Random Act of Kid-ness: A Flash Mob to Feel Better

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from Mandeville, Louisiana, where 800 elementary school students (and their teachers) broke out in a flash mob to cheer up their school’s Vice Principal, Tara Dragon Hernandez. Tara’s 1o month old son Grayson was diagnosed with  neuroblastoma cancer, so she took a leave of absence from her job to care for Grayson.

Seven-year-old student Jordan Sturiale said:

“It was for Ms. Dragon because her baby wasn’t feeling good and she was sad and the baby had to go to the hospital.”

Read more about Tara, Grayson, and see a video of the flashmob here.

Have you done something recently to cheer someone up? Let us know! You could be next week’s Random Act of Kid-ness!

P.S. If you, too, like to break out in song and dance, we have a secret for you.

Random Act of Kid-ness: Local Kids Helping a Classmate in Need

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us all the way from… less than a mile away! When 18 year old Fairfax High student Jose Chojolan became paralyzed from the neck down, his fellow high school classmates stepped in to help. Jose’s family is now faced with incredible medical expenses and an apartment that is not wheelchair accessible. “Jose’s Soldiers,” as one teacher calls them, have raised over $80,000 for his family through various fundraisers, like one at the Hollywood Chick-fil-A. Student Mirna Cabrera says:

“Jose is a person who was perfect, who had his whole future ahead of him and it just happened. We’re all here for the cause. We love to support. We’re a very united school.”

Read more about Jose and the Fairfax High School student fundraisers, and find out how you can help here.

Random Act of Kid-ness: YOUmanity

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from Ankeny, IA, where students at a local high school started an anti-bullying program called YOUmanity. YOUmanity is being launched throughout schools in the Midwest  to promote random acts of kindness and general good will toward others. Check out what this program means to both the students and the entire community in this article.

We really love this program and encourage you to read more about it here.

Random Act of Kid-ness: Boy with Leukemia Gives Back

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from Anchorage, AK, where 5 year old Leland Camara decided to use Make A Wish Foundation gift to give back to others. Leland has been living with Leukemia since September, and when he was asked what he wanted as part of his gift, he said he wanted to help others. As part of his Disneyland going-away party, Leland served at Kid’s Kitchen, a program that provides free meals to children.

Laura Bruce of the Make A Wish Foundation said:

“When I asked him he was sure he wants to serve other kids, he says, ‘so many people helped me so I want to help others.’ “

What a great story of kindness! Read more about Leland and his gift to the community here.

Random Act of Kid-ness: Lemonade Stand for a Sick Dad

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from Gladewater, TX, where 6 year old Drew Cox opened a lemonade stand to raise money for his dad’s cancer treatments. His dad Randy was diagnosed with Seminoma cancer 3 months ago. Drew charged only 25 cents per cup of lemonade when he opened last Saturday, and by the end of the day he raised $10,000!

Read more about Drew’s lemonade stand and how you can donate money toward his dad’s treatment, click here.

P.S. This story reminds us of one of our very first Random Act of Kid-ness highlights (and one of our biggest blog supporters on Facebook!). Just wanted to give another shout out to Jack and Eric’s Pirate Lemonade Stand!

Have You Seen It?!: Gear Wall

Have you seen our brand new gear wall, Connections?! 

Our new play space is placed thematically in the Zimmer’s building area right next to our giant pinball machine and Construction Zone. Connections is a stainless steel wall with a variety of sizes of gears that are removable. The combinations are endless! By seeing how the different gears affect one another, your little ones can learn how we are all connected and how each of our actions affects others. The gear wall is not only insanely fun, but it also teaches: cause and effect, fine motor and manipulative skills, problem-solving, colors and patterns, and principles of motion!

So what are you waiting for? Come learn about connections today!

Random Act of Kid-ness: A Whole Bunch of Kind Kids!

For this week’s Random Act of Kid-ness, we are not just highlighting one good deed, but a whole list of them. Earlier this week, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital announced the winners of its annual campaign, Kids are Heroes, for kids ages 5-18.

This year’s winners include children who have: sold gum to raise money for a family whose house had burned down, rescued another child from drowning, and donated books to underprivileged students.

Click here to learn more about these and other winners of the Kids are Heroes campaign!

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

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: Mitzvah Chefs

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: Cooper’s House

This week’s Random Act of Kid-ness comes from Central Kentucky, home of our Museum Director, Julee Brooks. Read what Julee has to say about Cooper’s house below:

I was completely inspired by this story of a 3 year old little boy in Lexington, KY who is (along with a supportive family and neighbors and the power of Facebook) building awareness about the lives of families and their children who have special needs and about the fundamental power of play in every child’s development.

Cooper Veloudis’s family, by his therapist’s request, built a playhouse in their backyard for him to play and practice life skills that are challenging to a child with Cerebral Palsy. Due to at least one neighbor complaint, the neighborhood HOA asked the family to remove it and levied fines until they did. Cooper’s mother, Tiffiney, took the story public and within a week, a Facebook page in support of the little house garnered almost 6,000 fans and the story received significant media attention locally and nationally. The HOA has delayed a final decision until January but what’s already amazing is this little boy and his playful spirit’s incredible ability to unite a neighborhood, a community (and supporters as far as SoCal) and bring attention to the needs of thousands of other children as well.

I for one hope Cooper gets to keep his house – and that every child has a place to play that they feel is their own.

Julee Brooks
Museum Director

For more information about Cooper’s House, visit the Facebook page.

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“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