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One story told of a young dinosaur coping with her parents’ divorce, while another followed the trials of a worried mouse named Wemberly. A boy learned to handle life’s challenges with the help of a porcupine, and a girl braved the move from Lebanon to Canada.
These were just a few of the tales read aloud by University of Toronto students and members of the Children’s Book Bank, a charity that provides free books and literacy support to children and families in high-needs neighbourhoods across the city.
As part of the non-profit organization’s “Mental Health Story Time,” more than 20 undergraduate students produced YouTube videos featuring recorded picture book readings, complete with lessons for children dealing with anxiety or sadness during the pandemic.
RACINE â When Julia Witherspoon was still working as a Racine Police officer in the 1990s, she remembers searching a kitchen for a firearm that was suspected to have been used in a shooting. She searched through cereal boxes and cupboards for a gun, finding nothing, as the woman whose family lived in the home â a mother â looked on silently, arms crossed.
On top of the fridge, Witherspoon (nee: Burney) noticed a stack of library books. When she started looking through them, the mother spoke up for the first time, yelling âIâm not paying for nothing!â
When police were looking through her home as part of a murder investigation, the woman had been silent. When overdue library books were noticed, she stepped in, fearing a fine she could not afford.
Virtual volunteering easing the strain on heavy need during the pandemic
Volunteer numbers are down because of the pandemic. Hands On PDX is connecting nonprofits with help in a new and safe way. Author: Jon Goodwin Updated: 6:57 PM PST January 28, 2021
PORTLAND, Ore. Even though the calendar flipped over to 2021, we’re still in the thick of the pandemic. That means a lot of folks are still struggling, and you may be one of them.
“What we can do though is keep doing the right thing, thinking about our neighbors thinking about our community thinking again about ourselves about what character looks like,” said Todd Diskin, corporate and special events manager for Hands On Greater Portland.
Mental health support
Donât Shoot PDX is looking for volunteer mental health professionals for a new program, Safer Space for BLM, to provide peer-to-peer emotional support virtually or in person to BIPOC individuals, including those involved in the Black Lives Matter protests. Your services are particularly helpful if youâre BIPOC, or if you have experience working with BIPOC populations. (See: mental health care for BIPOC folks.)
dontshootpdx.org, at-home and in-person options
Political organizing
Get connected with Next Up Oregon to help their mission to engage young people in the political process.
nextuporegon.org, at-home and in-person options