Tag: teachers

The Launch of The Lunchbox Movement: Filling Bellies AND Hearts

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“Wealth is not to feed our egos,
 But to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves.”
-Andrew Carnegie

The Launch of The Lunchbox Movement: Filling Bellies AND HeartsThis summer 2018, The Lunchbox Movement launched, delivering lunchboxes filled with love to the children participating in Team Walker in Jersey City (Team Walker is a summer camp whose mission is to “improve the quality of life for the children of Jersey City”).

Across the country, about 30 million children receive free or reduced lunch every school day through the National School Lunch Program. Unfortunately, during summer vacation, many go without lunch—including while attending summer camp.

The Launch of The Lunchbox Movement: Filling Bellies AND HeartsWhen the children of Wear the Cape and kidkind foundation Founder Leigh Ann Errico learned of hungry bellies at Team Walker’s camp, they immediately stepped up and created The Lunchbox Movement to help. The partnership with Team Walker was made possible by Board Member Dianne Jacobs.

The Launch of The Lunchbox Movement: Filling Bellies AND HeartsThe Errico children, with assistance from their mom and volunteers, called local stores to request food and monetary donations in order to create and fill reusable lunchboxes—donated by kidkind foundation—with a nutritious lunch and snacks. These lunchboxes not only fed the bellies of Team Walker campers, but also their hearts; the Errico children wrote the reminder that “It’s cool to be kind” by hand and placed them in every child’s lunchbox.

The Launch of The Lunchbox Movement: Filling Bellies AND HeartsFilling the lunchboxes was a group effort. The Errico children, along with other Cape Kids, spent countless hours of their summer vacation packing the lunchboxes, all while giggling, singing, dancing, and having a blast. “It’s fun to help others!” exclaimed Charlotte Errico, age 8 and a rising third grader.

Thanks to the many donations from local merchants (see donor list below),The Lunchbox Movement was able to fill lunchboxes with bagels, granola bars, waters, juice boxes, fruit snacks, apples, bananas, and cookies.  There was such a bounty generously provided by our donor partners that kidkind foundation was able to pack extra foods, so that the campers of Team Walker would have snacks to nourish them in the afternoon, as well as to take home and eat when hungry.

The Launch of The Lunchbox Movement: Filling Bellies AND HeartsAlong  with delicious lunches, kidkind foundation donated our children’s book,  It’s Good To Be Kind,  written by Lauren DuBois Rosemond, a story about sharing kindness in a special way.  Click Here to purchase a copy.

We are incredibly grateful to all who donated to The Lunchbox Movement:

  • Burger King (Gillette, NJ): Juice boxes
  • Kings (Gillette, NJ): $50 gift card
  • Costco (Bridgewater, NJ): $25 gift card
  • Shoprite (Stirling, NJ): $25 gift card
  • Costco (East Hanover, NJ): $25 gift card
  • BJs (Linden, NJ): $25 gift card
  • Acme (Warren, NJ): Napkins, water bottles, granola bars, fruit snacks, juice boxes
  • Stop and Shop (Watchung, NJ): Bagels, butter, resealable plastic bags, cookies, apples, bananas

The Launch of The Lunchbox Movement: Filling Bellies AND Hearts“It is heartwarming and meaningful to see children focused on giving and serving others in need,” stated Leigh Ann Errico, Founder and CEO of Wear the Cape and the kidkind foundation.“Summer is about fun and making memories for many, but we need to help our children understand that not all people are so fortunate to enjoy the season, carefree. It’s our job to show kids how to see beyond their own realities and step away from their worlds in order to tap into having compassion for others.”

The kidkind foundation is humbled and grateful for the community support that made the first undertaking of The Lunchbox Movement possible. We look forward to continuing and expanding these valued partnerships in the future!

Please email leighann@wearthcapekids.com to donate or to nominate an organization that is in need of help from The Lunchbox Movement.

 

 

 

 

Let’s Grow Our Mindset!

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Grow our mindsetThere is a popular view among educators in regards to intelligence that students should be pushed to adopt a Growth Mindset. Mindset is the concept that everyone holds a personal “theory” of themselves, as explained by Dr. Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.

According to Dweck, there are two mindsets: Fixed and Growth. A Fixed Mindset is one where people feel that their basic qualities, such as talent and intelligence, are “fixed” and, therefore, unable to be improved upon.

One with a Fixed Mindset may say, “I can’t do that because I’m not good at it, or I’m dumb,” causing him/her to give up easily, ignore feedback, avoid challenges, and develop anxiety around fears.

On the other hand, a Growth Mindset allows one to believe that he/she can achieve whatever is desired by building the basic qualities that they have, through hard work and guided assistance.

Developing a Growth Mindset is crucial for both young and old, as it helps a person to embrace challenges, give 100% effort, become inspired by other people’s successes, and learn from feedback.

As educators and parents, it is our responsibility to help mold a positive Growth Mindset in our children and students. Below are some examples of how you can help your children build their Growth Mindset and assist them in creating a positive frame of mind, necessary to become successful and happy.

Below we have listed several Growth Mindset Goals for you to use with your students, children….and even yourself!

Growth Mindset Goals:

  1. Embrace the word “YET”: Dweck encourages all to add the word “yet” to our conversations with children. When you hear them say, “I can’t,” follow up with a “yet”. This allows our brains to understand that, although we cannot do something at this time, with hard work and patience, we very well may master the task at hand.
  2. Accept Mistakes: When one makes a mistake or fails at a task, applaud the effort AND use the event as a teachable moment to gain wisdom on what could have been done differently to be successful. Failure often leads children and adults to give up; teach your child that making mistakes and failures are just bumps on the road to success.
  3. Praise Properly: When you praise your child, do not compliment their ability or talent, but rather their effort, success, and even failure (see #2). Telling your child she is smart or talented in a specific area can limit her desire to challenge herself in another. This has the same effect in the form of negative praise. Stating, “Don’t worry, math is not your thing” or “You can quit gymnastics if you can’t do that cartwheel” have a negative impact on a child’s outlook, shaping a Fixed Mindset and causing them to believe that they do not have to try hard or challenge themselves to succeed.
  4. Ask Open-Ended Questions: Rather than dismiss a task where your child is having difficulty with a passive comment, encourage your child’s Growth Mindset by asking open-ended questions such as, “How can you change what you are doing to make it work better?”
  5. Rephrase your questioning:  Rather than state, “I see you are having trouble with this,” you can say, “I like how you are working diligently to get the correct answer; what else can you do to solve the problem?”

Cape Kids with Extra Big Hearts – A call to Volunteer

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National Volunteer MonthApril is National Volunteer Month – a month dedicated to helping others through volunteering. In honor of this special month, and to help live out our mission of spreading kindness and helping others, Wear The Cape organized a very special volunteer activity that was open to all kids looking to make a difference.

Wear The Cape collaborated with The Bounce Factory in Warren, New Jersey to create a fun-filled and meaningful volunteer experience for both young and old. Our Cape Kids spent an early evening assisting both children and adults during a dedicated bounce time for those with developmental disabilities, called Gentle Bounce.

Staff and caregivers praised our Cape Kids for their selflessness and care. There were lots of smiles and hearts were filled, due to the service of our Cape Kids. We are incredibly proud of all of the young children who gave their time to serve and name you all our Cape Kids for the month of April for your selflessness and heroism. Congratulations to Samantha Errico, Tom Errico, Charlotte Errico, Niko Errico, Michael Mancino, Sarah Husain, Sara Allian, Nadine Greybek, Lexie Mancino, Nick Mancino, Kayla Cullinane, and Kate Allian on a job well done!

Thank you to Cheryl Taylor, owner of The Bounce Factory and her staff, for your guidance and support, and for opening your doors to those in need each week.

Keep your eyes open for more volunteer opportunities from Wear The Cape in the future.