knitting club every Saturday and invited

09:28her to join. Another woman mentioned that she wanted a personal blender so

09:32that she could make more smoothies and someone else in the group actually had a

09:35personal blender that she never used and didn't want. So we made that connection

09:39and she got a blender. By the end of our group discussion, we had totally started

09:44the ball rolling and set things in motion so that these women can start doing

09:48some of the things that they've been wanting to try. And if nothing else, this hour

09:52that we spent together definitely put some smiles on their faces.

09:55Thank you. I love you. I love you back.

09:59Wednesday of this week was dedicated to giving gifts to my family members that I

10:04knew would come in handy for them and their particular needs. I remembered to

10:07activate my cashback using Rakuten's browser extension, but you can also browse

10:12their site to see all of their cashback offers and click through to their

10:16retailer sites to start earning cashback. And with Rakuten you can earn double or

10:20triple cashback on top of any existing holiday deals. When it comes to giving

10:25gifts to others, I noticed that sometimes people just pick up a gift that they

10:29personally actually like, but they don't think twice about if the person they're

10:33giving it to actually has a need for it. So I really put on my thinking cap and I

10:37considered what is going on in my family members' lives and what is one area

10:42where I can really help them reduce stress and increase their happiness and

10:46enjoyment. For example, my brother Robbie is in a band called East Love and he's

10:51constantly on the go with headphones in his ears listening to the band's rough

10:55cuts or edits, and I cannot even count the amount of times that he's come to my

10:59apartment with his headphones in and the wires are all tangled up. One of the ears

11:03of the headphones doesn't even work and this poor guy is trying to listen to his

11:07band's music to make edits. Poor guy. So I knew that the perfect gift for him would be

11:12to get him a pair of brand new wireless earbuds. Finally, something that is good

11:17quality that will not have tangling wires. For my twin sister Allie, she's been

11:21telling me non-stop that she wants to start listening to more audiobooks and

11:25podcasts, and I noticed she's been borrowing her boyfriend's wireless

11:29earbuds, but I can tell that this girl wants a pair of her own. So I gifted her the

11:33same wireless earbuds that I gave Robbie, and I'm really excited to watch her

11:36start achieving her goals. And as for my parents, they're starting to begin the

11:40process of moving, which I know is a very rigorous and strenuous process. Seeing as

11:46they're both huge music fans, I mean my dad's a radio DJ, and my mom and dad both

11:51spent an entire year of their lives together nocturnally as they danced at

11:55Studio 54 every single night, I knew that the perfect holiday gift for them would be

12:00a pair of speakers that they can put in their new home. Everyone knows that music,

12:04especially through good sounding speakers, can really change the entire ambiance of a

12:09space. Having brand new speakers in their new home that's going to help the

12:12sound travel beautifully around the new space is going to make the experience of

12:16moving so much more inviting and welcoming. And as I've been mentioning

12:20throughout this entire episode, one of the best parts of shopping for these gifts

12:23using Rakuten was that I earned cash back for all of the purchases. It's so simple,

12:28and it's so easy to use. You just sign up for free at their website and start

12:32racking up your holiday cash back. Always got to get that cash back.

12:38On Thursday, my form of giving was giving thanks to a fan of this very YouTube

12:44series. I try not to take for granted the fact that I get to make fun videos

12:48like this one for my job. But don't get me wrong, it's not easy. There is a ton of

12:53back-end work that goes into producing each of these episodes, shooting them,

12:57editing them. It takes a lot of time and energy, and I can assure you that even if

13:01the final product looks like it was a breeze to shoot, it was not. Never is.

13:06Never easy. All that being said, I am still entirely grateful that I get to do

13:11this, and at the end of the day, the reason I get to do this is because of you.

13:15All of you. You, you, you, and you. And the person that honked outside. Just kidding, he's not part of

13:22it.

13:22The people that watch the videos are the backbone of the entire YouTube series.

13:27So to give thanks to a fan and follower, I had my colleagues over at Refinery29

13:32set up a secret day in Central Park for me and one of my followers. My team at

13:37R29 found a follower of mine who lives in New York City. They contacted her via

13:41email and set up this special day for the two of us. They put us back-to-back in

13:45Central Park, and then we walked backwards until we walked into one another.

13:57And without knowing it, my team at R29 picked a person who I actually knew.

14:02Tanika is someone that I met just the week before at an event. She's a blogger

14:07and a content creator of her own, and she also makes YouTube videos. We backed into

14:11one another. I was so surprised to see that it was her. Then we rented bikes and

14:16helmets and spent a beautiful day together in Central Park.

14:25We relaxed in the sunshine on a rock.

14:31I could totally use a cup of hot chocolate right now. Me too. Do you want to go get hot

14:34chocolate?

14:35Yeah, let's go. Let's do that. I'm getting cold. I'm getting, my feet are numb.

14:38You think we can get off this rock safely?

14:40Yeah. Okay. Oh!

14:42One, two, three.

14:43One, two, three.

14:44Oh!

14:45She's up! She's down!

14:47All right.

14:47Got some hot chocolate and had some amazing conversations together. It was amazing to

14:53spend a full day with another content creator, especially someone that I actually knew and

14:58who was a fan of all the stuff that I've been working on. It was honestly a quintessential

15:02autumn day in New York City. The changing leaves were crunching on the ground, the colors around

15:08us were vibrant and beautiful, the air was crisp and cool but not too cold, and the two

15:14of us had so much fun together. I gave her a Visa gift card that she can use when shopping

15:18at her favorite stores through Rakuten, and now she can start racking up her own cash back.

15:23And I also gave her a personal goodie bag filled with some of the beauty products that

15:27I love.

15:31At the end of this week, I just couldn't stop thinking about Freedom House and the amazing

15:35day that I spent there on Tuesday, and I realized that I wanted to do a little bit more for

15:39them.

15:40I was able to give some really nice gift bags to the four women that I met on Tuesday, but

15:44I realized that there are so many more people staying at Freedom House, and they can all use

15:49more help given that it's winter. So I put together a winter clothing drive with my fellow

15:53R29 employees, and I collected a giant bag of warm winter essentials that I then brought

15:58back to Freedom House on Friday. I was also feeling incredibly inspired to do even more

16:03work with Freedom House in the future, so on Friday I chatted with the manager, Lynette,

16:08about coming back one day in the near future, donating a juicer to them and bringing tons of

16:13fresh fruits and vegetables to make fresh juice for all the residents. And on Friday, I spent

16:17a little bit of time perusing some of the amazing retailers on Rakuten's app, and I picked

16:22out a gift for myself that I'm going to buy using the cash back from all of the other

16:26gifts that I've purchased on Rakuten. Don't forget, in the midst of this gift-giving season,

16:31to give to yourself. I hope this episode inspired you to give back to those around you this holiday

16:36season. I'll be sharing some more holiday content on my YouTube channel and my Instagram

16:40account, both at LucyBFink, so make sure you're subscribed to my personal YouTube channel and

16:45also following me on Instagram. Give this video a thumbs up if you enjoyed watching 5 Days of Giving,

16:50and comment below to let us know what 5-day challenge you want to see next. Thanks so

16:55much for coming back, and we'll see you next time on Try Living with Lucy. Bye!

16:59Hey YouTube, thanks for watching this episode of Try Living with Lucy. Click here for another

17:03episode in this series, right here to subscribe to Refinery29's YouTube channel, and right here

17:09for my personal YouTube channel. Happy Holidays!

5 Days Of Giving | Try Living With Lucie | Refinery29

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