Nancy Cartwright may be well known as the voice of Bart Simpson on The Simpsons, but what is less well known is that she has long been very dedicated to social improvement ventures. She is a supporter of the Police Athletic League centers and the Good Choices after-school program, which has earned her the title of Honorary Mayor of Northridge for a full seven years in a row. In 2009 the Mayor of Los Angeles even awarded her the Humanitarian Award for her community activities. But perhaps one of her greatest achievements is as the International Spokesperson for The Way to Happiness.
Using The Way to Happiness
The Way to Happiness can inspire individuals, families, groups, communities and entire societies to improve their lives and the lives of others around them by making simple and yet powerful decisions. It is no wonder that this amazing booklet inspired Nancy Cartwright to co-found an organization that is dedicated to building better families.
The mission of the non-profit group Happy House is to bring about a safer community and a healthier world wherein individuals can trust each other and live free from fear, where individuals can share mutual respect and a true sense of community. In order to achieve this mission, Happy House uses The Way to Happiness, delivering lectures and hosting activities that help individuals understand the basics of “How to Make Good Choices”. These lectures and activities are held throughout the San Fernando Valley, at Boys and Girls Clubs, Police Activity League Centers, centers for children of migrant workers, and many other locations. Happy House also has charters in San Jose and Seattle, and through these locations as well as their website at www.happyhouse.org they promote the value of making good choices by playing The Way to Happiness public service announcements and sharing good news and successes from their work with youth in their local communities.
With Nancy Cartwright’s help, Happy House was able to distribute one million custom-cover-edition copies of The Way to Happiness in San Fernando Valley over a three month period. Nancy points out that with community and societal problems such as vandalism, gang fights, shootings and other crimes being committed daily, it became clear that something had to be done. Research uncovered the fact that Chatsworth, Canoga Park and Northridge are three of the most highly condensed areas of crime in the entire San Fernando Valley. It therefore seemed critical to get copies of The Way to Happiness into as many households as possible in these and surrounding areas. Each of five-hundred thousand households received two booklets, as well as a letter from Nancy herself.
The results of the distribution project were outstanding. The phone began ringing non-stop with calls from individuals who were requesting more booklets and thanking Happy House for what they had done. Some individuals even wanted to volunteer in order to help spread the wisdom of The Way to Happiness even farther. Many individuals even proclaimed that despite their own personal faith and religious beliefs, they had discovered that The Way to Happiness had the power to help them. Within a year of the distribution project, the murder rate in the affected areas dropped forty percent, proving that a little information can go a long way to improving the lives, conditions and happiness of millions.
