Climate Kids for Haiyan Relief

by Lisa Hoyos on December 21st, 2013 | 2 Comments »

Our kids are growing up in a world where climate change is having harmful, and too often devastating, impacts on communities here at home and around the world. Just days after the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy striking the Eastern Seaboard, Super Typhoon Haiyan—the largest typhoon to ever make landfall in recorded history—slammed into the Philippines, claiming more than 6,000 lives and displacing millions.

Climate Parents, the organization that I co-founded and direct, focuses most of our efforts on building up the advocacy power of parents and families to stop dirty energy and to scale up renewable “kid safe, climate safe” energy, like wind and solar. But we also believe that it’s important for our kids to have adult help and guidance in understanding and interpreting the information they’re getting about climate change and climate impacts at school, on the news, and—for a growing number of kids—in their lived experience.

Right now, in this season of sharing and giving, we’re focused on an activity that parents can do with our kids that we hope will help teach our kids that they can make a difference for families who have been impacted by climate disasters. It’s called Climate Kids for Haiyan Relief.

Climate Kids for Haiyan Relief

It’s a simple idea that teaches our kids that working together, we can help solve big problems.

Here’s how it works:

1. Parents talk to their kids about climate change and climate impacts, in an age appropriate way. We talk about the steps we can take to make a difference—from supporting renewable energy in our communities, to helping make our communities more resilient (e.g. being more efficient with water, restoring wetlands, expanding local food production).

2. We discuss that fact that some communities have been harmed by climate change, and that our kids can do something—an act of kindness or a service—that we parents will “pay forward” in the form of a donation to send nurses from the Registered Nurse Rapid Response Network (RNRN) to the Philippines, where they are badly needed in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

3. We make a donation to RNRN on our kids behalf.

Climate Kids for Haiyan Relief is hoping to make a difference in light of the level of suffering that is still happening as a result of the Super Typhoon. Michelle Vo, a member of the Registered Nurse Response Network, who was on one of the first delegations who traveled to the Philippines said, “So many [people] don’t have any shelter, they have lost everything, clothing, belongings. Many are sleeping in makeshift tents in the rain. We see people who are dehydrated, malnourished, kids sick with fever. They need nurses, equipment and supplies.”

Climate Parents has come up with a simple way for you to help make a difference, and we include ideas and resources that will help you. We hope you’ll join in this activity that captures the spirit of the holidays. Click here to learn more.

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Lisa Hoyos, Director and Co-Founder of Climate Parents and mom of two boys, ages five and eight. For more information about Climate Parents, please contact Lisa Hoyos at [email protected].