I have begun to notice that many of my peers struggle to keep up with current events, simply because they aren’t interested or just feel like they don’t have time. Recently however, I have heard many of them say that they don’t like to keep up with the news because it’s too depressing or too sad to read about the horrible things happening in our own country and across the world today. And I can’t say that I disagree with their logic. Reading about natural disasters, terrorist attacks, deaths, and general problems in the world day after day is taxing on an individual’s mental health. And people can only take so much.
Emily Coxhead, of Euxton, Lancashire, England, is working to change that with The Happy Newsnewspaper. Coxhead published her first issue in December of 2015, with the intent of creating a space where positive news could be shared and where faith in humanity could be restored. And she has seen incredible success since then.
To support the launch of her first issue, Coxhead created a Kickstarter campaign, which reached its goal of £500 in just two days. Since then, Coxhead has been releasing issues quarterly, with each issue containing a collection of happy news stories, all of which are either submitted by people on the website or found by Coxhead herself. The newspaper currently has over 2,000 subscribers from across the UK, United States, and Australia. In an interview with the Lancashire Post, Coxhead explained that the story topics range from “scientific discoveries, new research and acts of kindness. Each issue we have a section called Everyday Heroes, where people can nominate someone who has helped to make the world a better place. That is my favourite part of the job because it is so real.”
According to Coxhead, the purpose of the newspaper is to, “share and celebrate positive, uplifting stories that are often overlooked…We want to shed some light on this world we’re living in and remind people just how much good stuff happens in the world; we honestly think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” Coxhead herself found the sad nature of today’s news upsetting and as it began to affect her own mental health, she decided that she needed to do something to inject more positivity into the world. One of her favorite stories that she’s published? She says, “One of my favourite pieces of news was about the oldest man in Australia knitting tiny jumpers for penguins who had been affected by an oil spill, so they would not peck at their dirty feathers.”
Coxhead’s mission has been embraced by schools and hospitals as well, all of which have requested copies for their classrooms, libraries, and waiting rooms. Coxhead explained in an interview with NowThis that she was even contacted by some schools in Christchurch, Australia, who wanted to cover the classroom walls with happy news stories in order to help the students cope with the loss of their classmates in the terrorist attack a few weeks ago. Coxhead explained that this is the most rewarding part of her job, as she is able to help those who are struggling and put a smile on their face, even for just a few moments.
To learn more about Coxhead and to subscribe to The Happy News, visit https://thehappynewspaper.com.