Putting the Social Good in Social Media One Pledge at a Time

The following post is sponsored by Velveteen Mind as part of the #MyPledge15 campaign. The Gentle Barn was picked by me (Whit) and is not affiliated with the campaign. All opinions are my own. All proceeds from the sponsorship of this post will be donated to The Gentle Barn.

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We spend our Sundays knee-deep in family time, and sometimes a bit of pig poop. We are animal lovers, vegetarians with a vegan-ish lean, and our story is a good one. Yes, I’m totally biased. So what?

The choice to become vegetarians was made individually by each of us, and it is one of the best decisions that we have ever made. To be clear, we have made some pretty good decisions in our time. For instance, remember Llamagate? Guess which side we were on.

See? Decisions like that.

By choosing to be vegetarians we are doing something good for the planet as well as our own respective health, and as an added bonus we are also able to bond over our shared compassion, which, as far as things to bond over goes, is way up there. The kids love it.

In fact, my oldest son (pictured above, the shorter one) is starting a club at his middle school (under the guidance of our district’s like-minded superintendent) for animals and the environment. Not only is he doing good, but he’s learning good things. The benefits are limitless.

This is why we love The Gentle Barn and visit it whenever our schedules allow. The Gentle Barn is open to the public every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.—they ask for a $10 donation per person. It is time and money well spent.

What is The Gentle Barn?

The Gentle Barn is a sprawling sanctuary of hope and renewal—a place where children, those at-risk and with special needs, are provided an opportunity to laugh and bond, to look beyond the labels that divide us, and to celebrate the wonders we all share. Also, hugging cows.

The Gentle Barn is a home for rescued animals saved from the brink of neglect and given a second chance at love and happiness. The kids bring that stuff in by the busload.

By introducing children to a world other than the one they have known, be it sharing experiences with those of a different religion, ethnicity, language or levels of ability, they are able to learn more about the things we all share and perhaps care less about those that divide us. Working together and caring for the animals provides children a collective goal fueled by their combined passions and shared kindness. The Gentle Barn is a place for the building of empathy and the generous spreading of it. It is good for the character and it is good for the heart.

The Gentle Barn is located in Santa Clarita, California, at the northern tip of the greater Los Angeles area, but their ultimate goal is to open locations across the United States so that “every animal and child can have a place of healing and safety.”

I am pledging to help them do it.

#MyPledge15 is to support The Gentle Barn in their conquest of peace and to encourage empathy and kindness whenever and wherever I can. Also, that hugging cows thing, because it’s really awesome.

 What will your social good pledge be in 2015? Share it on the social medias with #MyPledge15 and let’s use social media for social good! Learn more about #MyPledge15 at Velveteen Mind.

Whit Honea is the co-founder of Dads 4 Change, the Social Media Director and Community Manager of Dad 2.0 Summit as well as a Senior Account Executive at the conference’s parent company: XY Media Group. Deemed “the activist dad” by UpWorthy (and one of the “funniest dads on Twitter” by Mashable), he is a regular contributor to The Modern Dads Podcast and the author of The Parents’ Phrase Book—a family guide to empathy.