Youth Empowered Action (YEA) summer camp, a vegan camping experience that empowers youth leadership by developing skills and self-confidence, is planning for an amazing summer program for the lucky youth that are able to attend the camp. Is your son or daughter a passionate advocate for recyling, vegetarianism, or animal rights? Would you like to help them channel that passion into positive action and empowerment? Or perhaps you just want to see your favorite teen have a positive experience that will increase confidence, give them a chance to meet other young potential leaders and changemakers, and keep them active and healthy. There are already specialized camps for kids who want to lose weight, play basketball, or want to advance musical skills. But what about the idealist in your life? What about kids who want to make a difference in the world? Where is there for young leaders who want to address global warming, homelessness or homophobia?
Archive for the ‘Children’ Category
Idealism Into Action: Vegan Summer Camp for Young Activists
Saturday, April 24th, 2010Vegan Boy
Monday, February 1st, 2010
My four year old grandson told me, “I am a vegan boy.” He understands a little bit about veganism; I bought him Ruby Roth’s book, That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals, and I read it to him when asks me to read it. He told me yesterday that, “my parents eat animal projects.” I knew he meant products; his mum told him that “the animals feed us.” (Not willingly, though.) He is trying to make sense of the difference in how I eat and how the rest of his family eats. Sometimes, he is peeved with me, for not buying him the cheese he wants. Other times, he is peeved with his parents, because he senses their choices are harming animals. He happily eats vegan food and loves the animals he has come to know, but he eats what is put before him at preschool and at home. I do not proselytize, but I do answer his questions as honestly and briefly as I am able. I think most children would be appalled at what is done to animals if they knew. He only knows a little but it does have him thinking. It has me thinking, too.
The Cow in the Classroom
Sunday, November 15th, 2009On the evening of the Fall Festival at my grandson’s preschool, I had volunteered to work to help make the evening a success. I arrived early as requested and began moving all the little toys and games to the side, disassembling some and preparing space for the games to follow. After getting the room ready, a school official told me that the table on the side of the room was for Chick-Fil-A(TM), who would be arriving soon. When I first heard that a corporate meat-monger would be sharing the space with me, I tried to think how I could make this a positive experience. But as the crew began arriving, complete with sodas and dismembered animal parts, I knew it would never fly. I was angry. Angry that a private preschool would be allowing these corporate shills into the festivities (they were just young kids in actuality). I was angry that schools let these kinds of folks promote their poisonous product to such very young children and their families, when childhood diabetes and obesity have become epidemic. I asked if I could swith locations with someone else, letting them know I was vegan and did not want to be in the space with people promoting meat. I was aware that these corporations were infiltrating the public schools, which I consider unethical and ghastly, but to try to hook the kids when they are so tiny, and in a private school at that – disgusting!
I was moved to the next room, which was actually part of the same room with a counter in between. I could see the Chick-Fil-A(TM) cow was quite uncomfortable, couldn’t talk, and was having difficulty seeing. The cow began walking the hallways to promote their product- dead chickens. In my room, meanwhile, the tiny tots were playing with plastic duckies in water and having a great time. Most of the kids wanted the duckies, but the game was to change them in for candy, The school is a fabulous preschool; they teach the very young children manners, lovely songs, and educate them in so many positive ways. My grandson, who just turned 4, can write his own name, knows all the colors in Spanish and English, says the pledge of allegiance, knows all the days of the weeks and the months of the year.
YEA: Empowerment Camp
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
There have not been many times if my life that I have wished I was 13 again, but this is one of those times. After hearing about the empowerment camp that is being held in the Santa Cruz mountains, I felt a growing envy towards the lucky kids that were going to participate. This camp itself is in a beautiful setting; five days in the gorgeous Santa Cruz mountains is enough to make me feel a bit of longing. Add to that the resumes of the staff, the goals of the program, the creativity of YEA and you might understand my sudden yearning for adolescence again.
During August 17-21, the Ben Lomond Quaker Center of the Santa Cruz mountains will be home to youth from age 11 to 15 for a week of leadership skills training. While most of the young people will be from the San Francisco Bay Area of northern California, kids from all parts of the country are welcome to participate. Each young person will learn how to become active in leadership, learning how to pursue social justice issues in a positive way, and to help prepare them to be the leaders of tomorrow.
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Personality in Paper
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
Nicholas, age 9, decided to use his natural creativity this past Father’s Day to make a dog appear almost out of thin air. I had been saving old newspapers for some time just for such an occasion. We made a messy goo of flour and water paste, tore up the papers into strips, and began to create something that he decided would become a dog. Nicholas had the vision long before I did, because the first day we worked on it, it was a soggy, gooey lump that I had waning faith would be anything recognizable, ever.
On the second day, Nicholas calmly and confidently worked on his dog. We scaled down on the gooey factor and let the strips dry a bit more. We had begun the creation by wadding up some paper into balls for the foundation. But now a nose was shaping, a sitting posture was becoming visible, and ears and a tail appeared. It still looked all out of proportion, but Nicholas assured me that, “It IS the thought that counts, isn’t it?” He was not concerned with painting it or putting eyes on it – no, this was pure art and it needed no adornment.
Vegan Kids Learn to Love Food
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Helping children develop good eating habits is an important goal towards their ultimate good health and nutrition. With childhood diabetes on the rise, very young is a good time to instill healthy habits in those children around us. Keeping meals appetizing and colorful can attract the most rigid palate. A few tricks can really help kids learn to appreciate new food, vegan food, and healthy food.
First of all, include them in the process. If you are trying out a new recipe, set things up so the younger children can help out. If they invest in the creation, they are more likely to want to try it out and feel a part of it. For the very young, call it something intriguing to garner their interest. Peanut butter toast with brown sugar on it (cut into the right shapes each slice becomes eight or ten) is called “Dirty Toes” at our house – and may even include some “toenails” (banana slices) if we are feeling particularly wicked. The little ones think it is so much fun to hear what we are eating. (Tofu was called “toe food” at our house for a long time, so eating “Dirty Toes” was not that big of a stretch.) We have some small red bowls which are used for snacks such as raisins and celery, or apple slices with peanut butter. (Be sure the children are old enough for bits of food before trying this one.) Those little bowls usually mean something good is about to be served and they are now considered the harbinger of “treats.”
