Joy Beat

This week’s Joy Beat is recognizing the important role the community plays in fostering joy. We begin with the Reverend. Dr. Terrlyn Curry-Avery, who embodies this spirit, even in circumstances that are decidedly not joyful. Then, we’ll go to the Cape, where a group of self-proclaimed “Old Ladies” banded together to spend their retirement years cleaning freshwater ponds of decades-old trash. And finally, to Mattapan, where a coalition of change-makers is solving community-specific problems with community-specific solutions.

This week, it’s time to feel beautiful. Joy Beat is celebrating those helping others build confidence and show that when you look good, you feel good! First, we go to Milton, Massachusetts, to Sadiddy Lifestyle Beauty Studio, where owner Skye Warren emphasizes the importance of community in confidence; then, to Newbury St., where Wigs for Well-Being helps cancer patients who’ve lost their hair feel a bit more like themselves with luxury wigs; and finally, we’re going back to high school for prom night, where we’ll meet a real-life fairy godmother helping kids from underserved communities get dolled up and attend the prom.

This week, it’s time to get active — Joy Beat is celebrating the joy found in exercising and moving your body. We start with Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to ever run the Boston Marathon, despite women not being allowed to participate yet; then, we go to Brockton to meet Dave and Judy Gorman, who, for 47 years, have hosted Kids Road Races, helping families get outdoors and inspiring a lasting love of running; plus, to the yoga mat, with Susan Lovett, who heads the Hands to Heart Center: Yoga for the People, bringing the grounding practice of yoga to low-income, underserved communities.

This week, Joy Beat is diving into the joy found in the culinary world. We meet Sally Sampson, founder and president of ChopChop Family, an organization inspiring families to cook whole and healthy meals together; Peter and Norah Zoummar, who run 33 All American Diner in Ashland and funds the Neshlyn Children’s Foundation to help children in Norah’s home village in Uganda; plus, Darra Slagle, who runs the West Roxbury food bank Rose’s Bounty, helping alleviate food insecurity with open hearts and helping hands.

This week, Joy Beat is highlighting the next generation of changemakers in and around Boston who are making a real impact in their communities. We meet Isis McFadden, who started Little Regalia at five years old to inspire confidence in kids; Camden Francis, who co-founded Beyond the Crisis with his brother to fight food insecurity; plus, Harvard grads Sajeev Kohli and Swathi Srinivasanshare their mission to equip Red Line T stations with naloxone to combat the opioid crisis.

This week, Joy Beat celebrates educators who turn challenges into triumphs and inspire the next generation. Hear these stories of resilience, passion and JOY in education that remind us of the power of shaping young minds!

From quiet classrooms to bustling community centers, Joy Beat reveals the extraordinary stories of everyday heroes making real change. Host Arun Rath sits down with the unsung visionaries - teachers, volunteers, and artists - who saw problems in their communities and stepped up to solve them. Through intimate conversations, discover how small acts of courage and kindness can transform lives and rebuild connections in ways that might just restore your faith in humanity.A GBH News production and distributed by PRX.