Caregiving Youth Project Newsletter: The AACY Caregiving Youth Project (CYP) helps identify, recognize, educate, and support students who care for chronically ill, injured, elderly, or disabled family members. This allows Caregiving Youth to achieve success, have fun, and make new friends while promoting academic and personal growth.
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| April Treasure Talk 2023!
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We are excited to let you know that doors of recognition on your behalf of your work at home are starting to open up here in Florida and nationally!
You deserve nothing less! Sharing your voices with your stories is one of the ways others are learning about the value of your caregiving.
Please make sure your Family Specialist knows if you want to join a newly forming group of Caregiving Youth Speakers!
Thank you!
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| Activities Recap & Preview:
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Hello and Happy April, Everyone!
This month's featured activity will be our overnight Camp Treasure experience with our middle schoolers. We have 16 different middle schools coming together to connect with other youths and staff members in our program. By the time you receive this, we will be on our way to the campground and enjoying a campfire program (and making smores, of course) and, on Saturday, learning archery and going for a canoe ride! We provide this experience twice per school year; it is one of the most fun activities to plan!
This month we also enjoyed learning chair yoga techniques, how to focus on our breathing, and different yoga poses. Ellen from Yoga4Caregivers taught the class, and the goal was to provide our youths and staff with everyday stretches and breaks to do in our daily lives. Then the following Friday, our youths, their families, and I enjoyed a wonderful Friday night Miami Marlins baseball game. Thank you to Miami Marlins for donating tickets and making this possible for our youths and their families! It was a great time connecting and a game to see.
As always, if you aren't already, follow our Instagram page: @caregivingyouthproject, so you can see the smiles of our youths and families as they continue to grow with us!
It is with a sad heart that I must inform the readers that this will be my last Treasure Talk piece. Thank you for taking the time to read my section and for caring for our youths. I am moving on in my career journey. Next month you'll be introduced to and hear from Andreana! We welcome her and are excited for her to take on the Youth Activities role!
I am so grateful to have been a part of AACY for three years (MSW FAU Intern, a Family Specialist, a Youth Activities Manager), and I will miss you ALL and the youths and the special moments we have created together but I won't be a stranger!
Till we met again! ❤
Autumn Rogers-Vazquez, MSW
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| Camp Treasure - The Journey Begins
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Thanks to the Fuller Center for helping us with bus transportation to Camp Treasure! Here are pictures of the kids waiting to be picked up for weekend adventure and respite. We'll have more pictures next month!
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It's no secret – caregiving can be a tough job. On the days when you're beyond stressed, you might feel completely alone. That couldn't be further from the truth. In the United States, over 5.4 million caregivers aged 18 and under are currently helping their loved ones. An army of people wants nothing but the best for you. We will feature videos every month of other kids who've told their stories in the US and around the world. Some are old, and some are new. The goal is to let you see that other kids have been through this too.
Thank you for all that you do for your family. Remember: you are never alone.
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“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” — Leo Buscaglia
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The team at Little Dreamers Australia has been publishing incredibly powerful stories on Young Carers lately. These short-form videos illustrate the individual contributions of millions of children and teenagers aged 18 or younger who provide significant assistance or care to a family member(s) with a chronic illness, disability, mental health condition, or frailty due to aging. In the US, we call them Caregiving Youth or Hidden Helpers for Military children, and in the UK, Canada, and many other countries, they use the term Young Carers…
No matter the name or where in the world you live, stories like these serve as a universal reminder of the strength and resilience of ALL kids who help care for somebody.
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Little Dreamers Australia
Recognising, celebrating, and amplifying Young Carers in Australia
"Isabelle is a Young Carer for her brother, Mitchell, who has Epilepsy, Hydrocephalus, Cerebral Palsy, and Developmental Delay. She’s been a carer since he was born when she was just 3 years of age." Click the below picture to view the video:
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"At Little Dreamers, our aim is to ensure that Young Carers like Isabelle never feel isolated, alone, or misunderstood in their caring roles."
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| Standing “Os” for Youth Caregivers and Champions
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Boca Raton, FL – The audience sprang to its feet after middle schooler Ali Enlow’s described how she helps care for her little sister with cerebral palsy.
“Eva needs extra help showering, and I put her to bed. I love caregiving so much… and I love sharing my story,” the 13-year-old seventh-grader at Logger’ Run Middle School said at the AACY Community Caregiving Champions Breakfast in Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center.
“Not only do I have a group of peers I connect with, but I can talk about things, and now I have amazing support,” said the daughter of Adriana and Matthew Enlow, who attended with Ali and Eva, 7.
This is Ali’s second year with the Boca Raton-based American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY), serving 505 youth in 35 Palm Beach County middle and high schools, who care for family members at home.
“These youth face a different set of challenges,” said WPEC Channel 12 news anchor Matt Lincoln, who emceed the breakfast.
Published On: Thu, Apr 20th, 2023
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| Many thanks to Matt & the whole team at @wpeccbs12 -TV CBS12 News
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AACY Caregiver Awards TV CBS12 News Promotional Appearance! |
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Pictured from AACY – Dr. Connie Siskowski, Founder American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) & Debralyn Belletieri, Chair |
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There is a huge community of people who want nothing but the best for you - and work very hard to support Caregiving Youth! We are so grateful. |
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| WHAT TO WATCH: 'Minute Earth' @MinuteEarth
YouTube - Science and stories about our awesome planet! 2.78M subscribers
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Entomologists Hate This Word
It’s common to call creepy crawlies bugs, but because entomologists refer to a specific class of insects as bugs, it’s wrong to call other things bugs - right?
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988 Crisis Hotline
We at AACY believe that prioritizing mental health is a year-round endeavor. When you're having a difficult time, it's important to seek help. Thankfully, there is a new phone resource available no matter where you are in the US!: Just dial the 9-8-8 hotline.
This hotline is available 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Don't suffer in silence - get help and keep hope alive.
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Community Service Hours
A reminder: please submit your Community Service Hours for the work you do at home!
If you have any questions, need more information or help to complete the form, please contact your Family Specialist.
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Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741
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Need help identifying a pill? Poison possibility?
Mixed up meds? Found a loose pill? Worried that a refill looks different? Suspect an overdose?
Call 1-800-222-1222
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Are there any VETERANS in your Family? Resources Available: |
PBC has services that might be of assistance to your Family. Learn more here
Another resource is VeteranAid.org.
This organization offers details information on a Veteran's pension benefit called Aid and Attendance (A&A)
If a Veteran requires assisted living care in a community or at home, A&A gives the information they need to apply for this benefit for free. Senior Veterans and spouses use this benefit to help them afford quality home care. Learn more here
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Many Thanks to Our Partners: |
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The American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) is a Florida 501 (c) (3) corporation.
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION (#CH12431) AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR AT WWW.FRESHFROMFLORIDA.COM. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
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