The earth is ours to save in ‘I Am Today’

By: Boom Boom Cabalona,”X” Divinagracia, Christopher Miranda

 

A young girl realizes that she doesn’t have to wait until she’s grown up to stand up for what is right and make a big impact.

While playing on the beach in her coastal town, a young girl comes across a sea turtle ensnared by a wire. Her town is home to a factory that has provided jobs for many of her neighbors, including her mother, but it has also been dumping garbage from a pipe into the nearby waters, threatening the creatures that live in them.

Children are used to being asked what they’ll do and be when they grow up, but the girl knows there is so much she can do today to help. Unable to forget the sight of the struggling turtle, with a fantastic act she inspires the townspeople to compel the factory to change its destructive ways.

Written in spare and evocative poetry, I Am Today is an empowering story for children who want to be the change the world needs. Written by Matt Forrest Esenwine Illustrated by Patricia Pessoa.

 

Jesse White Announces Illinois Literacy Foundation to Recognize International Literacy Day

Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White announced that the Illinois Literacy Foundation (ILF) recognizes International Literacy Day on Sept. 8 – a worldwide effort to increase literacy levels for adults and children.

“This is an important day to bring awareness to literacy and to ensure that through the Foundation and other organizations, all Illinoisans, especially children, have access to literacy and library services,” said White, ex-officio chair of the ILF.

Since 1967, International Literacy Day has been observed on Sept. 8 to remind the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities and societies, and the need for intensified efforts toward more literate societies. The day unites governments, multilateral and bilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, private sectors, communities, educators, learners, and leading experts in the field.

To raise awareness about the need for and value of literacy, the ILF recommends the following activities:

In the home:

• Renew a commitment to go with children to the library regularly.

• Act as a role model and read in front of children.

• Discuss with children the importance of reading. In the community:

• Hold a book drive or host a family reading event or media campaign to create awareness about the literacy need in your local community.

• Take time to thank people who support reading – teachers, librarians, employers, churches, and government officials.

• Help schools plan for Family Reading Night which is always the third Thursday in November.

• Call or text the Illinois Adult Education Hotline 800-321- 9511 to find programs in the community that need support.

For more information about the Illinois Literacy Foundation, visit www.theillinoisliteracyfoundation.org

 

The Childcare Shortage is an Economic Issue

The early days of the pandemic were terrible for all American workers – but the job losses that followed had a truly catastrophic impact on women. Thirty years of progress in women’s workforce participation was practically destroyed in just nine months, according to the founder of the nonprofit Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani.

A lack of childcare infrastructure was one of the biggest reasons why the lockdowns were economically disastrous for women: Schools were closed, children were home, and because of stereotypical gender roles and inequitable parenting responsibilities, millions of women had no choice but to leave the workforce to take care of their kids. To make matters worse, a massive childcare shortage right now is taking a toll on American families. More than 16,000 childcare providers closed permanently between December 2019 and March 2021, and the average annual cost of childcare is now more than $10,000, which is totally out of reach for most families.

At a time when nearly 9 out of every 10 American women are becoming mothers, our country’s childcare crisis is hurting the economy.