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Being mindful of one’s impact on the environment is important in building habits that help foster a more sustainable way of living. The Explorer Room Class at Campbell Children’s School have been challenging themselves through the Canadian Geographic Education’s Classroom Energy Diet Challenge to be more conscious of their environmental impact. The challenges they have been working on range from conserving their energy and water consumption, to growing plants, to even just learning more about how they can be more environmentally friendly each day. Now the Explorer Room students would like to include Grandview Kids on the fun they are having! Each week, this blog post will be updated with a new challenge for Grandview Kids to get thinking about how to lead an environmentally friendly life.

Send a picture of you completing each week’s challenge to communications@grandviewkids.ca to be featured on our social media pages!

Scroll below to view each week’s Eco Challenge!

Week 1

To kick-off the Eco Challenge, Explorer Room students would like to challenge Grandview Kids to recycle 10 things in one day. Think you’ve got this one in the bag (or should we say, recycling bin)? If you’ve successfully completed this challenge, the students would love to see!

Week 2

For week 2 of the Eco Challenge, Explorer Room students would like to challenge Grandview Kids to save 1 hour of power each day this week. Whether in the morning, afternoon or evening, we want you to make it work for your routine! Feel free to take inspiration from the Explorer Room class – instead of reading under a bright light, change it up and read by the window. The smallest changes can make the biggest differences in our ecological footprints!

Week 3

For week 3 of the Eco Challenge, Explorer Room students would like to challenge Grandview Kids to innovate by creating “A Green-Powered Canada.” The challenge is to learn about renewable and non-renewable energy and how that can impact the future of Canada.  They learned about solar and wind energy, so to compliment their lesson, they are building a Canadian community with a more earth-friendly theme. There are solar-powered street lights, windmills for energy production, electric vehicles and even community gardens to help reduce food miles! How would you design your green community?

Click here for the entire lesson from Canadian Geographic Education’s Classroom Energy Diet Challenge.

We need your help!

Are you looking for a volunteer position to support your community? We are accepting applications for Volunteers to support our Welcome Centre Screener/Greeter Volunteer role at many of our Grandview locations. 

If you are interested in volunteering 1-2 shifts per week, and can commit to volunteer for at least 3 months, please complete the online volunteer application on our Volunteering Page.

The Screener and Greeter is a critical role and part of our enhanced protocols to ensure the safety of volunteers, staff, clients and families.  This role is a first point of contact for the family, clients and visitors and follows a strict protocol. This position completes the screening with the family following a COVID checklist, communicates with staff and therapists, makes reminder calls, and completes administrative support tasks as required. Volunteers must be flexible, reliable and able to volunteer during the volunteer shifts outlined below.

Volunteers are asked to commit to at least one four hour shift once or twice a week.

We are recruiting screener/greeter positions at the Oshawa, Whitby and Ajax locations. Please specify location and shift/day preference in your application.

Volunteer shifts are Monday to Friday and some Saturdays at specified locations:

• 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
• 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Yesterday, we witnessed history-in-the-making as Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. In a lot of ways, this ceremony represented incredible hope for the future, after four tumultuous years – even to those of us in Canada. Many of our clients and their families, as well as our staff, have friends and loved ones living in America.

While watching the inauguration coverage, I was struck by some powerful moments, with lessons important to Grandview Kids and the people we serve.

1. Kamala Harris became the first woman to serve as Vice President, and the first person to do so of Black and South Asian decent. I am inspired that children of the world will look to these leaders as proof of their own potential. No matter your political persuasion, inspiring kids to dream big is worth celebrating.
2. Before the national anthem began, people in the audience were asked to “stand if you are able.” This seemingly innocuous introduction demonstrates inclusivity and accessibility in action. This is something we continue to advocate for at Grandview Kids, in service to the children and youth with disabilities who we support every day.
3. Amanda Gorman became the youngest poet ever to perform at a presidential inauguration, calling for “unity and togetherness” in her self-penned poem. It was a dictation commended by global dignitaries, leaders and activists. What you may not know is that Amanda overcame an audio processing disorder – a diagnosis shared by many Grandview Kids – in her quest to become a world-renowned storyteller. She is “living life to her full potential” – our vision for all Grandview Kids.
4. Prominent attendees, including Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, donned purple outfits. Many have picked up on this. Whether intentional or not, purple is a symbolic colour. It represents royalty, heroism, the Suffragette movement and unity. Combining the Republican red and Democratic blue reveals a shade of purple; this subtle nod to bipartisanship reinforces the importance of kindness, respect, empathy and shared purpose – values we try to exemplify every day at Grandview Kids.

As we look ahead to consider what this leadership change means for our American neighbours,
and to the rest of the world, I am comforted by the tone of the ceremony. It set precedent for a
future, one where the potential and diversity of our community’s youngest members are realized
and amplified.

Written by: Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann, Grandview Kids CEO