Treasure Talk
Caregiving Youth Project Newsletter
December 2020
The Caregiving Youth Project 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.
December 2020 | Issue #151
In This Issue

  • Message from Dr. Connie
  • Holiday Donations
  • Zoo Lights Holiday Celebration
  • Welcome New Employees
  • Caregiving Tips
  • Scholarship Opportunities
  • NEW Monthly Contest!
  • Ongoing AACY Fundraisers
  • Community Service Hours Submission
Quick Links
*New Monthly Contest!*

Your chance to win a $15 gift card is as easy as 1.2.3!

Be the first to email the correct response to Kelly at [email protected] when you unscramble this phrase:

yrogassttn

Good Luck!
ONGOING AACY SUPPORT!

RECYCLE YOUR
E-WASTE!

When you recycle your e-waste, you not only help the environment, but you help support one of AACY's many initiatives!

Let us help you dispose of your old, outdated phones, printer cartridges, and other small electronics.

If you (or someone you know) have items to recycle, please contact us at [email protected]

Are you one of our youth who is interested in helping with this project? We would love to hear from you!

Contact Amanda: [email protected]
SUPPORT AACY THRU AMAZONSMILE

AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same services.
 
Support AACY by selecting us as your charitable organization. Sign up today: https://smile.amazon.com

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
High School Students: Don't Forget to Submit Your Community
Service Hours for your work at home!

It's pretty amazing! Scotland has monetarily awarded their caregiving youth, ages 16-18 years for the responsibilities of providing care for family members.


It's time for the U.S. to recognize and support our caregiving youth with high Levels of Responsibility too!
Never Give Up!
A Message from Dr. Connie
I wonder if you watched the exciting Saturday night Dolphins football game, read about it, or saw a rerun (see link). People may tell us to "never give up" - that game allowed us to see never giving up in action! The challenges of 2020 have been beyond what any of us ever could have imagined! Like the Dolphins' team, our AACY team wants you to stay strong, to win, to build and rebuild, and to know anything is possible! 

Link to rerun - just in case!
With Gratitude
In this unusual year, we here at AACY continue to be grateful for the many kindnesses and generosity shown to our programs, and our youth!

The human spirit has proven itself to be more powerful than any pandemic. Hundreds of toys, gift cards, personal protective equipment, and meals were donated to our families, helping to make the Holidays a little brighter for all.

Our Family Specialists were very busy elves the week of Christmas, delivering wonderful gifts to our families. Thank you to all who so generously contributed, we are so grateful for your support!
Wonderful Holiday Celebration
We held our end of year Holiday Celebration in the best, safest way that we could think of: outdoors at the Zoo!

Zoo Lights was amazing! MILLIONS of lights could not help but bring holiday cheer, to all who were in attendance.

Thank you to all who made this special evening possible:

Palm Beach Zoo & Conservatory; our many generous donors; volunteers (including 25 of our AACY board members, staff, their friends & family); our photographer (more amazing photos can be found on our social media!); and of course our youth and families who were in attendance.

We hope all of our families had a wonderful time, as all of us at AACY did!
Welcome New Employees!
From L to R: Mary Craumer, MSW; Kelly Cronin and Beverly Shelton
We are thrilled to welcome three employees to our AACY team.

Mary Craumer is AACY’s newest Family Specialist. She earned her Master of Social Work from Florida Atlantic University and worked most recently with adults with developmental disabilities who are seeking to enter the workplace.

Mary previously resided and taught Kindergarten in villages above the Arctic Circle in Alaska! She lived in Massachusetts for several years too.

“I love building bridges – with clients and families and schools,” she says.

When not working, Mary loves to travel, whether it’s to the mountains (she climbed Mount Fuji in Japan!); or on the Florida beaches.

Kelly Cronin is the new Communications Manager, and has more than 22 years experience in Marketing, Public and Community Relations. She earned her Bachelor's degree in English/Communications from Massachusetts
College of Liberal Arts.

In her previous role as a Bank Community Relations Officer, Kelly worked with many different nonprofit groups. She served as President of Friends of Belmont SPORT, an organization that provides children and adults with special needs, organized recreation time; was an active volunteer for several other nonprofits, including local boys and girls clubs; and taught financial literacy to elementary and high school students.

Originally from Massachusetts, Kelly is a recent Florida resident and is enjoying the sunshine, warm weather, and Southern hospitality!

Beverly Shelton is AACY's Executive Assistant, a newly created position. In her 44 year administrative professional career, Beverly has served several executives of major organizations in the Washington, D.C. business sector, including non-profits and university Boards.

Beverly attended Trinity College in Washington, D.C., where she studied Psychology, Sociology and Nursing. She is also Certified in Counseling and Human Resources.

In her community work, Beverly has been recognized for her selfless acts of humanitarianism and her ability to assist and serve those that are underserved and is an advocate for children, the elderly, and for those who otherwise would have no voice. 

Beverly vows never to retire, but rather to reinvent herself and find one more way to learn and give. A native New Yorker, she is most proud of her four successful children; and is Grandma to three beautiful granddaughters, that she lovingly refers to as her very own Grammy Awards. :)

Welcome Mary, Kelly, and Beverly!
Caregiving Tips
We can be experiencing stress without even recognizing it! During Skills Building you learned that health conditions can generate from too much stress. The three types of stress are:

  1. Acute - which attacks you suddenly such as with an argument 
  2. Chronic - occurs regularly such as with months of pandemic worries that have come with it
  3. Emotional - can be the most painful type such as a difficult relationship

And you learned about busting your stress in various ways that you discover work best for you. You may not be able to control all the stress, you can control how you manage it. Some ways may include:

  • Deep breathing, yoga or meditation
  • Healthy eating, physical exercise 
  • Reframing a circumstance, talk it out
  • Drawing, journaling, playing an instrument, listening to music
  • And laughter is always good medicine - even laughing at yourself!

There are new and ongoing studies about how COVID is increasing cortisol levels, the physical response to stress. When these levels are high over time, it is really, really hard to learn. There is also new information that your good and healthy decision making skills may not be masked. This results in having trouble saying no to alcohol, sweets, smokes or even feeling like giving up on life. This means that keeping your anxieties, sadness and stress levels under control is more important than ever!

Please know that talking to your Family Specialist or other members of the AACY team can help you identify your stresses and figure out supports and ways to better manage them as we move forward to good health in 2021!
Scholarship Opportunities!
The American Association of Caregiving Youth would like to make all our high school seniors aware of some of the wonderful scholarship opportunities that are available in our community. The more scholarships you apply for, the more money you could receive towards your college education.

The information below includes the name of the scholarship, the deadline and where to apply. Please visit our website for complete information and criteria.

Please make sure your FAFSA is completed. If you need assistance with any of these scholarships, please contact: Pam Perrin at [email protected]

Alliance of Women Executives (AWE) Application Deadline: April 11, 2021

Scholarship | Alliance of Women Executives (aweinc.org)

Community Foundation for Palm Beach & Martin Counties Application Deadline: January 31, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.

https://www.yourcommunityfoundation.org/Our-Scholarshps/Scholarships-Overview

Eda & Cliff Viner Community Scholars Foundation Application Deadline: March 8, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.

https://app.mykaleidoscope.com/scholarship/vinerseniors2021

George Snow Scholarship Fund
Application Deadline: February 1, 2021 @ 5:00 p.m.

https://webportalapp.com/sp/george_snow_application_2021

SeniorCare Aging Matters Scholarship
Application Deadline: May 15, 2021

Aging Matters Scholarship (seniorcare.com)