Helping the Community

A collage from the big group read ... 

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

A brief post to share some pictures with you … taken at three of our most recent community events. First, reading to pre-K kids as part of an attempted world record for group reading — I have to admit I never did hear if we all set the record or not.

But I sure enjoyed reading to the charming children at Learn & Smile Preschool this week.

At the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Halloween bash

Then we attended the big annual Halloween event for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, a loyal sponsor of the Humanity Project. We talked with lots and lots of kids and parents about bullying and also chatted with older teens and parents about safe driving — of course, the Humanity Project offers unique programs for anti-bullying and safe teen driving. Finally, our Board VP Stephanie Wong used our third major program, thp4kids.com, as a springboard during her session with the National Interschool Brigade Movement of Jamaica.

Fun with the brigade!

She’ll post a blog in this space soon about her enriching experience with those kids. All these events were great fun. And all were part of our growing emphasis on taking our programs into the community even more effectively, person to person. We hope to meet you in person at one of our events soon.

Talk to Your Teen Driver

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

We usually avoid citing lots of numbers in these blogs — statistics can be confusing and, let’s face it, just plain boring. But National Teen Driver Safety Week calls for a few figures to make our point. First, though, a little background. Our great Humanity Project sponsor, State Farm, was one of the major organizations that worked with Congress to designate the third week in October as a national moment to discuss teen driver safety. Of course, State Farm also helped us to create our I Care teen driver safety program, now with a book for teens and another book for parents.

Because of our unique program, we proudly support National Teen Driver Safety Week. Which brings us back to those numbers we alluded to earlier. Here’s a statistic worth sharing, based on a recent study: Only 25% of parents have talked seriously with their teen drivers about how to handle an automobile,  even though auto crashes remain the leading killer of teenagers. That’s shocking, really.

At the same time, the danger is getting worse for many teen drivers. A couple more stats to make our meaning clear: In Florida, where the Humanity Project is based, teen driver fatalities jumped by nearly 25% from 2013 to 2014. That’s according to numbers provided by the Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition and Florida SADD. As you might expect, teen driver crashes also increased during that same period.

So this blog really is a plea to the adults who visit our website. Parents, grandparents, educators, counselors, nonprofit staffers … and anyone else who lives or works with teenagers of driving age. Please sit down and share your motoring experiences, with a few tips on how to drive more carefully. Obviously, these should include advice about avoiding distractions, looking far down the road, wearing a seat belt, keeping the number of passengers to a minimum. Oh, and you can pass along our I Care web address too:www.thehumanityproject.com/icare. Our program was created by teens, for teens … and for parents.

As with most tough social problems, dangerous teen driving requires many, many of us to work together toward solutions. Not only during National Teen Driver Safety Week, but every week of the year.

Help Us Help Them

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

There’s a brand new way for you to help us to help kids. You can join the Humanity Project for any size donation starting at $10. And now we’ve made it easier than ever. You can simply use your phone to scan the new QR code (which means, “Quick Response” code) on our Join/Donate page. To make it quicker still, we’ll include the code below in this blog post.

The Humanity Project is about to turn 10-years-old. Our 10th anniversary comes next month and you’ll be hearing a lot more about ways to help us celebrate. We need your support in order to keep doing our important work: Helping Kids To Help Kids! 

Just use your smartphone to scan the code and donate to The Humanity Project

Please consider joining our nonprofit group today by making a donation in any amount above $10 — that’s the minimum required by our fundraising service, JustGive. By the way, JustGive is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase charitable giving by connecting people with the charities and causes they most care about. They collect money on behalf of more than 1.5 million other nonprofits, including the American Red Cross and Smithsonian Institution. The secure credit card link protects your information.

Thanks for your help. It means a lot to us — and to our kids.

Major Humanity Project Program Addition

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

We have something important to announce and it pleases us a lot. The new addition to our I Care: Just Let Me Drive teen driver safety program is done. It’s a special booklet just for parents, created by teens as well as our parent consultants and auto safety experts. We think you’ll find it as enjoyable as our original I Care book — fun, funny and memorable. 

The new addition is called, I Care: Just Help Them Drive. This time, teens aren’t giving advice to their peers. They’re helping to give parents a clue through the all-original material, including a smart comic book just for those parent drivers. Research shows that parents have an enormous influence on the behind-the-wheel behavior of their kids. If parents drive while talking on the phone or texting or checking sports scores, their teens are more likely to do the same.

That’s the message of I Care: Just Help Them Drive. And the booklet delivers the point powerfully but without preaching. Read I Care: Just Help Them Drive.

Once again, we must thank our great friends and sponsors at State Farm for making this possible. They provided the funds and the confidence in our original program, we provided the information and creativity. We hope you’ll check it out. And please pass along the link to a parent who still needs to learn more about safe driving. As we all know, there’s no shortage of them on our roads.

Teach Your Children Well

Bullying even comes from adults sometimes — often arrogant adults who try to bully their way to success.

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

A personal view from Humanity Project Founder, Bob Knotts:

Bullying even comes from adults sometimes — often arrogant adults who try to bully their way to success.

Arrogance has been much in the news lately. Especially arrogance by political candidates, along with the usual boasting by some pop stars and athletes. Our culture seems permeated with it. And that got me thinking about the impact that arrogance by public figures has on our kids. Imagine if you were a student in, say, middle school, hearing bits and pieces of the blather from some political candidates — and seeing the apparent admiration this has attracted from a big segment of the voting population. You might easily confuse arrogance with confidence, might believe that being bombastic is just a way of being outgoing. You could begin to get the idea that arrogance is a good thing.

But it’s not. Most of us already understand this if we stop and think. And adults who influence children must stop and think — often. Arrogance is only insecurity cloaked in bluster. It comes from people who feel deeply unsure about themselves in many important ways, and so rely on bragging about one or two qualities they believe they do possess. Arrogance also may lead to lack of sincere effort, which reduces real chances for success. “I’m already great at this so I don’t need to try!” I believe that sort of attitude is a recipe for mediocrity at best … failure at worst. So I’m making the case here for you to cast a skeptical eye on all the arrogance floating through our media these days — and to raise the topic with those kids of yours. What do they think about these people? Where do they think arrogance comes from? Does it really work? How does it make other people feel about themselves? These sorts of questions can help them to cast a skeptical eye on arrogance as well, whether it’s arrogance from public figures or from other adults and kids they know. Critical thinking about this topic can encourage them to form more constructive approaches in their own daily lives, now and in the future.

As I noted in a recent blog, the Humanity Project’s main website here at www.thehumanityproject.com is for adults — programs, materials, ideas and more intended to help you help your kids. You may be a parent, grandparent, teacher, therapist, counselor or any other person in a position to affect the attitudes of children. This organization is all about adults working with kids to create arts-based programs that in turn will help other kids cope with problems such as bullying and distracted driving and social isolation. We help kids to help kids. It’s up to us as adults to make sure our kids get the insight and information they need to grow into healthy, responsible adults. Unfortunately, our culture doesn’t always make that an easy task. With a little extra effort on our part, though, we can nudge those kids in the right direction.

Stopping School Violence

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

This will be a very brief post — for a very good reason. I’m hoping you’ll click on the link at the end of this sentence and spend your Internet time listening to a special podcast rather than reading a longer blog today. Here’s that podcast link: Listen to our podcast, “Stopping School Violence.” 

The half hour program is a chat with Dr. Laura Finley, author of the new book, “School Violence,” published by ABC-CLIO. Dr. Finley also is Vice President of the Humanity Project Board of Directors and an Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Barry University. I interviewed Dr. Finley recently for the podcast, discussing ways to stop school violence before our conversation turned to other topics relevant to her work as an educator and peace activist.

You can buy the book at another link: Buy the book “School Violence.” Those working in fields related to education will discover much valuable information there. And we think you’ll find our latest podcast both entertaining and enlightening. Oh, and please pass along the podcast link to your friends and family. We always appreciate that.

Our Website: A Primer

Our programs reach thousands of kids each year!

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

Just in case there’s any confusion about this website … because, well, I can understand how it could happen. So let me put together a short primer for you. You might come to our website and read our trademarked slogan: “Helping kids to help kids!” And our mission statement: “To create innovative arts-based programs that help youth solve pressing social problems through collaborative efforts that emphasize the value of each individual.” And then, perhaps, you may read a few blogs, maybe listen to a podcast or sift through some of our fables — and you could be forgiven for wondering, “I thought this was for kids!”

You’re right. The Humanity Project is mainly intended to help kids. And so a brief explanation is in order: As the blurb below our mission statement mentions, we’re adults helping kids to help kids. And sometimes helping kids to help parents as well. But this website is for you, the adult reader. If you look through our many pages on this site, you’ll quickly get the idea. We’re providing you with information about programs that we’ve created with the help of kids, for kids. Adults such as you can aid our efforts to reach more children with those programs. We’re also posting much info about those programs and related issues, including our advice for parents on how to handle bullying. (You’ll find that page by clicking here.) Or take another example such as our podcasts, where you will hear intelligent discussions that can help you to bring our work to the kids who need it. Or our PeacePage or those fables I mentioned — we’re very proud of these works and all the other original Humanity Project materials on this website. Each of them is something you may want to share with the kids in your life in some way or other, either now or when they’re a little older. We think those materials can be great ways to teach … and to inspire.

So think of this website as a library full of ways to help kids deal with some tough issues, including bullying, distracted driving and social isolation — areas where our experience and expertise allow us to make a meaningful contribution. This site is also a gateway to our social media pages and our other websites, which were created for kids, by kids. You can learn more about those sites and connect with them through our Just4kids page, which is atthis link. Yes, indeed. “Helping kids to help kids!” That is the Humanity Project. But we need the assistance of adults like you to do that, helping us to spread our materials and programs around as much as possible. Thanks so much for anything you can do to make that happen.

Teaching Kids to Share

The gift on my desk

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

Children must be taught to share. Children of all ages, from infancy through high school. That’s one of the things we do at the Humanity Project — helping kids to help kids by working with them to share their talents and knowledge with peers. We do this by helping them create programs that curb distracted driving, reduce bullying and ease social isolation. We help kids to help kids by teaching them to share.

Sharing is an important lesson for us all to teach. I think about it often. On my desk sits a small bronze figure of Buddha, representing to me the many wise lessons imparted to the world by this insightful man. But it also means something else: friendship. The inexpensive figurine was handed to me spontaneously by a woman at a shop along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. The sales clerk did this as a kindness, I believe, a gesture of good will between us. I already had bought several masks and other art pieces at her store and paid for them. She had nothing to gain except my smile.

As I dusted the Buddha during my weekly housecleaning one day, this thought occurred to me: the gift was given with no knowledge of how I would receive it. I might just as easily have seen this as worthless junk and tossed it in the nearest trash can. Or I might have put it in some jewelry box when I returned home and never glanced at it again. Or. Or … yes, I might have looked at this small gift in the way I do, as an object I genuinely appreciate and use to enhance my life. That thought led me to another. Isn’t the same true of our own gifts, the talent and experience and enthusiasm we can share with others? All we can do is to give these, with no knowledge of how they will be received. Just like the Buddha from my friend in Bangkok. We only have the power to hand out our individual treasures to the world. What the world does with them is entirely up to others to decide. That’s a lesson worth sharing with the kids in our life.

Almost Time for School

Heron Heights Elementary gets the anti-bullying message / (Photo by Andrew Leone, Children's Services Council of Broward County)

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

The new school year fast approaches us — wow, where did the summer go, huh? But we’re excited about it at the Humanity Project. We’ll soon be telling you about some new programs we’re introducing, new ways for us to help your kids. Remember, that’s our thing: “Helping kids to help kids!” It means we work with kids to develop programs for other kids, then implement those programs … for free. So as a reminder, here are our major programs as they stand at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. Again, we offer these at no cost to you or your school. Give us a shout so we can help you to help your kids!

Anti-bullying Through The Arts — This is the Humanity Project’s all-original anti-bullying program for grades K – 5. This program begins with a live 40-minute assembly that includes a positive rap song, roleplaying, stories and a music video – all created and produced by the Humanity Project. The program continues with follow-up classroom materials and, when requested, classroom visits. It is entertaining, memorable and effective. Pre/post testing since the first program in 2009 consistently has shown Anti-bullying Through The Arts is highly effective.

“I Care!” Teen Driver Safety – “I Care!” was created by talented high school authors working under the guidance of the Humanity Project. They wrote a book called, “I Care/Just Let Me Drive!” and this innovative teen-to-teen creation forms the foundation of our program. “I Care!” uses all-original rap poetry, quizzes, stories, even a comic book as a fun but powerful way to communicate memorable lessons about safe driving. But then the program asks students to share this book with their three best friends (and parents), who all must read the book and pledge to drive more attentively — not out of fear but rather out of friendship. The message is simple: “Don’t drive safely for yourself. Do it for your best friends (or kids), who want to keep you in one piece because they care about you.” The “I Care!” program now also includes a special website created by teens, for teens as well as original videos, Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr and Instagram pages and more.

Thp4kids — “The Humanity Project 4 Kids” can be found at thp4kids.com. It is a special, teen-created website made for an equally special group of kids: socially isolated teens, including many in the LGBT community. Like all our programs, the website’s content is all-original from the Humanity Project: videos, music, blogs and poetry, interactive games and quizzes and more. This unique website functions as on online friend and advisor for struggling students who feel disengaged from family and friends in the everyday world.

Please use our Contact page to email us for more information. We look forward to hearing from you!

Why You Should Share Baseball with Your Kids

Autographs at Detroit Tigers spring training, 2015

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

Maybe it’s time to rediscover baseball … with your kids. Perhaps they’re your own kids, or young relatives or the kids of friends or neighbors. They could be kids you work with somehow, possibly through a nonprofit such as the Humanity Project. They might even be your grandkids. But I’m going to make the case in this blog that baseball is well worth your time. And theirs.

I’ve loved this great game all my life, intensely as a child growing up in Detroit around my beloved Tigers. My passion for the sport faded somehow for many years only to re-emerge as strong as ever now as a very mature adult. And because this organization I founded to help kids, the Humanity Project, is so in touch with young minds and young sensibilities, a thought occurred to me recently: Kids of all ages could benefit from learning the joys of baseball from an adult, especially a parent. Here’s why I think that’s true:

• A different kind of sport: Baseball has been called a team sport played by individuals. Think about it. The pitcher and batter square off, alone. If the batter connects, he becomes a runner who competes only against the person fielding the ball, followed by competing with the person catching it. Baseball is a great team sport but it requires each individual to do their job effectively for the team to win. That’s unlike the dynamics in, say, football or basketball where a mediocre player can slide through an entire season on the backs of better teammates. Explain that side of baseball to your kids — and tell them how it is a value worth emulating in everyday life. We should do our best as individuals to help the team, whether that team is the home or the workplace or the whole community.
• Better sportsmanship: Point out to your kids the way baseball players typically behave. Again, very unlike football or basketball players or athletes in many sports these days. With rare exceptions, baseball players pride themselves on avoiding showy displays of ego after they make a great play. Home run? They trot around the bases without trying to show up the pitcher. Incredible catch? They go back to their position to get ready for the next play. And ballplayers often talk and joke with players from opposing teams, even during very important games. They compete but don’t hate their opponents. Baseball is a game of class. And it can teach kids to behave well themselves, on the field or in life.
• The Zen of the game: There is an almost meditative quality to watching a baseball game. That’s not to say the games are dull. They’re not — at least not if you understand the human dynamics happening throughout the game. I’ll clarify that point in a moment. But back to the Zen of baseball… The great sportscaster, and baseball enthusiast, Bob Costas put it this way: “Baseball is a game of atmosphere and anticipation, punctuated by moments of brilliance and excitement.” That atmosphere and that anticipation offer us time to relax and even to reflect as the game unfolds. Explain that to your kids, helping them to appreciate the poetic beauty of baseball. It’s a chance to slow down and enjoy life as you’re also being entertained.
• A mental game: Precisely because it’s a team sport played by individuals, baseball also is a game of the mind. The pitcher and catcher must calculate what type of pitch the batter expects next, then give him something else. The batter has to understand that this is what’s happening as he awaits the ball, then himself calculate what the pitch might be. They’re not guessing. It’s based on statistics as well as experience and intuition. Baseball is a sophisticated mind game. Helping kids to recognize this also helps them to look a bit deeper into their own psyche as well as into the heads of others.

These are only some of the ways, described briefly, that baseball can become a valuable pastime to share with the kids in your life. We live in a frantic, frenzied, high-tech world. Baseball is one antidote to the ill effects our modern society can have on all of us. Every baseball game is a paean to our history as a nation, the great players and great moments since baseball was invented in 1839. And every game is an opportunity to quiet our lives as we enrich our appreciation of this sport and these remarkable athletes. It’s been said that hitting a Major League baseball is the hardest of all things to accomplish in sport. That may or may not be true. But I do know this much from personal experience: Watching fine players hit, and pitch and catch and throw, a baseball can teach important lessons about life … and form a bond between an adult and child that both always will cherish.

Learning a Generosity Philosophy

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

This time, just a brief blog to tell you about a podcast we hope you’ll want to hear. And share with the young people in your life. It’s posted here on our Humanity Project website, our latest ‘cast. And it’s called, “Generosity Philosophy.” Check it out at this link: Listen to the latest Humanity Project Podcast. 

You’ll catch an interesting interview with Kim Trumbo, founder of the popular Generosity Philosophy Podcast. Kim was kind enough, and yes generous enough, to welcome me to her podcast on behalf of the Humanity Project several weeks ago. We wanted to return the favor because Kim is such an interesting person, with lots of wisdom to share. (Kim’s podcasts are available on her website as well as through iTunes and Stitcher. Go to the Generosity Philosophy Podcast website.)

Rather than take more of your time with a long blog, we’ll let you swing on over to our new podcast so you can listen to Kim for yourself. We think you’ll enjoy her, as we do. We also believe she just may inspire you to be a little more generous as you go through your day. And please share the podcast with your kids! We encourage you to sit and listen with them if they’re, oh say, maybe 12-years-old or more. Children can get a lot out of Kim’s generosity philosophy too.

A Faithful Friend

Dr. David Sharaf

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

Today we want to tell you a little more about a faithful friend of the Humanity Project — and a fine physician. He’s been my personal dermatologist for nearly 20 years. His name is Dr. David Sharaf of Skin and Cancer Associates and the Center for Cosmetic Enhancement in South Florida. Visit their website by clicking here.

He recently renewed his sponsorship of the Humanity Project, something he’s done consistently for the past several years. We are grateful as an organization. I am personally grateful as well.

Dr. Sharaf does this because he is a good man, someone who clearly cares about other people. I suppose that much is obvious simply by virtue of the sponsorship. It’s something he doesn’t have to do.

But let me tell you just very briefly about my experience with him as a doctor.

When I was married, my then-wife was very fair-skinned and subject to pre-cancerous moles and such. One time, Dr. Sharaf discovered something more serious — melanoma. But he caught it quickly, diagnosed it correctly and sent us to one of the top specialists in the country, who happened to be in South Florida. She recovered rapidly and with little suffering along the way. I owe Dr. Sharaf for that. I trust him to find suspicious marks on my own body, also fair-skinned. And when I had something under my eye that needed treatment with a strong acid solution, well … there’s no one else I would have allowed to use caustic chemicals near my eyeball. But I had faith in Dr. Sharaf’s ability. Well-placed faith, as it turned out.

As you can tell, I think a lot of him. He didn’t ask me or the Humanity Project to say any of this, mind you. In fact, he discouraged me from saying anything at all. But when you’re lucky enough to know a good doctor who also is a good human being, I think people should know. Thank you, Dr. Sharaf! Thank you very much …