28: TAG You're I to Help Stop Bullying

I thought the best way to end a week of Celebration of Life and children would be to talk about bullying, since it affects directly or indirectly so many, if not all, children. In my research, I found Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center and the Together Against Bullying (TAG) Program, and I love it.
PACER offers the best anti-bullying site I've seen so far with loads of resources, toolkits for classrooms. videos, stories, ways to get involved, and events.In fact there's so much great content, I feel bad skimming such a small surface. I highly suggest an in-depth look at PACER resources if you have children in school, just so you are aware of the signs and effects, if nothing else.

They also run other programs besides the TAG program, which caught my eye because it brings fun and awareness to bullying in a quick and clever manner.  Kids Against Bullying and Teens Against Bullying are main categories of large programs, but the y have specialized areas for inclusivity of LGBTQ and Disabled children.  The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes in creating a more vibrant and diverse community.

We have all grown increasingly aware of the detriments of bullying, particularly cyberbullying lately. In my not at all humble opinion, no child should ever be given cause, even fleetingly, to think of committing suicide, much less be driven to it by bullying.  Almost anyone can get involved in even the smallest ways, costing nothing to support the cause. First, just help someone, be kind, throw out a compliment randomly or share a comment here and tell us why you care: http://www.pacer.org/bullying/icarebecause/ I care because I want children to be able to grow and live in a better world and share the unique self they are - not matter who that may be.
On this page, http://www.pacerteensagainstbullying.org/tab/take-action/,  you can learn how to help. You can download this flyer and place it around your school or office: http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/NBPC-flyer.pdf. You can wear orange October 19 for Unity Day to express your support.
You can order bookmarks for our school here: http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/bookmarks.asp
The site offers a rich array of videos, including video situations of bullying and pop quizzes to explore the behind the scene dynamics. 
The information here is thoughtful and varied, so I hope you will take a look, because after all, 

TAG! You're it. 

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Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.

Thanks and cheers to charity, m

27: Remembering How They Lived

http://www.calyxandbeau.org/photo-gallery.html

The world of nonprofits (well, the world in general) gives us many different ways we can look at this week of Celebration of Life. Sometimes, tragically, we lose those we love, but somehow some people not only survive, but they turn around and make the world a better place.  This is a story of someone who transformed grieving for the loss of his two beautiful children into a celebration of the lives they may have had by creating The Calyx & Beau Schenecker Memorial Fund dedicated to "Promoting the arts, athletics, and altruism in today’s young people by giving them the chance to live their dreams." (http://www.calyxandbeau.org/about-us.html). 

Today is the sixth anniversary of Colonel Parker Schenecker's loss of Calyx and Beau, and after living through the unthinkable, he still graciously allows us to share his story. I hope you find this nonprofit as beautiful as I do and celebrate the life of someone you hold dear, whether they are with you or not.

The Calyx & Beau Schenecker Memorial Fund was established after their tragic deaths in January of 2011 and has granted over $60,000 in scholarships for students and grants for non-profit organizations. http://www.calyxandbeau.org/about-us.html

The Fund sponsors Calyx Schenecker Art Infinitum, an annual High School Fine Arts Scholarship Competition and the Beau Schenecker "Infinity + 1" Culinary Arts Scholarship, at two local colleges, the Chargers Soccer Club state-wide Labor Day Showcase tournament, and the Schenecker Leadership and Ethics Seminar/Speaker Series, focusing on youth development.  (http://www.calyxandbeau.org/scholarships.html). 

The Rest of the Story 

I feel like you should know how hugely impacted I have been by Colonel Schenecker and how often I turn to what I know about him as an example of improving myself. I share the following with you if you want to know more about how and why the Calyx & Beau Schenecker Memorial Fund began.

I pulled an all-nighter one night after being invited to an amazing nonprofit event from because i said i would. I had been asked by RAINN to run a booth and we hadn't had much notice. I was worried about what to expect and whether I could do a good job for RAINN. I drove to Columbus, didn't get any sleep, and arrived in the convention center around 6:30. This isn't meant to complain, but to explain my nervous, foggy state of mind. Do you ever have one of those days the whole world seems grumpy? I did that day, but then as I made trip after trip up and down the escalator, a man gave me a genuine have-a-good-morning- smile, and I felt so much relief. I smiled a few more times we passed, but we never talked. I still thank you for that, sir - it made everything better. And this is the kind of man he is, a man who can smile at a stranger and make her day. This despite all he has led through in life and as a member of the armed forces for 27 years. S few hours later, I heard him speak about his tragedy. I heard what he had been through but also how he transformed. I also heard and observed things about being strong, honorable, and the ability to heal that reinforced the hope I have from and for this world. I hope you will listen to Colonel Parker Schenecker's speech below just as I heard it. I was standing to his right on the sidelines. I am a sidelines kind of person cheering you, Colonel Schenecker, and the world on, so it was perfect. If you watch no other videos I share this year, please watch this and imagine yourself being the best you can be. Thanks for being a role model, Colonel.

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Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.
Thanks and cheers to charity, m

25: A Special Kind of Children's Donation, Giving Hope and Making Miracles

In case you hadn't noticed, I am a huge fan of donating, and I don't mean just money or time. I like all kinds of donation, and I immensely support blood and organ donations. I am still saving my kidney for someone in particular at this point, but I am registered organ donor and blood marrow donor. In the Celebration of Life and children this week, I wanted to make sure we focused on organ donation for children with the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA).  Transplant procedures can vary, usually from $100,000 -$800,000, and though many families have insurance, the costs not covered by insurance and outside of the transplant surgery can add up to a great deal. For example, what if the family has to travel a long way and stay for an extended period of time while a child has transplant surgery or other procedures before and after it? What about the ongoing medical needs, prescriptions and other care the child needs prior to the surgery and after? Plus every serious illness, particularly in a child, can require a great deal of sacrifice from family, including one or more caregivers losing time at work. Organizations like COTA help families by assisting in fundraising, distribution, and  in this area, though I am sure there remains so much more help they need when dealing with such serious illnesses. 

Additionally, post-transplant medications and medical care costs often add up to more than $10,000 annually.
Most insurance providers require a family to pay an annual deductible that can exceed $10,000 and require a co-payment for each visit to the doctor, clinic or for individual medical tests. No plan pays all transplant-related expenses and even a ‘solid’ insurance plan may only cover 80% of the ‘normal and customary’ expenses incurred within a pre-determined network or at a specific hospital.
Even with insurance coverage, very few transplant families have the resources to meet these tremendous financial demands. When faced with the burden of a child’s potentially fatal diagnosis, most families need help.  http://cota.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/COTA-FAQs.pdf

What does COTA do?

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support.

How It Works

COTA will guide you and your volunteers through every step of the fundraising process including:

• Organizing and training volunteers.
• Planning successful events and activities.
• Working with your local media.
• Using online, web-based resources for communications and fundraising.
• Finding multiple sources of funding.

COTA provides information to your community to assure them the funds raised for transplant-related expenses are raised ethically and used appropriately. Because COTA is the administrator of the money raised in your community, these funds are not taxable income and do not jeopardize participation in assistance programs. Additionally, COTA offers each patient fundraising campaign a challenge grant of up to $5,000.

ALSO: 

• The Children's Organ Transplant Association does not charge for its services. 100% of funds raised in honor of patients are available for transplant-related expenses.
• COTA funds are available for a patient's lifetime for almost any transplant-related expense.

Throughout our journey in philanthropy for Donations by the Dozen, we will see organizations like this who help the families with the additional burden of costs insurance doesn't cover or other areas beyond help they may receive from other sources, and families truly need this valuable assistance. The story in this link http://cota.org/st-louis-toddler-receives-kidney-from-facebook-follower/ gives you an idea of the story of just one child and an amazing kidney donor found, of all places, on Facebook. 

I feel the COTA system behind this is valuable to all of us, especially those of you who are frequented with GoFundMe assistance who know how much need a family can have when going through a hardship. The COTA system is only for children and young adult organ transplant costs, but the idea behind holds far ore benefits to raise funds in a systematic, tax deductible manner, unlike some of the other fundraising platforms. Also, by being specialists in this area and having a network of more than 200,000 Miracle Makers and other resources to maximize fundraising. "Throughout the country, people have become COTA Miracle Makers and organized fundraisers in honor of COTA families, advocated on behalf of transplant patients, participated in COTA fundraising events, and made gifts to further COTA’s life-saving mission." (http://cota.org/give/become-a-miracle-maker/)

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google,

on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graceinitiative/,

on twitter https://twitter.com/MarciGoLightly,

or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html where you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donations by the Dozen.

Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.

Thanks and cheers to charity, m

24: Positivity Project and National Compliment Day Because Other People Matter

Yes you are beautiful. You are beautiful for reading this, and you are beautiful for being who you are, no matter who that is. I appreciate you for reading and following along on this philanthropic journey. I want to compliment you particularly right now, because it's National Compliment Day. World Compliment Day is later in the year so expect more then or any time, actually. For today's Donations by the Dozen, I wanted to reflect the positivity of compliments and continue the Celebration of Life with The Positivity Project (POSProject). This fits beautifully with this week's Celebration of Life and the lives of children. "The Positivity Project is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping America’s youth build stronger relationships by seeing the character strengths in themselves and others. It is empowering and effective, creating self-confidence and introspection to be shared in communities. 

Our vision is to create citizens and leaders who will enhance our communities and country by internalizing the belief that “Other People Matter.” (https://posproject.org) The Positivity Project focuses on recognizing and exploring character strength in children and teaching "students how to identify, appreciate, and articulate the character strengths in themselves and others. In our model, consistency is key. We empower teachers to help their students build positive and enduring habits. Students emerge with enhanced self-confidence and relationships – thereby cultivating a stronger sense of community at the classroom level and fostering a culture of character across the school." (https://posproject.org/what-we-do/#implementation)

The model goes beyond teaching character by scientific method as the foundation for showing character. It reaches beyond behavior by instilling and empowering children to appreciate character strengths in themselves and in others to be leaders in their own lives and in the community. Some of the resources POSProject uses are here https://posproject.org/resources/, including character cards, videos, books. and activities you can do with your own children if you like the Positivity Project and don't have a school near you using it. Better yet, share this with a school if you want. The metrics image above says a great deal about how those involved feel about the project, and I appreciate how it shows a relationship of growth and positivity, two of my favorite things. 
One fun thing you can do if you like exploring positivity and character is discover more about yourself by taking this survey: http://www.viacharacter.org/www/Character-Strengths-Survey. Your results show you the order of your greatest strengths, rather than surveys that tell you a few things in percentages or averages. I found it interesting to see what came first, second and so forth, and you may too. Plus quizzes and survey are just fun. 
In the video, below, I think the recognition (at mark 4:03) of kids who feel like they have more to offer and contribute after initiating the Positivity Project than they had before truly affirms the strength of this wonderful program. 

Donations by the Dozen compliments you, Positivity Project, and wish you the best. Readers, I compliment you for sticking with me even though some of our causes aren't as positive or can even be downright depressing. Donations by the Dozen recognizes the sense behind the "it takes a village: mindset, and we hope the village of philanthropy we are making brings you a piece of something you find meaningful to you. Thank you again for being you and joining the journey. 

To read more about the Positivity Project, click here: https://medium.com/the-positivity-project/other-people-matter-6dd17c1a952e#.m97rancct 

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google,
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Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.
Thanks and cheers to charity, m

23: Let's Celebrate Danita's Children

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We are celebrating the life of children this week, and one of the purposes of Celebration of Life Day/Week is to examine the children in our lives and recognize the unique beauty each child is and can be. What about the children who don't have parents or grandparents to celebrate them? Fortunately, some of them still have people and organizations, like Danita Estrelle Watts and Danita's Children. Here is a link to a fabulous media kit in case you want to know or share more, but the website itself is a huge resource too: https://www.danitaschildren.org/mediakit.pdf.

Danita did not speak Creole, the national language of Haiti, nor did she have international work experience, let alone in a third world country. She did not even have income to fund the mission she felt so strongly to pursue, but she knew that God had called her and that He was faithful. As word began to spread that a woman had come to Ouanaminthe to provide care for the orphaned and impoverished children, pastors in the village joined efforts with Danita. In 2000, the Danita’s Children/Hope for Haiti Children’s Center was opened as a small home, serving 14 children.Today the small home and 14 children have grown to a campus with 8 orphan care homes, housing nearly 100 children. In addition to the orphanage, Danita’s Children/Hope for Haiti Children’s Center Inc. is now functioning as a school which educates over 300 children each year, a church that helps meet the spiritual needs of the community, and most recently, a Children’s Medical Center open to all children of Haiti.  .https://www.danitaschildren.org/meetdanita.html

Danita's Children adminsiters several programs covering a variety of basic and community needs: The Orphanage, Baby Rescue, Feeding Program, The School, and The Church. 

The Orphanage 

"Today, we have over 100 children being loved and cared for every single day by an amazing team. These missionaries and staff devote their lives to the mission and vision of Danita’s Children. Our children live in eight different orphan homes, divided by age and gender, in a family environment with a staff member or missionary as a houseparent. They receive clothing, food, education, medical care, toys and an immense amount of love and affection."(https://www.danitaschildren.org/orphanage.html)

Baby Rescue 

"The Baby Rescue program was founded to help reduce infant malnutrition, provide access to medical care for treatable illnesses and lower the child mortality rate within the community of Ouanaminthe, Haiti. Baby Rescue follows the founding principles of Danita’s Children to rescue, love and care for orphans and impoverished children. Our program gives precious, yet frail lives the gift of hope by increasing their chance of survival and providing young mothers with the education to better care for their children." (https://www.danitaschildren.org/babyrescue.html)

Feeding Program

"In 2002, the Hope for Haiti Children’s Center was able to establish a feeding program, which supplies children living in the orphan homes and enrolled in the school with daily meals. Today, over 16,000 meals are provided through the campus cafeteria and feeding programs, to children who otherwise would face malnutrition and potential starvation and early death." (https://www.danitaschildren.org/feedingprogram.html)

The School 

"As Danita and her staff began caring for the children in the orphanage, she soon noticed village children lining the gate to watch as her children were fed, clothed and educated, longing for the same opportunity. Danita knew she couldn’t take hundreds upon hundreds of children into her home, but she could start a school.
The school began with 50 children, and today hundreds of children are receiving education from grades pre-K through 12th, taught by Haitian teachers." (https://www.danitaschildren.org/school.html)

The Church 

"Today, hundreds of people from Ouanaminthe and neighboring villages, attend weekly services at the Hope for Haiti Worship Center where they receive the message of love, hope, spiritual growth, and healing. The worship center is a non-denominational church led by Haitian pastors, accompanied by a pastoral staff."(https://www.danitaschildren.org/church.html)

Danita's Children has many needs, and one thing I appreciate is seeing what they need and why. Although the Donations by the Dozen program is nominal, I find it helpful and inspiring to see the level of organization and transparency here, which makes sense given it's a four star charity (https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=10397).
Donations in kind, medical donations, and more would help these children and their amazing mentor even more. I applaud and celebrate each child and wish you all the most empowerment, encouragement, and happiness you can achieve.

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google,
on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graceinitiative/,
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or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html where you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donation
Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.
Thanks and cheers to charity, m

22: Celebration of Life is Special

It's Celebration of Life Day (http://holidaysofyear.com/celebration-of-life-day/)in America. We  will look at this celebration of children and grandchildren a few times this week, since other countries have a week long celebration of children. Many people take today to celebrate and lavishly honor these young lives with gifts and sweets, but it is also a day to take a careful look at each child you know  in a positive light and truly recognize what makes each youngster in your life unique and special.
I wanted to bring you a nonprofit with a bade of  celebrating children, and guess what? I found Celebrate The Children, A School for Children with Alternative Learning Styles (CTC). I appreciate that every step of the way CTC focuses on the individuality of each child and his or her needs and desires an outcome of success and happiness. As a school, CTC focuses on each child but also on training family and caregivers, research, DIR®, and on-site classrooms where. "The curriculum incorporates all components of the Celebrate the Children program with a heavy focus on independence, abstract thinking and social skills preparing them for less restrictive environments." (http://www.celebratethechildren.org/about.html) "Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based (DIR®) Approach (also known as Floortime™) offers a developmental approach to intervention for children with special needs in partnership with their parents. " and you can find more about it here: www.profectum.org
The curriculum of CTC takes children from elementary school through high school and into transitional programming in the workplace. I feel this model itself should be celebrated along with the children today, which is why I chose CTC. I had a hard time choosing which part I thought was most important to post here for you to read, and  I think Monica Osgood (co-founder with Linda Blaszak) says it best here:

Progress must start with a relationship. We want to support children to become happy, secure, social and creative people, who can think outside the box and think on their feet. We must respect and support each child's unique profile while promoting development through meaningful, relationship-based experiences. The relationships that support this development are built on respect and trust. For children who experience the world in an often disorganized and sometimes fearful way, these trusting relationships require patience and nurturing. A key component of our approach is the involvement of families in the intervention. Sometimes this simply starts with helping the parent and child get back to a place where they can enjoy each other again rather than solely focusing on the challenges. Once we have taken the time to get to know the child and learn about the unique way in which they experience the world, we can support them in reaching higher levels of development.  Autism is a sensory-processing disorder, not an intellectual disorder. Many ASD children are highly intelligent and often gifted. Therefore, if we can make a connection with them, we can tap into all the wonderful gifts they have to offer. We target development from the foundations of self-regulation and engagement, all the way through emotional and abstract thinking and reflection. The most recent research in the field of autism now supports the notion that critical neurological connections are made when children are engaged in pleasurable and meaningful interactions with their caregiver.
​Research identifies engagement, joint attention, as required in order for language and cognition to develop. We also know much more about how all kinds of learning occurs. We understand that we learn with our minds and our bodies. For example, we need to incorporate the understanding of how the ability to see things from different views supports the gestalt of what we are discovering and learning; how the ability to plan and sequence motor actions is related to initiating and sequencing ideas. This whole-body approach to learning is progressive but, at the same time, so fundamental in the world of developmental approaches to learning. When children learn to master and integrate their emotions, ideas, and bodies, the sky is the limit!
Monica G. Osgood 1998, 2011

I hope you take a look at any children in your life today and see the beauty and wonder of who that child is and also who he or she might someday become. If you want an activity for today, you might try having your child write a not to his or her future self. .  Have a great Celebration of Life today and this week.

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google, on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graceinitiative/, on twitter https://twitter.com/MarciGoLightly, or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html* here you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donations by the Dozen.Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com. Thanks and cheers to charity, m

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