Thinking a lot about kids these days.
"It's giving ___" is one of the phrases I hear,
sitting at my desk, while the teens and tweens that come in and out of the kitchen nearby make each other laugh. ("She's giving ocean" I got once, dressed in inky teal sweats one weekend morning).
However they toss the word around, giving is a powerful thing. Even in a job so focused on giving, I never lose wonder for how strangers take it upon themselves to help people they've never met, in places they've perhaps never been; how teachers will give their early mornings and late evenings to create spaces and opportunities for kids with all different needs to learn; how entire communities can be rehoused in the face of natural disaster by people who could comfortably stay uninvolved but don't. Giving, maybe, recognizes that we're all in it together.
Something about this photo, taken during
Showdown this summer by photographer Pasha Kolonifa, speaks to so much of our work - not just the speed and how fast kids grow, but the vibrancy of our interconnectedness.
With everything we know about the first five years of life and learning, there's an urgency to get kids what they need early. And kids grow fast: the babies in our first class at Educare Arizona are now in high school, teetering into adulthood. Healthy communities depend on healthy adults comprising them, who depend on healthy childhoods to get them there . . . we depend on kids - kids we don't know (and some we do) - who need us first. This month, as life pushes forward with longer demands in shorter days, Pasha's photos seem to underscore the critical nature of it all, and spin some beauty around the chaos.
However you give - of your time, your talents
or your donation - your giving creates opportunity that wasn't there before you stepped in. It's giving community. It's giving health. The basic things that science and research tell us kids need to become healthy adults are too often beyond their reach. But when you give? It's giving hope. And we're so thankful.
Wishing you a season of giving that's giving back (and a peaceful Tuesday).
It's giving, better.
While Giving Tuesday is just one day, our work is year-round. Please consider a monthly donation to our work - your sustained giving has outsized impact, and we'd love the assist.
It's giving joy.
Every recurring donation received this month is a chance to win a signed jersey!*
It's giving access.
Our programs, like Educare Arizona, Let's Talk Dads, READy and more use leading science to inform our work for children and families. Learn more at stevenash.org.
It's Giving Tuesday.
Our new Assist Store just launched! New limited edition autographed jerseys, some adorable infant wear, and a surprise for our desert-dwelling friends . . . . Check some items off your list: order by December 16th in the U.S.!
