Caring for (Foster) Kids Differently

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Barbara Lewis

As you may know from reading past posts, I love writing about charitable organizations that are created by kids. This time, however, I’m moved to spread the word about a very special nonprofit that that was spearheaded by a single caring adult for kids.  I’m excited to observe May, Foster Care Awareness Month, by sharing the story of The Children’s Village of Sonoma County(www.thechildrensvillage.com).

Sobering Statistics

Research (State of California) indicates that within four years of leaving the foster care system:

  • 50% were unemployed
  • 25% had been homeless
  • 40% were on public assistance
  • 50% did not graduate from high school

The Children’s Village of Sonoma County is dedicated to giving children secure and happy childhoods so that they will grow up to be emotionally healthy adults equipped to lead happy and productive lives.

“It’s like we’re free and away from things we don’t want to be around.” Village Resident

Inspiration & Hard Work

Following the death of 12-year-old foster child Georgia Moses, professional child care consultant Lia Rowley was inspired to create “a unique alternative model for children in foster care” – a village that would provide a stable, nurturing environment for foster children and siblings.  After seven years of hard work and fundraising, The Children’s Village of Sonoma County celebrated its grand opening in 2006. At the celebration, a check for $1,000,000 was presented to Lia from the estate of G.K. Hardt, to be used to build The Village Community Center.  The Center is now the hub of Village activities and houses a library, computer area, tutoring space and art rooms. A playground and basketball court flank the Community Center.

“It’s not like other group homes, we (siblings) get to live together here.” “If we were split up, we would be lonely.” Village Residents

The Village Experience

The Children’s Village creates a community that works together to provide each child with a feeling of permanence and belonging by providing

  • A home-like, non-institutional setting
  • On-site, full-time, Village Parents
  • Village Parents (trained, resident staff members)
  • Village Grandparents (trained resident volunteers)
  • On-site case management
  • Educational support
  • Social and recreational activities
  • Parent education and support
  • Community involvement
  • Vocational and independent living skills

The Future

Today, The Village consists of 4 houses where “Parents” and 6 children reside.  “Grandparents” spend time with the children, sharing skills and acting as mentors. When fully built, The Village will consist of 8 children’s homes and 6 Grandparent apartments, and will serve 48 children and siblings.

“When I’m sad, there is someone to talk to.” Village Resident

If you’re captivated by this story of dedication to better lives for children in foster care, visit www.thechildrensvillage.com to learn more – and perhaps get involved!  To read more about charitable organizations, especially those created by kids, visit http://www.triplegift.net and click on “Blog” or go to http://spend-save-share.org.

 

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Financial Literacy Month – 7 Ways to Celebrate

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Barbara Lewis

Happy Spring, Everyone! Along with buds, baby birds, bunnies and baseball, April brings us Financial Literacy Month. Let’s celebrate it!

As you know, I am not a financial expert, but I am a 21st Century grandmother who wants to help all kids grow up confident, competent and compassionate by spending with joy, saving for the future and sharing with others. You, too? Here are some ideas and resources I think you’ll find helpful in furthering that goal in a fun and creative way.

  1. Plant the Spend Save Share seed with the children kids you love. Stock up on TripleGift moneyholder greeting cards for boys and girls of all ages.  Buy 1, get 1 FREE for the entire month of April at www.triplegift.net Discount code: LITERACY
  2. Check out Money As You Grow - 20 things kids need to know to live financially smart lives, developed by the Youth Subcommittee of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability. www.moneyasyougrow.org
  3. Let kids’ interests (animals, sports, the environment, veterans’ support, etc.) be your guide to helping them learn more about charitable organizations that resonate with them. www.charitynavigator.org
  4. Explore the National Financial Educators Council’s exceptional all-inclusive resource website. Their tagline tells it all, “Financial Literacy Solutions. Delivered.” www.financialeducatorscouncil.org
  5. Have fun! Play games like Bite Club, Gen i Revolution and Financial Football (great for middle schoolers). Visit www.edutopia.org and click on Blogs and Game-based learning.
  6. Remember what Albert Schweitzer said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it is the only thing.” Discover easy ways to set a good financial example for your kids at The Conscious Spender www.theconsciousspender.com.
  7. Prepare your kids for the “wild”. Teach them good money management habits
    using FamZoo’s virtual family bank. Create accounts, schedule allowances, post chore lists, make savings goals, evaluate charitable opportunities. Find tools and support galore at www.famzoo.com.

Happy Financial Literacy Month and Happy Celebrating with the kids in your life. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

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You Donate; They Choose – Charity Gift Cards Rock!

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Barbara Lewis

I love this subject!  I meet people at trade shows, holiday boutiques, retail stores and social events and enjoy describing TripleGift’s Spend Save Share® money holder greeting cards and the educational concept behind them. Often, this question is posed to me: “How can I be sure the ‘Share’ portion of my Spend Save Share monetary gift is actually shared?”  My response?  “Give a charity gift card!”

If you’re unfamiliar with this product, just type “Charity Gift Cards” into your browser and be prepared to learn about a host of organizations that offer a wonderful solution to the “how can I be sure they’ll share” dilemma.

The concept is simple and identical to the one used by Target, Toys R Us, Macy’s, etc. You, the gift card buyer, purchase a card by making a donation in the amount you desire. Your young recipient redeems the card by choosing a charity to receive the donation.

There are a growing number of charity gift cards from which to choose, many of which feature corporate, memorial and special event giving programs in addition to individual charity gifts for individuals. Here are three of my favorites, which I like equally for their simplicity of use and large number of charity choices.

Just Give (www.justgive.org) has been in existence for more than 10 years. Congratulations!  On this site, gift card purchasers can create personalized cards with their own images, stock photos or messages. More than 1.8 million charities are listed in its Just Give Guide.  I especially like the site’s Inspiring Kids page about kids and giving, its Memorial Registry and Act Locally, where you can enter your own zip code and find charities close to home.

TisBest (www.tisbest.org) strives to help gift givers to “Give a Better World” by offering e-cards, printable cards or plastic cards that feature the giver’s choice of image and customized message. I love their tagline, “Converting a gift-of-stuff to a gift-of-good every 43 seconds!”

Six Degrees (www.sixdegrees.org) was created by actor Kevin Bacon and the nonprofit Network for Good in 2007. Based on the concept that any one person is connected to any other person six or fewer relationships, it strives to use that idea to accomplish good in our small world, “social networking with a social conscience”.   Six degrees’ Good Cards® may be redeemed as a donation to more than 1 million charities.

I know from experience that these products and the idea behind them work. Last Christmas Day, a friend who’d purchased Spend Save Share cards for her sons posted on Facebook, “Tyler’s online researching charities!” Yes!

My own grandsons, who’ve received many charity gift cards by now, often donate the “Share” portion of their gift to their favorite animal rescue or sports-related nonprofits, but sometimes decide to branch out. Last year, Matt, saw something on TV about kids in Africa not having clean drinking water and identified that as his cause. Charity gift card in hand, he went to the card’s site and searched “clean water” and “African children”.  He chose from a variety of organizations listed and made his donation to a cause that spoke to him at that time.

So there you have it, an easy way to give your favorite children the incentive to share with their world and, perhaps, begin a lifelong habit of philanthropy. This holiday season is the perfect time to start!

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.— Dr. Seuss

 

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Read to a Teen: Simple Idea; Big Impact

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Barbara Lewis


You know I love writing about kids who are inspired to “make a difference” in a small way and, before you know it, are watching their efforts develop into something REALLY BIG.

Today is the unofficial first day of fall, but a temperature of 92 degrees is forecast where I live. I’m hoping some lemonade stand proprietors will be out there selling cool drinks after school and donating some of their profits to a started-by-a-kid charity like Claire Williams’ Read to a Teen.

Now that school is back in session, many adults are thinking about the reading proficiency their young sons, daughters and students may have lost over the summer. Aspiring teacher Claire Williams never stopped thinking about it because she was doing something about it! Claire spent her high school senior summer shepherding her Read to a Teen (www.readtoateen.org) program and helping children retain and improve their reading skills.

Six years ago, as a sixth grader and avid reader, Claire began volunteering at her local library’s summer reading program. The next year, “Book Legger” Claire visited summer schools to read to kids. As the years passed and Claire continued volunteering, she saw how cutbacks in education funding (particularly those that eliminated summer remedial reading programs) were affecting young readers in general and ESL (English as a Second Language) students in particular. She was inspired to help.

As a high school junior, Claire worked with her library to establish a program through which children, ESL and others, could sign up to read with teen volunteers for 30 minutes per visit. The following year, she got her high school leadership class involved and, soon after, established Read to a Teen. The interactive learning program centers around engaging the child in the story and prompting them on comprehension questions. The goal? To help children develop better learning tools to use throughout their education. 

Along the way, Claire learned that many of the children who came to read with Read to a Teen volunteers did not have books at home. Undaunted, she spearheaded a book drive that collected 1,600 books for children. She donated them to the pediatric department at Axis Community Health, a local nonprofit health and human services organization which serves many area low income families. Read all about it in last January’s Pleasanton Weekly story, Books! One teen’s gift to the young, by Dolores Ciardelli.

Claire’s efforts continue as she looks ahead to a career as a teacher. She has received a $1,000 grant from Kohl’s to further her Read to a Teen efforts and has received inquiries from other Northern California communities interested in replicating Read to a Teen in their areas. Claire was recently named a Hometown Hero by Bay Area News Group and Comcast, celebrating people in the San Francisco East Bay Area who make a difference in their communities. Reporter Katie Nelson’s newspaper story, Hometown Hero: Pleasanton student develops novel reading program, appeared on August 21st and describes how a girl’s passion for reading and desire to help children succeed has made a big difference to many young students.

As the school year gets under way, kudos to Claire and to all the students whose lives she and her team of volunteers have helped. Happy reading to you all!

(Photo credits: Doug Duran, Bay Area News Group)

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Sisters, Socks and Simple Solutions

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Barbara Lewis

This is the fourth of my summer posts that, I hope, will inspire young lemonade stand proprietors to donate some of their profits to a started-by-a-kid charity this year.

Amelia Pennewell was 9 years old when, on their way to visit relatives on Thanksgiving Day, she and her family passed homeless people lined up outside a soup kitchen. She noticed that some of them had no shoes and many had no socks. She asked if she could get them some socks and her mother agreed that she could. The next day, the family bought socks and took them to the shelter and thus began a simple, kind gesture that turned BIG –Amelia’s Socks.

Amelia arranged for a sock drive at her school in Livermore, CA and contacted the media. That first drive collected 3,000 pairs of socks that were donated to shelters in Oakland, Calif. and the Livermore area. Three years later, Amelia’s Socks was delivering socks to shelters in many more San Francisco Bay Area cities.

Fast forward to the present. Amelia is now 21 years old and a student at Arizona State University. Her sister, soon-to-be high school freshman Pamela White, now organizes the ongoing collection of socks. To date, Amelia’s Socks has donated more than 100,000 pairs of socks far and wide. Not only Bay Area residents, but also victims of Hurricane Katrina, needy families in Mexico and soldiers in Iraq have received new, warm, dry socks to wear. The soldiers also requested children’s socks to be given to Iraqi children.

Want to get into the act? Kids can experience the joy of picking out socks with some of their lemonade stand profits, delivering them in person or popping them into a box or padded envelope and mailing them to Amelia’s Socks, c/o First Presbyterian Church of Livermore, 2020 Fifth Street, Livermore, CA 94550. With back-to-school around the corner, now is the perfect time to shop for kids’ socks!

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