June is National Pet Preparedness Month which should matter to the 77.5 million dog owners and 93.6 million cat owners in the United States.  Our pets are truly members of our family, and we need to know how to respond when the unexpected happens.  Particularly in the summer months,  there is a surge in accidents and injuries involving our four-legged friends.  Many times, this is because more pets are outside and active.  While a pet’s exuberant play is a joy to behold, there is also a greater chance for mishaps.

Keep your pets happy and safe all-year round and particularly during these warm weather months by reviewing several important tips from the American Red Cross.  It never hurts to be reminded that we should not leave our animals in a hot car, let them ride in the back of a truck, play on recently fertilized lawns, be around water unsupervised, or go tagless.  While the site provides basic but valuable basic reminders about proper vaccinations, flea and tick prevention and spaying/neutering, it also helps us think through the unexpected such as including your pet in a natural disaster plan and creating a medical emergency kit.

As any pet lover know, being kind and caring extends to the animals in our lives, too.  Wishing you and your pets a happy and safe summer!

YesKidzCan! Reprint 2012

“While it’s often best to shield younger kids from tragic news, there’s really no shielding the teens and tweens in your family from the harsh images and sad events that are on the news, especially in situations involving a natural disaster.” Click here to read more of iVillage.com’s resourceful article!

© YesKidzCan!, 2013

Oftentimes, you need look no further than your own community for great ways to inspire kids to give back. We want to share information about a special event right in YesKidzCan!’s backyard that’s kicking-off this week called JUST TRYAN IT! (JTI).

JTI opened registration this week for its 4th annual triathlon for kids ages 6-14. The event happens June 16, 2013 at Landon School in Bethesda, MD, and kids and adults work together to raise funds for children and families served by the Georgetown University Hospital Division of Pediatric Hematology, Blood, and Bone Marrow Transplantation.

If you happen to live in the Washington DC area, click here to register your friends and family. You’ll be glad you tried it!

In the spirit of Women’s History Month this March, we wanted to give a snapshot of women throughout history who have demonstrated extraordinary acts of kindness.

• 1881 – Clara Barton:  Founded and headed up the American Red Cross with the mission of aiding victims of war and natural disasters.
• 1896- Harriet Tubman: Led dozens of slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad and helped finance a home for poor and aging African Americans.
• 1947 – Eleanor Roosevelt – Former First Lady and elected as head of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
• 1963 – Rachel Carson – Scientist who testified before Congress to the dangers of agricultural pesticides.  Considered one of the founders of the environment movement.
• 1967 – Cicely Saunders, M.D. founded the hospice movement in London to provide comfort to people during their final days.
• 1978 – Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw grows her biotech company into the $445 million Biocon Limited and invests more than $2 million each year in providing affordable health care programs in India.
• 1998 – Oprah Winfrey – Formed Oprah’s Angel Network to encourage people to give to others with $80 million contributed to date.
• 2001 – Jacqueline Novogratz creates the Acumen Fund which uses entrepreneurship and marketing to help solve global poverty by providing clean drinking water, malaria prevention, and safe birthing clinics for women in need.

YesKidzCan!’s Giving Experience Blog is going on hiatus for the month of February.  We look forward to sharing more ideas for giving back in March.  In the meantime, feel free to scroll through our blog categories to read posts on everything from contests for kids and ways to support schools and teachers to helping our military and quick and easy family projects! 

“Sometimes, one simple act of caring and kindness can have such an impact on another living being at that moment, it completely changes the course of their life and blesses your life forever.” – Dr Jeff Mullan

If Harvard, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale say that being generous really makes you feel good, then it must be true!  In a series of 4 studies in which participants were given an act of kindness to fulfill (such as writing a nice not to a child in a hospital), one conclusion was that “if you’re more generous to others, you’ll fee capable, effective, and less time-constrained.”  So while you’re stringing up the holly and ivy, take a moment to consider these Ivy League conclusions — and give a little!

© YesKidzCan!, 2012