Katie Wood, a former school teacher, business owner and mother of 4, has seen firsthand the power of gratitude. “Our daughter had to undergo life-saving surgery, which sent my thoughts spiraling out of control,” she says Entrepreneur. “This led me to harness the power of a morning gratitude routine. This really helped me, and when Covid hit, one of our daughters asked me about my special mornings and if she could do it too. I searched for a baby-appropriate tool for her to use and kept coming up empty. That’s when the entrepreneurial spirit – which is scary but so powerful – took over and from there I created Simple Seed.”
An easy seed of growth, gratitude and laughter is a morning journal that helps children – and their parents – start the day with a positive attitude, focus and acceptance of themselves as they are. “We hear a lot about anti-bullying initiatives, they are great,” says Katie. “But daily gratitude can have a powerful impact that reaches even further. That’s true studied at the University of Kentucky, and researchers have discovered all kinds of benefits for children. They found that children who practice gratitude are more empathetic, less likely to retaliate or be aggressive than children who do not practice gratitude, and are overall happier.”
The study inspired Katie and her husband, Steve, who is a firefighter-paramedic near Boston, to create a school edition of their magazine and launch their company 50/50 Challenge. “Our goal is to provide free copies of the magazine to 50 schools in 50 states,” says Steve.
The 50/50 challenge works in a easy way: teachers or parents can nominate their school by visiting company website and answering some questions about why they think it’s the perfect fit. Katie says there isn’t any “right” answer to who qualifies, but she has a soft spot for school districts facing financial challenges. “I was a teacher in the South Bronx,” she says, “and I really like the idea of helping schools in disadvantaged communities.”
The couple hopes that with the help of sponsors, these books might be distributed to varsities. “This is a zero-profit project for us,” says Katie. “We are simply looking for sponsors to cover the costs of producing and shipping the books. We think $10,000 to $15,000 would cover the entire United States.”
The Woods say it’s an easy win for sponsors who wish to do good in the world and gain positive publicity while doing so. “These books will be available in all 50 schools and every parent and child in those schools will know who supplied them,” says Katie.
“The great thing is that we validated this idea,” says Steve. “We’ve seen it in action and it works.” A school in New Jersey received these magazines, and the principal provided tangible evidence that they’d a positive impact.
“We’ve heard that kids leave nice notes in their lockers,” says Katie. “The teachers walked down the hall and heard the children shouting songs of gratitude in the morning. This all just proves that gratitude can have such a huge impact.”
“Our goal is to survey each winning school before and after they receive their books to find out what they learned and what was most effective for them,” says Katie. “We will use this school and its feedback as a statewide pilot where we can go to the board of education and show what a positive impact it has had and build from there. Every school has the opportunity to plant a small seed that will grow for their entire state.”
To nominate a school or discover more about becoming a sponsor, visit the website simpleseedjournal.com/50-in-50-challenge or follow katiewood_simpleseed.