I just got back from 3 weeks at sleepover camp! I had so much fun, made new friends and created memories that will last forever. As much as I love camp, I’m so happy to home! While I was gone, a lot of awesome things happened in the world and I’m excited to share some that really stood out to me with you.
Top 10 Awesome things that happened in the world while I was away at camp
1. NEW INVENTION: A soccer ball that creates energy for people in places that have none
“In areas with no electricity, this power generating soccer ball is providing the light.”
I LOVE this invention. This soccer ball comes from Uncharted Play and they call it Soccket! How it works is so easy: you just kick around the ball for a while and the ball literally creates and stores energy. So awesome! If you play with the ball for about an hour, it stores up to 3 hours of energy that can charge your phone, run a heater or a light for you to study. Another awesome thing about the Soccket is that it encourages kids to get outside and play and proves that play has many benefits! Uncharted Play also has a jump rope that charges your phone! Learn more about the Soccket and what they do here.
2. Taylor Swift surprised a young fan who is living with Leukemia
Naomi Oakes is 11-years-old and posted a video on YouTube where she and her family talked about how Naomi had Leukemia and how big of a fan she was of Taylor Swift. It sucks having Cancer for anyone at any age, but what Naomi was really sad about was that she would have to miss Taylor Swift’s concert in Phoenix. It was a huge long-shot that Taylor would actually see their video, but she did. She even made a generous donation of $50,000 to Naomi’s Go Fund Me page to help pay for treatment. THIS is another reason why Taylor Swift rocks. Here’s the link to the full story!
3. Leo the Dachshund get’s a statue to recognize his bravery
Just like humans, smaller animals are usually intimated by bigger animals because of the size difference. So, you would think that when Leo the Dachshund saw the neighbour’s guard dog pinning a 10-year-old kid to the ground, he would be scared, do nothing about it and run away, right? Think again. Also, like humans, dogs protect their kind no matter what and try to stop them, even if it means sacrificing something. Instead of being a bystander, Leo tried to fight the big dog and succeeded at saving the girl. Unfortunately, the bigger dog fought back and killed Leo. They just made a bronze statue of Leo for his bravery. Check out the full story here!
3. Molly Burke’s ‘See The Real Me’ MTV Clean and Clear video
I love this video. Molly shares her story – in grade 8, when she fully lost her sight and her life was a real struggle in many ways. Bullies brought her down and they stopped her from doing things she loved to do, including public speaking and sports. Molly talks about how she coped with them and used her story to help others, why she does what she does and her advice to people that want to make a difference. Check out this video about Molly Burke with MTV and Clean and Clear.
4. Adidas turns illegal ocean garbage into new line of shoes
This shoe is helping raise awareness for the amount of garbage that is tossed into the ocean. Parley, the organization Adidas is working with, removed over 72 kilometres of illegal garbage from the ocean to make the shoe. In less than 6 days, designers were able to work with nets and garbage and create a finished shoe, which was unveiled at the UN headquarters. The shoe will soon be available in stores. Learn more here.
5. 9-year-old girl fights to attend boys only robotics event…and succeeds
Cash Cayen’s hobby is robotics and when she saw that there was a robotics event, she was so excited to attend! But then she found out that they wouldn’t let her attend because she was a girl and she was mad because she couldn’t go because of her gender. She then learned about the other challenges specifically girls face around the world. She put up a petition on Change.org for the ability for girls to attend. The event then sent her a letter stating that girls could now attend! Learn more about Cash here.
6. Cool hearing aids for kids
Sarah Invermee’s son has had trouble hearing since he was 5 months old. He is now 4 years old and he is deaf is one year and has a lot of trouble hearing in the other one. Like a lot of other kids that have cochlear implants and/or hearing aids, he didn’t like wearing them because they felt embarrassed and were getting teased about them. So Sarah was inspired to create her company, Lugs, which would put cool designs like cars, superheroes, flowers and more, on the device so that kids would be more comfortable with wearing them. It worked! Kids were now excited to put them on because of Lugs! Check out the link to the story here.
7. NEW Always #LikeAGirl Campaign
When I finished watching this video, I almost cried. Lots of young girls face challenges and stereotypes because they of their gender. The video series and campaign #LikeAGirl shows that we can change that and rewrite the definition of what it means to do things #LikeAGirl. The video shows us that gender doesn’t define what we want, what we are interested in or what we are able to do. Girls can do anything boys can, maybe even more. We are unstoppable.
8. Home For Life – An animal sanctuary that promotes kindness
Lisa Laverdiere, founder of Home For Life, was declared the winner of the Random Acts of Kindness challenge. Lisa, a former lawyer, has loved animals since she was a little girl. She volunteered at the Humane Society and believes that “your calling always stays with you.” She has devoted her life to caring for animals who have been in tragic situations that have prevented them from being adopted and finding homes.
9. Pay it Forward with kindness….and pizza
Mason Wartman believes that people want to help people but don’t always know how. He used to work as a businessman on Wall Street but wanted to do something that made a difference. He opened Rosa’s Fresh Pizza in his hometown, Philadelphia with a busness model that makes money and a diifference. It’s really simple and really cool. It’s all about community, paying it forward, post-it notes and pizza. Check out his story to learn how he feeds 40 homeless people every day.
10. Malala celebrated her 18th Birthday #BooksNotBullets #MalalaDay
On July 12th, Malala turned 18 and she celebrated in a way that honors her commitment to education. In the weeks leading up to her birthday, she asked people to take a picture of themselves with their favourite book and share it on social media with the hashtag, #BooksNotBullets. This ask generated more than 20,000 responses from people all over the world. I took my #BooksNotBullets photo from the dock on the lake at camp:
On the day of her birthday, she opened a school for girls for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The new school will give 200 girls the opportunity to get an education. Malala said that she chose to go there because she feels that right now, these children have the greatest need. You can read more on Malala’s blog.
Has there been a story or event that got your attention so far this summer? Did I miss something else? Share them in the comments, you know I love a good story.
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