Equity

Molding With Play-Doh

Jeanna G1 Comment

I run summer camps for kids, and we offer the campers Kindness Coins when they exhibit behaviors that are respectful or honest, or if they’re being a good sport, etc. At the end of the week, the kids can spend those coins at the camp store.

This past week, we transported 10 campers from a low-income neighborhood to join in our camp. When it was their time to buy their prizes, one of the boys held up a container of Play-Doh and asked what it was. I about fell over. I answered his question, but he was still confused as to what one does with it. I told him that he can mold it into different shapes and objects. I ended up giving him a few containers of it, because I just couldn’t stand knowing he had never played with Play-Doh before!

My blog posts are intended to help readers rediscover their childhoods, or to create new child-like experiences, but I’d like to add a new intention to the list: encourage my readers to help children live their best lives!

There are kids who have nothing to play with. Play helps us to learn and grow, and to have curiosities about and motivations for the future. And don’t forget how much joy they can bring into our lives! And yes, Christmas is a great time to donate, but kids like toys all the time! Some places to consider: foster homes, day cares, and womens’ shelters, or organizations like The Toy Foundation, Stuffed Animals For Emergencies, or Toys for Tots.

Please consider donating toys. While they are molding little creations from their imaginations, we can feel good about helping to mold our youth into happy little humans.

Sharing is Caring

Jeanna G2 Comments

When we first moved to town, before buying the house I grew up in, we rented a house next to a family that became and remains close friends of ours. They had a daughter that was about my age, so naturally we played together often. When we bought our house around the corner and down the road, we still made our way back to their house to play on a regular basis. In the summers, they participated in a program called the Fresh Air Fund. Two young children from New York City would travel to our rural town to live with their host family, our friends, for the summer. My parents followed their lead and welcomed a young girl to live with us for a summer. I anticipated their arrival with a buzz of energy because I knew how the increase in group size would spur fresh dynamics that harnessed a lot of potential for game play!

The mission of the Fresh Air Fund is to transform limited opportunity into limitless potential for the underserved children of NYC. I wasn’t aware of this at the time, but my experiences with these children was my introduction to racial inequity. I remember how excited and nervous the children were in some of their new experiences with us. What do you mean you’ve never swum in a pond before? What do you mean you’ve never rolled down the side of a grassy hill before? What do you mean you’ve never stomped through a brook or walked through the woods or caught fireflies before? I took my advantages and opportunities for granted. I still do.

I offer up prayers of thanksgiving and gratitude, and prayers for those in need. My life’s work has revolved around helping the young and underprivileged gain skills and knowledge to achieve their goals. And so maybe I’m doing better than some of my privileged white counterparts in the awareness department, but I cannot become complacent, because there is always more to do and more to give.

I’m hopeful that, in light of recent events, more white people, myself included, will come to terms with their white identities. They will do some digging, uncover some truths, and let in some light. And then they will begin to share. And I don’t necessarily mean opening the doors to our homes to welcome in children from the city (although I highly recommend it!). I mean to share the kinds of things that are replenished and multiplied through the act of sharing: kindness, joy, knowledge, experiences, time, and friendship.

It’s past time for a season of change. It’s past time for those of us who have been breathing freely, stagnant as the air may be, to throw open the doors in our minds, because everyone can benefit from fresh air.

What gifts can you share? How can you help to level the playing field for all humankind? What opportunities and privileges have you taken for granted throughout your life?