Charity Begins At Home

I tend to see myself as a giving person. I like to give time, money, whatever is needed to help others. Recently, I began trying to look more into what happens to the money we donate to these organizations. For instance, is there a child who will enjoy a meal on me today or is there a fat cat who will enjoy a little cushion in his pocket towards his vacation home in the Bahamas? 

In my research, I came across a gem of a site called Charity Navigator. Charity Navigator basically evaluates charities and posts information about them. The site not only gives information as to what companies do with your donations, but also provides information to companies on how to improve their performance as a charity. 

More than that, it has information for consumer, philanthropists, advocates, whatever you wish to be called, on how to go about determining charities to donate or volunteer with, and even how to deal with charity solicitors.

There is so much useful information provided on this site and it is free and easy to use. I would recommend that, anyone looking to spread love with their big hearts, Charity Navigator be the first place you turn for all your sharing needs.

What can be done to help the homeless? Part 1

When I am downtown, especially in the commons, I often see homeless people, not many, just a few. Before I started doing volunteer work I was not aware of how many homeless people there really are in our area. And I also had no idea that the face I often saw asking for money or sleeping on a bench, was not the common face of homelessness. As a matter of fact, in Boston the homeless are usually made up of families with children. To get an idea of what it is like your area, you can use this interactive map.

I often wondered what I could even do to help the homeless. There are plenty of ways however, as I have learned over the years. The first is through obvious things like donations to support shelters, or donations of specific items to shelters. There are many places in which a person can work the local soup kitchens or food banks. Some states have building projects which need volunteers, and you can also do a drive through your company to help.

In the past I have worked with an organization called Project Night Night. I was working with a lot of creative people and we were able to fill over 20 bags for the local Salvation Army shelter. The bags consist of books a blanket and a toothbrush/toothpaste for multiple age groups. They send you the bags and materials to organize the drive and when they are filled, you go to the shelter in your area and drop them off.


The MA based organization I have spent the last year with, is called Horizons for Homeless Children. The position I hold is known as a PAL. My duty as a PAL is to go to a shelter once a week and play with the children in our organization's designated play area. During this time, the children are having an active and positive experience free of the worries of life, while the parents undergo either parenting or job training, or look for employment, depending on the facility. There are multiple shifts, I have an AM one as I am a chicken about taking the train by myself in the evening, although I know our center has evening shifts as well. I was placed at a shelter for female domestic abuse victims who had become homeless by fleeing the abuse. The time I am there, the women are attending parenting classes, which is often very warranted after how they, themselves, have been treated . I go in and prepare the room, make sure it was cleaned up after the last pals were there, and there is nothing unsafe. The parents bring the children down and pick them up after the class.

 These are just a few places to start, if you are interested. I love to help others and lend a hand, and I feel that if everyone does a little something to help others, this world isn't so bad.

Teacher Unions for Childcare workers?

http://meceu.org/

Ok, so the link above is for the MECEU, which is attempting to initiate a union for Early Childhood Educators. I am on the fence, just kidding, there's no reason this should not be enacted!

Pros of Union Labor-
Collective negotiations for wages and benefits with greater success than asking on your own

Cons of Union Labor-
Sometimes wages can end up raised to unrealistically high levels which ends up creating greater costs for the product, in this case, care for children (honestly, I don't think there is enough money in the world to have your child well cared for).

Then there are strikes, which I don't know if they are pros or cons really. What are your thoughts?

I foresee a Union as a good thing here. In Massachusetts, the average mean income in 2008, according to the U.S. census bureau, was $65,304, while the average income for a childcare worker is $32,120 (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2009). Maybe this is due to women still being underpaid, and 98% of early childhood educators being female (http://www.pay-equity.org/PDFs/ProfWomen.pdf).

With the requirements necessary to work in childcare in Massachusetts (http://www.mass.gov/Eoedu/docs/EEC/prof_development/eec_certificationapp.pdf) is it worth the trouble to make the same amount of money as an entry level retail or food service worker who had to meet little to no prerequisites for their job?

Then, is it fair for the children to be cared for by people who are excessively stressed with their issues due to living in or near the poverty line. Many of them have multiple jobs or work unreasonable hours to make up for the lack of pay they get, which can cause them to be overtired, irritable, or just not aware of what they are even doing. The increased stress also has an impact on their health. Increased stress=lower immune system. Do the math:
Low immune system+hours with often ill children=teachers needing time off, money for medicine or health care, or having to work while sick.
The latter is more common as childcare facilities are often understaffed or just staffed enough to function, and many teachers just can't miss a minute on their paycheck.

In a study done by the National Institute for Early Education Researchabout Pre-K teachers salaries it was found that The highest median hourly wages were reported by teachers in Maryland ($29.07), Pennsylvania ($28.19), Michigan ($27.62), and New York ($25.32) all states where a large proportion of programs are in public schools. The lowest median hourly wages were reported by teachers in Florida ($10.07), New Mexico ($10.96), Hawaii ($12.66), and Massachusetts ($12.95). They also found that 14% of teachers reported an annual salary below the federal poverty threshold, and 71% earned a salary less than 200 % of the federal poverty threshold, a measure widely regarded as the line below which families are considered low-income. In 11 of the nations 52 statewide prekindergarten systems, more than one-third of the teachers earned a salary below the federal poverty threshold, the worst being Alaska (59 percent below the poverty level), Florida (46 percent), Washington (44 percent) and Delaware (42 percent).

As a teacher in Massachusetts, making a mere 10$/hr with 7+ years of experience as a teacher 4 years as an assistant director, and a proud owner of BA in Psych., I can attest that preschool teaching is not earning a living. If it were not for my love of working with children and my loyalty to my employer, I would run far away right now. Instead, I am attempting to find ways to make changes in the industry and trying to find other ways to make money. No luck with that so far, but I don't give up easily.

Behavior Worksheets

Behavior Worksheets

This site is amazing, helps teach children important things in a way that is comprehensible as well as fun. I have found it effective with my child and I would recommend checking it out for printable charts and activities.

STDs and children

Those two things should not be heard together, am I right? In a recent article on the Advocates for Youth website (www.advocatesforyouth.org), I found this gem (the entire article must be read to get the full effect of the message but it is truly outstanding):
Quote
Tuesday August 10, 2010
Should We Tell Our Kids that STDs are Normal?
by Martha Kempner
In a blog on Psychology Today’s website, Kathryn Stamoulis, a psychologist who specializes in adolescent sexuality and teens’ internet behaviors, suggests that it’s time we take the stigma out of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and start talking about them as a normal risk of a normal behavior. Her argument is quite logical: STDs are extremely prevalent in our society among both teens and adults, treating them like the ultimate social taboo does nothing to prevent teens from contracting them (years of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and fear-based education have not reduced teen sex or the transmission of STDs), and what it may actually do is prevent teens from taking important steps to protect and treat themselves (like seeking out regular STD screening).

She suggests that STDs are a normal risk of sexual contact similar to how contracting a cold or a flu is a natural risk of being in close contact with others during the winter. “Just imagine what life would look like if people viewed STDs as a normal part of fooling around,” she writes. “Without fear of tarnishing his reputation, a teenage boy could tell his partner ‘you may not want to get too close to me this week; I'm clearing up a case of Chlamydia.’ Or a teen girl may view getting tested twice a year as routine as she does a teeth cleaning.”

She is absolutely right that stigma prevents many people from seeking the protective behaviors they need—be it buying condoms before having sex or getting tested for STDs afterwards. We do have to change our tone when talking about STDs to get rid of the shame and blame. STDs are a health issue; not a sign of poor morals or bad behavior.

But normal, is that taking it too far?

As a sexuality educator, I have spent a lot of time criticizing abstinence-only-until-marriage programs for their use of fear and shame especially when it comes to STDs. A common tactic of these programs is to show young people slides of STDs in their extremely advanced stages; cervixes that are dripping with pus or penises covered with cauliflower-sized warts. I do not think these are appropriate teaching tools for a number of reasons. First, they’re not particularly educational—these pictures represent late stages of STDs that in all honesty few people ever reach. If we do want to show young people pictures of STDs, at the very least we should be showing them those in the earliest stages in order to help them understand when to seek testing and treatment.

Second, the narration accompanying these slides often says things like “As a result of this Chlamydia infection, this young woman, even though she only had sex with one person, will never be able to have children.” Not only do such statements gloss over important information—like the fact that Chlamydia is easily cured with antibiotics if caught early and that even if caught later infertility can be averted—they also seem to suggest that the owner of the cervix in the picture is to blame for her predicament and, worse, is now damaged goods. Such message of fear and shame are always inappropriate.

Lastly, I think it is worth noting that those who support showing pictures of diseased genitals are the very same forces who try to censor any curriculum or book that shows pictures of naked people or healthy genitalia on the grounds that they are pornographic and not age-appropriate. This just further underscores the messages that sex, and even our bodies, are sources of shame.

As a mother who wants to protect her children from anything that causes pain or discomfort, though, I have to admit that calling STDs simply a normal part of fooling around makes me a little anxious. It is true that gonorrhea and Chlamydia can be treated easily, but other STDs, like Herpes, can cause recurring pain. And, we can’t forget about HIV which causes numerous medical issue and ultimately still leads to death.

I vividly remember an article I read when I was 14 about a 25-year-old woman who had a severe case of genital Herpes. She explained that urinating during an outbreak was so uncomfortable that she would not do it at work and would instead wait until the end of the day when she could do it as part of a shower or a bath to limit the pain. I don’t know whether the article was designed to scare me or simply to inform me but it sounded horrible enough that I vowed I would not get Herpes. To this day, I believe that some of my vigilance in protecting myself when I became sexually active came from that dread.

This is always one of the challenges of parenthood. How do we raise kids who have an awareness of and a respect for the dangers in the world without scaring them too much? Thus the balancing act. My daughter (who is 4) has to hold my hand when we’re walking in a parking lot because other drivers might not see her by herself and could “smush” her. She has to wear her seatbelt whenever we drive because it’s safer. And, she shouldn’t talk to strangers. I haven’t told her what would happen to her if she really did get smushed by a car, that people die in car accidents, or that some people are actually out to harm little kids. Some of these messages will come as she gets older and can understand more but I will try not to dwell on danger.

As she gets older, I plan to give similarly balanced messages about sex. Sex itself is a normal and healthy part of life. STDs are a potentially serious health issue. STDs can be avoided even if you are sexually active. It is important to do everything you can to avoid them. If you think you are at risk for an STD, it’s important to get tested and treated as soon as possible. And (this is the uniquely mom message), I will not be angry or think less of you if you get an STD, I will just do my best to help you.

Maybe this is what calling them normal would look like.
End Quote

Topic: Gang Violence Part III

Check out the following link for some things the community can do about gang violence, getting involved is the only way to make a difference!

http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/jjbul9910-1/comm.html

Topic: Gang Violence Part II

Here are the listed warning signs that your loved one might be involved or at risk for involvement in a gang, or really, even just be in need of additional positive attention and support from others:

Behavioral signs:

• Attending school and/or work erratically
• Avoiding family activities
• Using different and unfamiliar words
• Associating with known gang members or known criminals
• Wanting to be alone all the time
• Staying out later than usual
• Drug or alcohol use
  
• Having money or buying things without a known source of income
• Mood Swings or unusual behavior patterns
  

Nonverbal communication signs:

• Highly stylized or strange writing
• Graffiti style writing on notebooks, books, or papers
• Using hand signals, and not on a bike

The following may not mean anything gang related, they may just mean your child is trying to find out who they are, if it is in combination with other serious issues, then worry.

Physical signs:

• Changes in style of dressing
  
• Strange hair styles
• Presence of tattoos
• Sudden or over use of make-up

As I said, I would watch out for these signs, but do not assume that they are in a gang right away, just assume they need your love and support right away. Then go from there.