Thanks to the 75 blog participants who joined in our online survey. As we promised, the Department of Advertising, PR, and Retailing donated $ 375 (75 x $5) to a local child advocacy organization, Children Trust Fund of Michigan in support of its annual Pam Posthumus fundraising event.

In addition, one participant was randomly chosen to receive the $100 Amazon.com gift card. S/he will soon receive the notice by email, and the blogmaster, Richard T. Cole, reminds her/him that if its a useful book your looking for, you might try the New Media Driver’s License Resource Guide as one way to spend $25 or so of the $100 gift card. The book’s authors Richard Cole and Derek Mehraban are sure it’s worth the money. But how you spend your Amazon gift care is entirely up to the winner to decide.

Thanks again, and don’t forget to visit the Children’s Trust Fund of Michigan’s website to get the latest information on what we can all do to advocate for the ethical treatment of all children.

As I am winding down my blog project on Adverse Childhood Experiences, I don’t want to leave my loyal readers high and dry.

A few weeks ago, Dr. Rob Anda filled me in on a new project that was starting up called “ACES too high.” If you go to the website I have listed BELOW, you’ll find an interesting article on a new book that has come out called “Scared Sick: The role of childhood trauma in adult disease.”

I haven’t read the book yet — in fact I just learned of it this morning on the ACEs Too High Website, and am in the process of getting a copy. But the website to which I am directing you has a interesting trailer on the book, written by Robin Karr-Morse and Meredith Wiley.

You can find all about ACEs Too High at www.acestoohigh.com. I’d strongly recommend that you sign in to this blog. It is infinitely more detailed than anything I have been able to do, and I am going to bookmark it as one of the places that will go to a couple of times a week, at least.

In the meantime, I’ll leave this blog up in the event that people interested in doing something about what Dr. Anda has described as the countries number one public health crisis, they can easily find the Aces Too High site. All my thanks and best wishers.

Richard T. Cole, East Lansing.

http://acestoohigh.com/2012/01/04/scared-sick-the-role-of-childhood-trauma-in-adult-disease-is-out/

Ways To Get Involved

Events

If you have any event you’d like to add, please e-mail EveryChildIsYours@gmail.com

• Thursday, December 8th

• Saturday, December 10th

A Not So Silent Night
Annual Benefit for REACH Studio Art Center
7:00–9:30 pm
Michigan Museum of Surveying
220 Museum Drive Lansing, MI. 48933

Silent Auction of over 100 items of art, gifts, and gift certificates
Enjoy singing along to the music of: RAY KAMALAY and BEN FUHRMAN
Lots of great edible goodies, fun and fellowship!

Click for Details.

Volunteer Opportunities

• Habitat of Humanity of Lansing

Don’t think you’re cut out for construction? Habitat of Humanity Lansing could still use your help. The ReStore is currently seeking volunteers to work Tuesday, December 6th and December 13th from 9-noon or 3-6pm or Thursday, December 8th and 15th from 3-6pm. Volunteer calendar can be found here. For more information, click here.

• East Lansing Parks

Community members interested in lending a hand at an upcoming volunteer work day can contact Brianna Huyck, the city’s current AmeriCorps service worker, at (616) 551-9008 or bhuyck@cityofeast lansing.com. More here.

• Greater Lansing Food Bank

The Greater Lansing Food Bank is a non-profit organization that provides emergency food to individuals and families in need in Ingham, Eaton, and Clinton counties.

The Greater Lansing Food Bank is looking for all types of volunteers this Holiday season. From drivers to food moving assistants, there are all kinds of opportunities for Lansing residents to lend a helping hand. For a list of volunteer opportunities, click here. Current volunteer opportunities are listed below:

1. Food Moving Assistant: (M&F 9-2, Tu-Th 9-12:30, Sat 9-12) This position consists of assisting a driver on a food run. You will pick up food donations from area businesses and deliver the food to recipient agencies, community centers and pantries. Last year we saved almost 750,000 pounds of food. Volunteers need to be able to carry and lift 40 pounds. Training will be provided.
2. Drivers: (M&F 9-2, Tu-Th 9-12:30, Sat 9-12) We are in need of volunteer drivers with a chauffeurs license for our new truck. The driver and assistants pick up food donations from area restauarants, stores, and food distributors and deliver to recipient agencies, community centers and pantries. Volunteers need to be able to carry and lift 40 pounds. Training, specific to Food Movers, will be provided.
3. Neighborhood Partner Program: (Every Wed 9:30-12:30, 1st and 2nd Sat 9:30-12:30, 3rd Fri 4:30-8) Assist in food distribution with our “mobile pantry” Neighborhood Partnership Program. Seven different locations, each once a month, emergency food aid is distributed to the community in an ‘open-call’ manner. Volunteer duties include setup, distribution, organization, and takedown.
4. Wash and Sanitize Vehicles: (Afternoons Tu-Th) Job consists of cleaning, washing and sanitizing vehicles. Training will be provided.
5. Banana Box Wranglers: Collect precious banana boxes from area stores for our use to distribute and collect food. Would involve contacting Store/Produce manager to arrange pickup. Great position for someone unable to commit weekly to a specific time as hours are worked around your schedule.

For more information about any of these, click here.

• Haven House of Lansing

Haven House provides emergency housing and support services for one-parent and two-parent families with children. The shelter helps families who are homeless prepare for permanent housing by developing and promoting self-sufficiency, stability, and financial responsibility. Haven House is currently seeking to find individuals to help in the following ways:

1. Haven House is looking for volunteers to help prepare meals this Holiday season. They are current in need of volunteers for the 18th, 21st, 25th, and 28th of December. For more details on how you can get involved and other ways to volunteer, click here.

• Red Cross of Mid-Michigan

The Red Cross is instead of a whole host of volunteers from office help to CPR instructors to Services to Armed Forces Caseworkers! There are a number of ways to get involved. For a list of opportunities, click here. The Red Cross of Mid-Michigan currently has an urgent need for the following:

1. Switchboard: The chapter office needs help with Monday afternoons 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Thursday mornings from 8:20 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Please contact Natalie McIntyre at (517) 702-3107

• REACH StudioArtCenter
  

REACH offers a whole host of volunteer opportunities including positions for mentors, transportation, and clean-up. For a list of positions that currently need to be filled, click here.

• The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. The Lansing chapter of the Salvation army is currently seeking:

Food Distributor: Assist in distributing food to clients. Friendly to clients and able to work with other volunteers.
Food Pantry: Volunteers will assist the Case Worker in carrying out the following duties: Loading and uloading of Food Bank items and other donations, stocking shelves, assist clients in taking food to their vehicles and date incoming shipments.
Greeter for Weekly Community Meal: Volunteer is to assist with community meal.Where we serve a free lunch from 12:00-1:00pm, Mon-Fri. The volunteers will act as a greeter to the clients receiving our services and enter them into the database. Training provided.
Volunteer Driver : Volunteers will drive to food banks, MSU shops, and other businesses to pick up food. Food will be dropped off at either the Food Pantry or the Food Distribution. A vehicle is provided once approved as a driver. Please call 482-9715 ext. 42 for more information.

For more information, click here.

• St. Vincent Chartities

The mission of St. Vincent Catholic Charities is the work of the Catholic Church, to share the love of Christ by performing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. St. Vincent is currently looking for individuals to help with a variety of activities. For details on ways you can get involved, click here.

• Michigan 4-H

4-H routinely organizes community service events in the Lansing area. For more information on how to get involved as a youth or volunteer, Contact 4-H Youth Development at (Phone) 517-432-7575  or Email: msue4h@msu.edu.

Donate

• Clinton County Toys for Tots

The Clinton County Toys for Tots program is underway with over 33 collection boxes out in businesses throughout the county. Toys will be collected through Dec. 15 and distributed to several hundred children throughout the county. For toy collections near you, click here.

• Eaton Rapids LAFCU

LAFCU, Lansing’s community credit union, is organizing the “Great Credit Union Can-Do” food drive to help feed the needy in Greater Lansing this holiday season. Everyone is encouraged to donate canned goods at any of LAFCU’s six area branches from now until Dec. 10. For location you can donate, click here. For information, visit www.lafcu. com or call (517) 622-6600.

• Michigan National Guard Family Fund

Consider a donation to the Michigan National Guard Family Fund. One hundred percent of this not-for-profit fund goes to financially struggling families of deployed Michigan National Guard members.

Send your check or money order to:

Michigan National Guard Family Fund Inc.
3411 N. Martin Luther King Blvd.,
Lansing MI 48906.

For more information, call 517-481-8357 or click here.

• Military Family Relief Fund

In the Fall of 2004, the Michigan Legislature passed, and Gov. Granholm signed into law, the Military Family Relief Fund Act. The Military Family Relief Fund provides grants to qualifying families of military members in either the Michigan National Guard or Reserves who are called to active duty as a result of the national response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

To donate, send a check or money order made out to the “State of Michigan” and mail to:

Military Family Relief Fund
Department of Military & Veterans Affairs
PO Box 30261
Lansing, MI 48909-7761

For more information or if you have any questions, please call: 1-866-271-4404.

• Boys & Girls Club of Lansing

The Boys & Girls Club of Lansing has been operating in the Lansing area since 1964. Providing Lansing area youth, ages 7 – 17, with physical fitness, recreation and educational activities.

What You Can Donate: There are many ways to support the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing. If you would like to give a monetary donation, you may send a check payable to: Boys & Girls Club of Lansing or click here. If you have items you would like to donate, please contact us at (517) 394-0455 or at bgcl@bgclansing.org. For a wish list of items that are always in need, click here.
Details: Donate.

• Eaton Rapids Community Christian Action Group (CCAG)

The Community Christian Action Group (CCAG) of Eaton Rapids is striving to make sure no family in the area goes without a Christmas dinner on the special day when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. You may see boxes at local businesses for collecting food or unwrapped gifts for children. You may also see canisters for the collection of money to help pay for items CCAG needs to buy.

All the food, gifts and money will be collected by the CCAG on Monday, Dec. 12. When the boxes are picked up on Saturday, Dec. 17, every box will be filled with enough food for the whole day.

Contact Barbara Rogers at (517) 663-8775 or Diane Clone at (517) 663-8957.

• ReStore: Habitat of Humanity Lansing

Habitat’s ReStore resale outlets sell reusable and surplus building materials to the public While every ReStore outlet is a little different, most focus on home improvement goods like furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances.

What You Can Donate: Appliances, Cabinets, Doors, Fans, Flooring material, Hardware, Lighting , Lumber, Plywood, Sheetrock, Mirror, Paint, Pipe, Pvc , Metal, Copper, tubs, sinks, showers, commodes, vanities, Roofing Material, Gutters, Tools, windows, and screens
Details: Click here for donation guidelines.

• Ele’s Place

Ele’s Place provides peer support group programs at no cost for children and families coping with the death or life threatening illness of a family member or friend. Ele’s Place is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization fully recognized by the IRS, and all donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

What You Can Donate: Sponsor a grieving child. Options include 1, 2, or 6 months or a year. You also have the option to donate as much or as little as you want. You may also donate on behalf of someone else or in memory of someone.
Donate Online Here: Donate.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Capital Area

The Big Brothers Big Sisters Mission is to help children reach their potential through one-to-one relationships with mentors that have a measurable impact on youth.
What You Can Donate: Monetary donations, cars, other items

If you’re rather donate sports events tickets or have other opportunities in the Mid-Michigan area that you think Bigs and their little sibs would want to take advantage of, go here. For more information about donating, please contact Shari Nelson, Executive Assistant/Book keeper, at Shari.Nelson@bbbsmcr.org or 517-372-0160.
Donate online here: Donate.

• Mid-Michigan Red Cross

The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its congressional charter and the fundamental principles of the international red cross movement, will provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. The Red Cross offers a variety of ways to give during the Holiday Season. If you’d like to give blood, click here for donation locations. For other ways to give, see below.
What You Can Donate:     Donate online Monetarily, donate to the Food Bank, donate by phone, donate by mail, donate stock, donate when you purchase, donate your change via coinstar, Donate when you buy or sell via eBay, donate airline miles
Donate online here: Donate.

All of these opportunities are accurate to the best of our knowledge. Please be sure to check out the websites and contact information included. Do you have an event or volunteer opportunity you’d like added to this list or a correction to make? E-mail EveryChildIsYours@gmail.com or Tweet at us at @everychildisurs.

Feeling in the Holiday spirit? Please take a brief survey conducted by MSU professors to earn (1) a $5 donation to a local child advocacy organization AND (2) a chance to win $100 Amazon gift card! Click here to take the survey!

Remember, for each Like or Follow of Every Child Is Yours, a DIME will be donated to a Michigan Children’s Charity!

I am on several feeds of articles relating to Adverse Childhood Experiences in children, and I’m really impressed by the growing number of people talking about this subject on blogs and writing in new and traditional media.  Here’s a great example of what I mean. This article appeared in October, 2011, in “The Morning Sun” a mid-Michigan newspaper and their complimentary website.

To comment on their site go to:

http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2011/10/19/life/srv0000014665382.txt

Here’s the article written by a mental health profession in Gratiot County, Michigan.

By Heather Bell
Gratiot County Community Mental Health

As we go through life, some experiences give us growth, enlightenment, and push us beyond what we think we can achieve. However, dire events can occur that have a traumatic impact on our lives and how we function in our day-to-day living and the relationships that we build with others.

Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety, or can be any situation in which you find yourself overwhelmed even if it does not involve physical harm. It is not the facts of the situation that defines a traumatic experience, but rather the emotional experience you feel from the event. An event will most likely lead to trauma if: it happened quickly, you were unprepared for it, you felt powerless to prevent it, and it happened repeatedly or occurred in childhood. Trauma can result from a one-time event or ongoing stressful events.

Not all potentially traumatic events result in lasting emotional or psychological affects. A number of risk factors can make one more likely to be traumatized by a stressful experience if they are under a great amount of stress or have recently suffered a series of losses. People are also more likely to be traumatized by a new situation if they have been traumatized before, especially if the initial trauma occurred during their childhood years.

Experience in childhood can have a long-lasting effect, and when not resolved the fear and helplessness felt in the adolescent years can carry over into adulthood, making one more susceptible for further trauma.

Collaboration between the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente’s Appraisal Clinic resulted in a study that examined how negative childhood events can affect one’s health and well-being later into adulthood. The ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Study investigated childhood experiences of abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction. Findings of this study suggest that experiences such as recurrent and severe physical and emotional abuse, sexual abuse, households with alcoholism or drug use, imprisoned family members, or the absence of both biological parents are among the leading cause of illness, death, and poor quality of life in the U.S.

Adverse childhood experiences are common, and although they are typically concealed and unrecognized, these adverse experiences can have a profound effect many years later.

Symptoms of trauma can manifest itself physically as well as emotionally or psychologically. People experience or react to trauma in different ways and there is no right or wrong way to think, feel, or respond to a traumatic event. Some of the emotional or psychological symptoms include: shock, denial, or disbelief; anger, irritability, or mood swings; guilt, shame, or self-blame; feeling sad or hopeless, confusion, or difficulty concentrating, anxiety, and fear, withdrawing from others, and feeling disconnected or numb. Insomnia or nightmares, being startled easily, racing heartbeats, aches and pains, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, edginess and agitation, or muscle tensions can all be physical symptoms of trauma. Symptoms and feelings can typically last from a few days to a few months and gradually fade as one goes through the process of dealing with a traumatic experience.

Recovering from a traumatic event takes time and healing. However, if months have passed and you are experiencing any of the following you may need to seek help from a professional trauma expert:

Are you having trouble functioning at home or work?

Suffering from sever depression?

Unable to form close, satisfying relationships?

Experiencing terrifying memories, nightmares, or flashbacks?

Avoiding more and more things that remind you of the trauma?

Emotionally numb and disconnected from others?

Using alcohol or drugs to feel better?

Treatment to overcome traumatic events is a process, but is possible. There are a number of therapeutic approaches that can assist with working through the traumatic experiences and provide ways to deal with the effects of a trauma. Be patient with the pace of recovery. Avoid isolation, stay grounded, and taking care of your health are all ways that can assist you in your recovery process

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/letters/story/2011-11-15/Penn-State-scandal-child-sex-abuse/51225638/1

Friday’s USA TODAY coverage of the Penn State scandal features a reference to abused children suffering a loss of innocence, and correctly so. But more than that is lost as a result of neglect and abuse (“‘Victim 1′ triggered investigation of Jerry Sandusky”).

As a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention task force on child maltreatment, I learned of research by Robert Anda, and other scientists, who have published peer-reviewed reports known as the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) studies. The research directly connects 10 categories of child neglect and abuse to life-shortening conditions, ranging from drug and alcohol use and suicide to heart disease and cancer. Causes range from emotional neglect and abuse, such as witnessing a mother being beaten, to sexual abuse, such as what allegedly occurred in the Penn State athletic department.
Anda refers to the neglect and abuse of America’s children as “a chronic public health disaster” that, with the proof generated by the ACE studies and mind-numbing examples, such as the Penn State scandal, “can now only be ignored as a matter of conscious choice.”

Richard T. Cole; East Lansing, Mich.

Tell us your story on Facebook at www.facebook.com/everychildisyours and be eligible to win a $250 gift certificate at Lansing’s locally owned and operated Holden-Reid: Lansing’s Premier Men’s Clothier or Jeanologie: East Lansing’s newest New York-inspired boutique.

Did an adult ever intervene on your behalf?

Many of us have a childhood memory of a time when an adult or older child intervened in our lives to protect us from serious stress. We want to capture these experiences on our Facebook page and to share your memories with the world as a way to remind all of us how important it is to remember this: “Every Child Is Yours“.

Mid-Michigan “Millennials”,  in 100 words or less, tell us about someone other than a family member made a difference that reduced stress in your childhood.

Why is this important?

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has made this clear: Childhood stress can result in significant emotional and psychological illness later in adulthood. The CDC has even found that toxic stress in childhood can result in serious adult illness including cancers, heart disease, and immunological disorders. You can read more about this on our blog or Google: Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Tell us your story about how someone outside of your family stepped up to spare you from childhood stress. Everyone who visits our Facebook page www.facebook.com/everychildisyours will have a chance to read your story. Maybe it will move them to “pay it forward” and help out a local child or family.

Judging
A local panel of judges selected by the Children’s Trust Fund of Michigan–the state’s official child abuse prevention agency–will select the top 10 entries. The top 10 entries will be featured on www.EveryChildIsYours.org where readers will be asked to vote for the most moving. The winner of the voting will receive a $250 gift certificate one of the local retailers mentioned.

All entries must be posted by midnight (Eastern Time), November 25th, 2011. The winner will have their choice of a $250 gift certificate to Lansing’s Holden-Reid (men’s) Clothiers or Jeanologie (women’s).

Who Can Enter
Any current Mid-Michigan resident (including students) born between 1977 and 1993.

How to Enter
We will accept up to one entry per person. You may enter using the following method:

Facebook
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/everychildisyours. Then post your positive experience in 100 words or less on our Facebook wall.

YouTube
Upload a video of a minute of less telling us about your experience and post the link to our Facebook wall.

More ways to get the word out:
If you have a Twitter, follow us on Twitter then Tweet at us letting you own you’ve submitted an entry. Use the hashtag #lovelansing in your Tweet.

Submission Requirements. Your submission must:

• Be 100 words or less or a minute or less.
• Identify a true experience in your childhood in which a non-family member adult or older child took an action that reduced stress in your life.

Timeline:

• EXTENDED DEADLINE: Post your submission by midnight (Eastern Time), November 25, 2011.

Prize:
The winner will have their choice of a $250 gift certificate to Lansing’s Holden-Reid (men’s) Clothiers or Jeanologie, East Lansing’s newest New York-inspired boutique.

Judging:
A team of panelists selected by sponsors of the Every Child Is Yours will select the top ten entries to appear on the blog. Out of the top ten, the final winner will be selected by popular vote on the Every Child is Yours blog.

Fine Print:
By entering your submission in this contest, you understand that you are authorizing the Every Child Is Yours campaign and the Children’s Trust Fund the exclusive right to include your submission in materials supporting the ethical treatment of children, in Every Child Is Yours social media channels, on the Every Child Is Yours blog, and other outlets that relate to the Every Child Is Yours campaign.

The Every Child Is Yours campaign reserves the right to disqualify any entry determined to be inappropriate. Entries received after November 25th, 2011 on the blog will be deeply appreciated, but will not be considered for the contest.

Good luck! We cannot wait to see what you tell us!

Friday November 4, 2011
www.Philly.com (The Inquirer, Philadelphia)

A post by Jonathan Purtle

 

Why were some people – indeed, some of the most successful at slimming down – more likely than others to drop out of a weight-loss program?

The question gnawed at Vincent Felitti, a physician in San Diego, as he looked for a pattern more than 25 years ago. As I described in my last post, Dr. Felitti eventually discovered that a large number of these patients had troubled childhoods — raising questions about if, how, and why psychological trauma in childhood could be connected with poor health later in life.

Felitti, then chief of preventive medicine at Kaiser Permanente, enlisted the help of Dr. Robert Anda — an internal/preventive medicine physician and epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — to develop a study and explore these questions in greater depth. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study was born.

Felitti and Anda recruited 17,337 adult members of Kaiser, the giant Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) based in California. The majority of those who participated in the study were white and middle class. Each underwent a physical examination and answered questions about things that might have happened to them through age 18. The questions spanned 10 categories:

Emotional abuse

Physical abuse

Sexual abuse

Emotional neglect

Physical neglect

Domestic violence

Substance abuse

Mental illness

Parental separation/divorce

Incarceration

Each category was worth one point. The highest possible adverse childhood experience (ACE) score was 10. (You can easily calculate your own ACE score here). Felitti and Anda then explored how ACE scores were associated with the health — and health behaviors — of their adult participants.

When the initial results appeared in 1998, they were astounded.

First was the sheer amount of childhood trauma — far more than the researchers had expected. Over 28% of the respondents reported being physically abused, 27% growing up with substance abuse in the household, and 25% of the women and 16% of the men being sexually abused. Of all the respondents, 15% reported four or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Anda said tears streamed down his face when he first saw that data.

Second was the uncanny strength of the relationship between the number of ACEs and unhealthy behaviors and poor health outcomes. A person with an ACE score of 2 had significantly more health risk than a person with a score of 1, a person with an ACE score of 3 had significantly more health risk than the person with a score of 2, and so on all the way up to 10. The people with scores of 9 or 10 generally were in the poorest health.

Furthermore, the association did not exist just for a handful of specific health outcomes — it existed for many of the major risk factors of premature death in the United States.

So what could it be about childhood trauma and adversity that might make us do unhealthy things and put us at higher risk for poor health outcomes? And what are the implications of these findings?

This is the second of a three-part ACE mini-series begins the exploration of a topic – trauma and health – that I will return to periodically. Upcoming posts will examine issues like urban violence, the “science of trauma,” and what people in Philadelphia are doing to address these issues.

I’ll try to get the third part posted this week. Thanks.

This youtube video was passed on to me from Dr. Robert Anda. It’s just over 3 minutes long, and definitely worth your time watching.