Zimmer Children's Museum Blog

Random Act of Kid-ness: Helping Hands Project

Zimmer Children's Museum — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:34:40 +0000

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from Rhode Island, where second graders at Sowams School are saving up dimes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. For two weeks, the students offered to do chores at home for $1.00 each, that their parents would pay them in dimes. All of the dimes collected were put into plastic water bottles that are being sent to the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Kids for Wish program that grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

What a great way to get kids involved in charity. Read more about the Helping Hands Project here.

Random Act of Kid-ness: Saving Grandma’s Home

Zimmer Children's Museum — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:08:49 +0000

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from Wisconsin, where 12 year old Noah Lamaide raised $10,500.00 to save his grandma’s home from foreclosure. When his grandma Janice fell short on her
mortgage payments, Noah stepped in and posted on his website about how much his grandma deserved support:

“My Grandma incase you don’t know her has a heart of gold. She has given so much to our community since I can remember!!!”

He asked for donations to help save her home from being taken away, and people listened!

Philanthropy is not new to Noah, though. When he was only 9 years old, his mom challenged him to do one community service project every year. Noah has given donations to food banks and even raised money for a trip to Disneyland for his family friend who had cancer. Noah is truly an inspirational kid.

Read more about Noah’s random acts of kindness here.

Do you know a kid who has done or is doing random acts of kindness? Let us know!

Random Act of Kid-ness: Paintings that Pay Off (Medical Bills)

Zimmer Children's Museum — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:06:45 +0000

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from Missouri, where 3 year old Liam Myrick has started to sell his paintings to help pay for his parents’ $500,000 medical bills.

Liam was diagnosed with stage-four Neuroblastoma in July, and his sister battled with cancer the year before. Now, Liam wants to help his parents with their financial burden by using the energy he has to paint. His parents are auctioning Liam’s work on Facebook to subsidize the medical bills.

Liam’s mom Shawna says,

“He doesn’t care about what’s going to happen ten minutes from now. He cares about the moment.”

What an inspiring story of one kid trying to make the world a better place for his family. Read more about Liam’s story and how you can buy one of his paintings here.

Random Act of Kid-ness: A Zimmer Video!

Zimmer Children's Museum — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:55:08 +0000

For this week’s Random Act of Kid-ness, we wanted to give a shout out to 3 awesome kids who did a random act of kindness for their favorite nonprofit: the Zimmer Children’s Museum!

Russell Monkarsh, Gabe Freeman, and Ava Freeman are all kids who loved to play in the museum as little ones, so they decided to give back by creating a video about the Zimmer for us. Still in high school, Russell and Gabe started their own production company called SD Productions. You should check it out! And now, check out the world premiere of our brand new video!

Drumroll please….

What do you think? Thank you so much to Russell, Gabe, and Ava for doing this!

Have You Seen It?!: Race to Naptime

Zimmer Children's Museum — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:04:01 +0000

If you’ve walked into the museum lately, you’ve probably noticed something big taking over the main lobby wall. And you might have been wondering why our staff has been wandering around the museum in their sweatbands.

Well, the Zimmer Children’s Museum is an official charity of the 2012 Honda LA Marathon, and to get in the spirit, the Zimmer staff is on a RACE TO NAPTIME! Help your favorite staff member win the race to the crib by donating to his or her LA Marathon team! We’ll even put your name on a little baby foot on the chart!

Want to run… or walk… or jog… or even stroll with us in the 5K on March 17th? Learn more here.

Random Act of Kid-ness: Mitzvah Chefs

Zimmer Children's Museum — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:02:54 +0000

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from the Bay Area, where first through eighth graders at Peninsula Temple Sholom prepare and deliver meals to local residents in need. This program, called Mitzvah Chefs, is based on the ideas of mitzvah, meaning charity or good deed, and tikkun olam, or helping/repairing the world.

The temple’s Youth Director Yael Zaken says,

“It’s really important to start within your own community. And [we teach them] for it to be not only the people of your religion or ethnicity or race. We make sure we have a discussion about the best ways to make the world a better place.”

That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? At the Zimmer, every single one of our exhibits focuses on learning human values such as respect for others, helping those in need , generosity, and making the world a better place. We are focused on the BIG IDEAS of global citizenship, community responsibility, and cultural sensitivity.

Click here to read more about Mitzvah Chefs.

What can you do to make the world a better place? Why not start by playing your way to a better world at the Zimmer?

Random Act of Kid-ness: Euan’s Bracelets

Zimmer Children's Museum — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:10:31 +0000

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us all the way from Scotland, where 5 year old Euan is making and selling bracelets for charity. When Euan and his family lost their home in a chimney fire in 2010, the Davie Cooper Centre- a charity for special needs kids, young adults, and families- helped out. So now, Euan is giving back to the Davie Cooper Centre by selling bracelets to raise funds for the organization.

Celebrities like Gordon Ramsay have heard about Euan and his good deeds, and they have begun to rally for him on Twitter. So far, Euan has raised over £5,000 for the special needs charity, and he does not plan on stopping anytime soon.

He has a great website, so check it out and learn more about Euan, the Davie Cooper Centre, and how you can get involved!

At the Zimmer Children’s Museum, we are committed to making quality play and learning experiences available to all children. While the Zimmer works diligently to provide inclusive programs every day, on Open Door Days, the museum is open exclusively to families who have children with special needs. Open Door Days also combine special considerations regarding cost and “busy-ness” of the museum and allow families who prefer to enjoy the museum as part of an understanding community. Our hope is that visiting the museum is enjoyable for all families, and Open Door Days serves as another option so that all families in the city may play and learn together at the Zimmer.

For more information about Open Door Days, click here.

Staff Spotlight: Carrie Jacoves, Development Associate

Zimmer Children's Museum — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:05:21 +0000

It’s time again to meet another Zimmer staff member. Say hello to Carrie, our Development Associate!

Name: Carrie Sue Jacoves
Position: Development Associate
A little bit about her: Carrie was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, in addition to going to undergraduate and graduate school locally. She received her BA in Sociology from California State University at Northridge and her MBA at the American Jewish University (formerly University of Judaism).

Carrie is thrilled to have cultivated her career (the last 15 and a half years) with the Zimmer Children’s Museum after her first nine years working with JCCA as the Special Events Director and then as the Site Director at the Hollywood Los Feliz JCC.

While working full time with JCCA and the Zimmer, she has raised two children (Hayden, 20 and Rachael, almost 17) and enjoys life with her husband Mitch. When she is not here at work, Carrie is trying to get in a Half Marathon or two but really has her eye on the full 26.2 mile course of the LA Marathon in March (and she so enjoys raising money for her efforts that directly benefit the Zimmer!). She also enjoys her extended families (all who live near by) and loves to travel to Scuba Dive. Other than that– you can bet she is taking a nap!

Childhood hero: I know it is cheesy, but I would have to say my mom. She was always doing so much all at once. Besides raising 6 kids and always having a dog while I was growing up, she entertained all the time, started a catering business, and worked out of the home too. She was my best role model.

Take me through a day in the life of Carrie at the Zimmer.
I have always been excited to get to work to see what awaits me. I have never had a boring day working for the Zimmer. I work on many events simultaneously, from Zimmerpalooza, our annual art exhibit show&tell, various theatre or movie events, our special Mother’s Day Luncheon, and of course our Gala event in November. I love the rush of having to multi-task. I enjoy working with the lay leaders and seeing their enthusiasm for our mission and what we bring to the community. Additionally, I have the opportunity to assist Esther Netter in raising additional funds that are not necessarily tied to an event. There are many specific details that go into each project and through phone calls, emails, and notes, it all comes together with the culmination of the event– my favorite day!

What’s your favorite exhibit at the Zimmer?
Rhythms of the World. Being a musician as a kid (I played violin and flute), I love that the Zimmer visitors can sit and make their own music and hear it instantaneously. The computer program then changes the sound of the music to that of various countries, so the child learns about diversity. The written musical notes are the same but by changing the country of origin, for instance, the sounds of the instruments slightly change, and it becomes very different music.

What is the most memorable thing you have been involved in here?
It is hard to really pick one. So I am going to pick two! I was involved in producing these events from the very beginning. I am proud to say we are currently working on the 12^th Annual Discovery Award Dinner, and we have come a long way since planning our first Gala back in 2001. I have the opportunity to work closely with the honorees, so I enjoy giving them a party for their accomplishments in their lives. Sometimes I get to surprise them with their friends and family who produce memorable pages in the Tribute Ad Journal I produce for the event too. I enjoy having relationships and interactions with them after the dinner as they become more involved with the Zimmer Museum and our youTHink arts education initiative in the public schools.

The second event/fundraiser is our series of show&tell art exhibits. This year will be our 8^th event. Producing an art exhibit with a different theme every year and working with the artists who donate their artwork 100% to the Zimmer has been extremely rewarding, exciting and fun. Check it out: http://www.zimmermuseum.org/showandtell.html. I just love when we find great homes for the art!

Thanks, Carrie! Check back next month to meet another member of the Zimmer team!

Random Act of Kid-ness: 8 Year Old Donates Life Savings To Family That Lost Home

Zimmer Children's Museum — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:48:13 +0000

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from South Carolina, where 8 year old Fischer Cook did something very selfless to help those in need. When he heard that a family of five lost their home in a fire, Fischer decided to give the family all $300 in his bank account. Once people found out about Fischer’s generosity, community members helped to match his gift, bringing the total donations to about $1,000.

To read (and watch) more about Fischer and his good deed, click here.

—————-

“Once you begin to acknowledge random acts of kindness – both the ones you have received and the ones you have given – you can no longer believe that what you do does not matter.” -Dawna Markova

Random Act of Kid-ness: Making a Difference in the Lives of Classmates

Zimmer Children's Museum — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:00:52 +0000

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes from Hamden, CT, where 13 year old David Mann, Jr. learned that doing good deeds really does pay off. David noticed that 2 of his classmates who have special needs had been ostracized in school, and he decided to put that to a stop. He befriended the kids and started to help them with homework that they did not understand. David also integrated the 2 kids into his lunch group so that they no longer sit alone in the cafeteria. He says, “It makes me feel awesome to know that I made a difference in their lives by helping them in class.”

David was recently awarded an iPod by Dr. Jeffrey D. Gold, who recognizes the importance of being kind to others.

“Doing good deeds – defined as deeds which benefit others rather than the individual doing the deed – is a step in the right direction: the kind of step which has built this country and even this world.”

-Dr. Gold

Read more about David and Dr. Gold’s Do A Good Deed contest here.

As you start to make your New Year’s resolutions this week, why not think about more random acts of kindness YOU can do to make the world a better place?!

—————-