Woo-hoo! "Treehugger" is Book of the Day over at "Flurries of Words," a book blog over in the UK! Visit it to comment on "Treehugger," and to discover new titles!
http://flurriesofwords.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-of-day-treehugger-based-on-dream.html
March 30, 2012
October 10, 2011
Guest Post: Service Opportunities for Children
Michele Burlot has worked in the field of humanitarian assistance for nearly fifteen years, in both the government and non-profit sectors. She has traveled throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin American for her work and currently resides in Budapest, Hungary where she is completing a Master’s degree in Global Development and Social Justice. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to write to her at Michele.burlot@yahoo.com
Michele visiting a Tibetan refugee settlement in India
Service Opportunities for Children – Introducing them to the World Beyond Wii
There are a lot of great ways to promote the value of service to our children, and it’s never too early to introduce them to this idea. Service can take the form of raising money for charity, promoting awareness of a worthy cause, volunteering in a soup kitchen, collecting items for those in need, participating in your church’s community outreach activities, the list goes on as far as your imagination and a little internet investigation carry you. Having worked for nonprofit organizations for 10 years and followed many other organizations through my own interest or that of friends and family, I have become aware of many such opportunities and wanted to take some time to share them with you.
Assemble School Kits
One of my previous employers is Lutheran World Relief, which provides humanitarian support to developing countries. Their programs are non-sectarian and non-proselytizing, and they have had a stellar reputation for delivering aid since their founding in 1945. Their website is flush with ideas for raising funds and awareness as well as fun engagement activities such as assembling school kits for children in need in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Check out how school kits can be assembled and donated, an engaging activity for children, who can simultaneously be educated on who the kits will go to and just how big a difference they make: http://lwr.org/site/c.dmJXKiOYJgI6G/b.7521997/k.98D3/School_Kits.htm
Poke around the website some more to find lots of cool ideas and resources. Fundraising ideas can be modified to fit your objectives and support your favorite cause.
Keep in mind that most major religious traditions have nonprofits that support worthy causes and couple this with educational resources for their followers; for example:
Catholic Relief Services: www.crs.org
United Methodist Committee on Relief: www.umcor.org
International Orthodox Christian Charities: www.iocc.org
American Friends Service Committee (Quaker): www.afsc.org
American Jewish World Service: www.ajws.org
I’ve listed some of the ones I am personally familiar with, but I am sure with a little research you can find one associated with your religious tradition, be it Islam or Baha’i. Check out any charities you are not familiar with to make sure they have a good reputation. A couple of places you can look are: Charity Navigator at www.charitynavigator.org and Better Business Bureau for Charities and Donors at http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/
Organize a SunDrive
PHOTO: Tanzanian child with sun damage due to albinism.
Source:http://www.nowpublic.com/world/red-cross-assists-albinos-are-hunted-body-parts
A relatively new non-profit that I have been following since it began is Asante Mariamu, which works with people with albinism in Africa, particularly Tanzania, and is named after an inspiring woman who was attacked because of her condition. The details of such violent attacks against people with albinism are not suitable for all ages, but the fact that they also succumb to skin cancer at staggering rates is something can be broached carefully with various age groups. Due to a lack of melanin, people with albinism are
virtually unprotected from the sun’s harmful rays. As you can imagine, those in Africa suffer greatly due to the sun’s strength in that area of the world. In addition, the incidence of albinism is far greater in East Africa than in other locations (it is where the genetic mutation originated), and people with albinism in Africa are among the most impoverished and vulnerable. Learn more about this issue at Asante Mariamu’s website www.asante-mariamu.org and learn how to organize a SunDrive below.
SunDrives are a great activity for middle-school aged child, Boy/Girl Scout troops, church groups, swim clubs, or other groups of people who would like to help. A SunDrive provides support to people with albinism in East Africa by collecting funds or collecting sun gear, including:
- New wide-brimmed hats (children’s/youth sizes are needed most)
- Lightweight long sleeve shirts
- Sunscreen (SPF 35 +)
- Sunglasses (can be used but must be clean and in good condition).
- Send your donations to UTSS, Mike’s Parcel Pickup, 183 W. Stutsman Street, Pembina, ND 58271-4100. Contact Asante Mariamu for more information on donations. (UTSS stands for Under the Same Sun, a Canadian-based nonprofit that coordinates delivery of the supplies to those in need through their programs and in coordination with their Tanzania office. It is also a great organization, and you can learn about their work at www.underthesamesun.com)
I maintain an informational website about violence against people with albinism in Tanzania, suitable only for older children, at www.micheleburlot.wordpress.com
Participate in a Walk-a-Thon
Walk-a-Thons are great activities for kids to really get involved with a charity. They can learn all about the cause; reach out to friends, families, and neighbors to request sponsorship; and experience the positive energy of engaging with a great many other supporters through the act of walking, which is also great exercise! Many organizations, especially the larger ones related to health and disease, hold Walk-a-Thons. A few of the ones I am familiar with are listed below. If a particular health-related challenge has affected a child’s family or friends, it makes the service experience even deeper and can be a way of coping with stress or loss related to the illness.
- Autism Speaks http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/site/c.igIRL6PIJrH/b.4356939/k.BF85/Home.htm
- The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk http://www.lightthenight.org/
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk for a Cure http://www2.jdrf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_homepage
Write Letters or Cards
Children can write letters or cards to be included in care packages sent to troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan http://www.carepackageproject.com/letters.asp or get well cards http://www.operationpal.com/
These efforts are organized through MarineParents.com, and according to their website, “Marines are especially touched by homemade cards from children, or letters that let them know what's going on back home: what books, movies, and music are coming out, or what your day-to-day life is like.”
This can be done as a family activity, on an ongoing basis, as an afterschool activity, by gathering your kids’ friends or schoolmates at your home one Saturday afternoon and providing milk and cookies, the list goes on.
Introducing children to service – to thinking about and reaching out to others in need – is a great way to help them develop a sense of maturity and an awareness beyond the worlds of Wii and “we”. I’ve shared a sampling of ideas, but the possibilities truly are endless. There are so many people in the world in need of basic food and clothing items, successful research to treat or cure their illness, or even just a smile or kind word of encouragement, and there is really a lot that each and every one of us, children included, can do. In the words of author and anthropologist Margaret Meade, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
July 28, 2011
Guest Post: The Ghost of Bullying Past
From time to time, I break from the usual theme of this blog to encourage bully awareness. Tom Lasusa, an old friend from college, wrote this story for his blog in The Patch (Levittown, NY). Thanks Tom, for allowing me to repost it!
Social Networks are great for bringing together family and friends separated by miles or time. However, the reunions can sometimes be a little strange; a buddy of mine recently told me how he got a friend request from someone who was a playmate they were about four years old.
Last year, I also got a message from the past via Facebook. As soon as I saw the name and face, my heart fluttered -- and not in a good way.
It was from the bully who had made my childhood back in Queens a living hell.
At first, "Larry" and I started off as friends: we lived a block away from each other and would often play in the same circles. I would often go to his house for lunch and we'd play board games in his basement.
Then things changed between us. "Larry" started skateboarding and doing more adventurous activities. Being the blossoming geek (see my previous blog), I was content with reading comics, watching cartoons, and collecting Star Wars figures. Our interests had become very different -- the perfect kindling to fuel the flames of a bullying situation.
One day "Larry" started teasing me about my interests. Before long, the teasing got aggressive. He started pushing me around, both in the school yard and in our neighborhood. To make matters worse, he got some of the other kids in the neighborhood to bully in as well.
Then things escalated.
First came the hang-up and crank calls. It got so bad my parents had to change our phone number.
Then the house would be egged almost every other week. We'd be sitting in the living room at night and suddenly we'd hear the crunches of the eggs hitting the windows. The next day, my dad would be out, grumbling as he hosed everything down.
My parents tried speaking to his, which only made things worse: "Larry" branded me a coward for having 'mommy and daddy' come to my defense.
I stopped riding my bike, in fear of encountering him. When I saw a group of kids coming down the street, I didn't bother to wait to see if it was his pack -- I ran inside.
With all my heart, I hated "Larry." I wished horrible things would happen to him. I wished he would slip off his skateboard and get hurt enough to be stuck in his house for weeks. I will not lie: I wished worse things.
After a few years, the crank calls and egging stopped, but the fears of running into him still lingered. In high school, I was extremely cautious in making new friends. I found myself nervous, unwilling to take chances or test my limits in front of others, for fear of humiliation.
It wasn't until college when I made new friends that I felt safe for the first time in a long while. But the memories of "Larry" and what he did -- they lasted a long time.
During my second year in college, I attended a party of a friend who happened to live in the town next to mine. There, kicking back in a chair with a pretty girl sitting on his lap, was "Larry."
"Hey Tom. How's it going?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Not bad." I replied, fighting every urge to run. Here I was: a sophomore in college, and I was deathly afraid of this guy -- and the possibility that if he realized it, the nightmare could start all over again. It took all my energy to remain calm and make some idle conversation with "Larry".
Eventually, I found the opportunity to excuse myself, and that's when it hit me: unlike me, HE had moved on. HE was totally fine.
Later that night, I found I was furious: How dare he be okay? How dare he not feel any regret or remorse for what he did to me?
But the fact was why wouldn't he be? The bullying didn't happen to him.
Back to the (almost) present, I sat there, staring at my laptop screen at "Larry's" simple note: "Hey, remember me?"
Are you kidding, I thought. How could I forget?
For a moment, I thought about deleting it. Then I thought about writing him back and tearing into him. But I realized either reaction would be, in some way, his final victory over me -- even if he never knew about it.
So, I did the only thing I realized I could do: I replied, "Hi Larry. Hope you are doing well," and left it at that.
Years ago, bullying wasn't addressed like it is today -- it was just a part of life. You were supposed to tough it out, or try to fight back, and once it was over just accept that it happened and get on with your life.
Yeah, right.
More than enough studies have been done on bullying that prove the emotional scars can last years, if not a lifetime. But who needs a study for that? I can tell you first hand that's true. To this day, I am still often very self-conscious of what others think of me.
During our the boys' first year in school here in Levittown, I was approached by the LAP administrators. It seemed an older boy (third or fourth grade) was picking on the younger ones, including one of mine. The teacher informed me that as soon as it was discovered, they took action: the boy was immediately separated from the others, and his parents informed. Zero tolerance: a nice change from the teachers that turned a blind eye in the schoolyard of my youth.
Unfortunately, bullies will never go away: Thanks to the internet and smart phones, it's taken on new and disturbing levels. But it's comforting to see more in the community taking it more seriously, and standing strong against the victim.
I pray neither of my boys ever have to deal with a bully like I had. And heaven help either of them if I ever find out they've become the bully.
Like I said before -- zero tolerance.
July 13, 2011
June 27, 2011
'Smore than fun!
For me, summer is about learning things and doing things you just don't have time for during the school year. However, more fun than that is accidentally learning new things. Who knew there was a better campfire sweet treat than smores?
You know those amazing jumbo marshmallows in stores lately? They lend themselves to something my daughter Amanda created called, "Inside-Out Smores!" Simply stick a small brick of chocolate in one side of the marshmallow and a small brick of graham cracker in the other. Shove the stick through the middle and toast.
Oh yes, it's messy to eat! But it's not quite as sickeningly sweet as original smores--in my family's opinion. And you only deal with the stickiness....not the graham crackers crumbling all over when you take a bite!
Hope you enjoy Amanda's creation!
June 06, 2011
Finding a Diversion (other than Facebook)
I am not the most disciplined writer. When writer's block hits, my attention goes south and I need a diversion until the gears begin churning again. Often, I wind up on Facebook. Sometimes, that's not such a bad thing. Other times, I know I have just wasted 15 minutes of my life I won't get back. I have found a solution, though--a way to change gears and always get something out of it.
I found Invention at Play by the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center. It's a center for Invention and Innovation. There's nothing like playing a creative game when you need to find your center of focus. My favorite is Tinker Ball. At least it was until my 12-year-old far exceeded my ability in this game. Oh, well, I've always wanted him to grow up smarter than me. Just wasn't planning on it happening this soon.
The Smithsonian History Explorer is another educational pastime that I just found. From photos of artifacts to interactive games, you can set your child up by grade-level to explore all sorts of eras in history.
I'm never going to outgrow the threat of writer's block. But, I can wrangle myself away from Facebook when it bites--sometimes.
April 08, 2011
April 07, 2011
March 22, 2011
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Recent Posts
- Woo-hoo! Treehugger is Book of
- Guest Post: Service Opportunities for Children
- Guest Post: The Ghost of Bullying Past
- Never Thought I'd See the Day! 3D copiers!
- Comet Into the Sun
- 'Smore than fun!
- Finding a Diversion (other than Facebook)
- News about Education Nation 2011....
- Event for Future Marine Biologists!
- Ch...ch...ch...Changes
