Sunday, August 30, 2015

Turn FB Yellow Tutorial

Let's Turn Facebook Yellow for CAM!
by Joe Brooks

September is Craniofacial Acceptance Month. During that month, I, along with my friends, aim to raise awareness and let the general public know that people with craniofacial syndromes are, well…people. Just like them. We all have likes and dislikes and we can be goofy and all that good stuff.

Children’s Craniofacial Association is a nonprofit headquartered in Dallas that serves people and families affected by craniofacial differences. Every September, we encourage as many people as possible to change their Facebook profile pictures and/or cover photos to the CAM graphics.

Since I know that there are people that want to do this but don’t know how to use Facebook very well and aren’t sure how to change their pictures, I have decided to do a writeup to explain how it’s done. Feel free to pass it on to anyone who needs help


Part 1 (If you already used a picture before, you can skip to part 2 and 3)

For Profile picture, you will want to put your mouse over your current profile picture, then an option will come up that says “Update Profile Picture.” Click that and a menu will pop up. Find the “Upload Photo” option, and then upload it from your computer. You can download the CAM graphic from this blog post. If that doesn’t work, download from the CCA website or from one of your FB friends who already has it. Just right click and “save image as” to save to your computer; it will most likely save to your "Downloads" folder on your computer, unless you select another folder (like your Desktop).

FB Profile Avatar:


FB Cover Photo:

Part 2 (this is for if you don’t know the trick)

If you already made it your profile pic in the past, you do NOT need to re-upload. All you should need to do is select “Choose from Photos” from that same menu that pops up when you hover over your current profile picture. Then in the upper right corner of the pop-up, click “Photo Albums,” then find your “Profile Pictures” album. Next, find that yellow graphic that you used before. FB will ask you if you want to re-use that picture….lol….just click YES and there you go!


Part 3

For cover photos the process is similar- There is a camera icon on the top left corner of your current cover photo. Click on it and a similar menu will appear, follow the same profile picture steps for your cover photo. Note in part 2 you are looking for your “Cover Photos” album not “Profile Pictures.”

So there you have it. Now you too can help spread the Acceptance message with us all month.
Stay tuned for more graphics to use on Twitter and Instagram, which CCA is debuting this week. 

Monday, August 24, 2015

Practice Creative Solutions


Creativity is the skill that helps us figure out new ways to present information and develop solutions to old and frequent problems. Certainly, creativity is a must-have quality for back to school.

Perhaps one of the most important outcomes creativity allows kids and adults to experience is a new perspective. Check out this great article about how portraits of children with rare diseases helps their doctors and surgeons see and treat them more fully. With these portraits they are able to see the person, rather than just the syndrome.

Patricia Weltin fought relentlessly to have doctors finally recognize the rare diseases
that have impacted her two daughters' lives
We hope you enjoy this story about art opening minds and this year, when faced with a tough situation, step back and pull out some crayons. Let your inner kindergartener be your guide to a creative solution that is brave, kind, assertive, and enthusiastic.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

#ThankfulThursday: American Legion Child Welfare Foundation


This #ThankfulThursday, Children's Craniofacial Association is thankful for grant support from The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation. This grant helped us publish our #ChooseKind Wonder Educator kits which include resources to end bullying and promote kindness in schools across the country. Thank you, CWF!


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Share this Press Release for CAM!

September is right around the corner and as you know, September is Craniofacial Acceptance Month!

In order to get the word out, we've created this sharable press release. Email or drop off this document to your local TV and radio stations, local newspapers, and favorite magazines. Let's get the word out that we envision a world where everyone is accepted for who they are, not how they look!


Monday, August 17, 2015

Back to School: Be Kind & Be Brave


Today, many kids are already back or heading back to school for their first day. And as much as back to school is about students, it's also a big time for parents!

With the start of a new year comes new opportunities and certainly new decisions. Keep this UK mama Lucy's motto in mind when you are faced with a big (or small) decisions. It can certainly help to keep things in perspective.


Now, off to school and on to learning new and exciting things!
Happy Monday!
#MondayMotivation
#BacktoSchool
#ChooseKind

Thursday, August 13, 2015

#ThankfulThursday - JJ Ramberg

This Thursday, CCA is thankful for JJ Ramberg of MSNBC's Your Business. She is the founder of GoodSearch.com and in our last CharityBuzz auction, she donated an Business Experience and had lunch with one lucky winner! 

Thank you for your Kindness and Generosity, JJ! 

Follow JJ on Twitter: @MSNBCYourBiz


PS: Make sure you're signed up and using Goodsearch.com to raise a 
penny for CCA with every search!

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Parenting in the Digital Age: Prevent Cyberbullying this School Year


Today we have a guest post from Amy K. Williams. As part of our back-to-school series, we are featuring resources, ideas, and programs to help keep kids safe and to assist parents as you start the year off on a positive, proactive note.

Amy K. Williams is mother of two and a former social worker, specializing in teen behavioral issues. Parenting is her passion and she is especially involved in spreading the word about positive parenting techniques.

***
What were some of your fondest memories from childhood?

Many of us eagerly answer this question with the typical scenarios that involve playing in the park, swimming at the pool with friends, catching fireflies at dusk, and more. While these are great traditional childhood memories, many of our own children are not enjoying carefree days similar to our youth. Over 13 million of our sons and daughters are suffering unnecessarily, because of bullying across the nation.

Growing up we had bullies, but today’s tormentors have evolved and often take their cruelty online to social media or instant messaging. The bullying epidemic is no longer confined to the school playground, but it is now going digital. It might start out with a few cruel remarks or posts, but other people often hop on the bandwagon adding likes and comments.

The Consequences Of Cyberbullying

This pile-on mentality snowballs and quickly isolates the victim when they see other people agreeing with the bully. Over time this can affect a child’s esteem and health in a myriad of ways. There has been documented links between cyberbullying and depression, thoughts of suicide, attempted suicide, anxiety, and stress. To make matters worse, the consequences don’t cease when the bullying ends.

Researchers have found that the effects of bullying can reach far into adulthood. A few months or years of bullying can impact the victim’s mental health, job performance, ability to thrive, and contentment as adults. This study has led experts to stress that the interactions with a child’s peers are important and may have greater overall influence than the family’s home life.

Cyberbullying is unique, because our children have no place to hide or seek solace from a tormentor. With the advent of handheld devices and social media, our children are accessible anytime and anywhere. This hyper connectivity creates a unique atmosphere that can beat down our kids’ self worth.

An In-depth Look At Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is now so commonplace on social media that it was believed close to one-third of our children were falling victims while over 60 percent had witnessed some form of digital bullying. Those statistics are startling, but to make matters worse a new study has discovered that these rates have now tripled!

Those statistics are enough to send a parent’s worry into overdrive, but what is extremely worrisome is that 90 percent of our children won’t seek help or tell an adult. Whether they are the victim or if they witness it happening, our kids often try to handle the situation on their own. This can lead to escalating cases of bullying that quickly spiral out of control and end with devastating results.

Protecting Our Children In The Digital Age

Bullying, on or offline, is bound to become an issue sometime for every child, but children with special needs have higher chances of becoming victims. Bullies often see our children as vulnerable or weaker which makes them easy targets. Many experts and studies have stated that children with special needs, like allergies or physical conditions, are at higher risk for being a victim and tend to cover for their bullies which makes it more difficult for adults to know when an issue is developing.

Parental awareness is extremely important to keep our children safe. It is far too easy to bury our heads in the sand when it comes to kids and technology, but it is crucial to be informed and involved about what our children are doing, witnessing, and experiencing online. This becomes even more important when our children have special needs or have physical characteristics that make them stand out from the crowd.

As our children and teens seek measures to keep us out of the loop when it comes to their online lives and personas, it can be daunting to protect our youngest and most vulnerable family members. Well-meaning people often suggest to simply the delete harmful messages, but in many cases this isn’t feasible. Deleting cyberbullying takes a lot of proactive measures and parental involvement.

For more information on cyberbullying, how children hide online activity, and for ideas to protect our children in the digital age, please read the following infographic. (If it's too small to read on your screen, click the link for a downloadable PDF!)



Monday, August 10, 2015

Teachers: Share Wonder with your Students!



It’s back-to-school time, and CCA wants to help teachers kick off the year in a fun and positive way.  Wonder by R.J. Palacio teaches students to #ChooseKind while also meeting national core curriculum standards for 5th grade literature.  Because the book is enjoyable for nearly all ages, many schools and communities have chosen Wonder as an all-school or all-community read.  The story is filled with relatable characters that combine into a powerful message about one boy’s first year at a new school.  The boy, Auggie, has a facial difference and, as you would expect, encounters several trials throughout the school year.

Through Wonder, craniofacial families now have a mainstream platform that encourages acceptance toward those who look different.  We’ve developed materials to assist teachers and to help us achieve our goal of having Wonder in every school around the country.  Free posters, reduced rates on classroom sets of books, a Reader’s Theater script, and the opportunity to connect with a Real-Life Auggie are just a few of the things CCA offers.  Browse the links below to help your own classroom join the #ChooseKind movement this school year.
  • Visit http://www.ccakids.org/wonder-4-schools.html to request a free “Educator Packet” that includes classroom posters, CCA’s newsletter, and information about how to connect with a Real-Life Auggie and participate in CCA’s #ChooseKind Challenge.
  • Order Wonder Gear at http://www.ccakids.org/wonder-gear.html.  There are several low-cost items like bookmarks and #ChooseKind bands that can be ordered in classroom sets.  CCA also has t-shirts and special-edition copies of Wonder for $10 or less.  Purchasing any of these items recognizes your students for accepting CCA’s #ChooseKind Challenge.
  • Request help purchasing books.  CCA offers reduced rates on classroom sets of 30.  We also have an ability-to-pay form that can be submitted by following this link http://www.ccakids.org/assets/wonder-donation-request-form.pdf.
  • Find out how other teacher’s use Wonder in their classrooms and share your own ideas.  Check out this link http://www.ccakids.org/wonder-links.html to connect with the educators that started #WONDERschools on Twitter.  This group shared and collaborated on Wonder-related activities with their classrooms.  We invite you to share your own curriculum ideas with CCA by emailing them to [email protected].  CCA is adding a curriculum page to our website, and we are looking for your contributions!
  • Contact CCA’s Program Director, Annie Reeves ([email protected]), to have your classroom connect with a Real-Life Auggie.  The CCA office has a network of volunteers all over the country that will visit or Skype with your students.  My own son, Peter, and I enjoy meeting with a class or school after they read the book.  We’ve developed a presentation that relates events from Wonder to real-life events encountered by craniofacial families.  Visit www.petesdiary.com to request a visit or Skype with Peter!
  • Stage a Reader’s Theater of scenes from the book!  CCA offers a free Wonder Reader’s Theater script that includes more than ten scenes from the book.  Students love to step into the roles of their favorite characters and share their enthusiasm for the story.  Contact [email protected] to request a PDF copy of the script.

Wonder is about a boy who looks different, but the message applies to everyone; we are all, in fact, different!  We all have the power to CHOOSE kindness every day.  We make an impact on everyone we encounter throughout a day, even if it’s a quick smile or smirk in the hallway.  It’s a simple choice with powerful consequences.  Wonder wraps this message in a story that makes it “Cool to be Kind.”  What a fantastic way to kick off the new school year!

Choosing kind,

Dede

Thursday, August 6, 2015

#ThankfulThursday: Matthew Morgan Photography

This #ThankfulThursday, we extend our sincere gratitude and joy to Matt Morgan of Matthew Morgan Photography. Matt specializes in natural light portraiture and event photography, specifically weddings. As a volunteer, he photographed our CCA Friday Family Breakfast and Peach Party at the #CCARetreat2015 this year. 

About Matthew Morgan:
After earning a Business Management degree from a Pepperdine University and then trying out the corporate world, I switched gears to launch a now successful portrait and commercial photography company.

I have flown across the country for commercial work, capturing high-end professional athletes such as Shaq and have also made my mark in the highly competitive California wedding photography industry.

Here's what Matt had to say about his experience photographing Retreat:
Concerning my experience, I was sort of nervous and excited to take part in the event:  Nervous, feeling like an outsider to the craniofacial community, but excited because Erica described that their mission was to bring dignity to children with facial differences.  This mission was a great fit for me and my Christian faith, which teaches about the image of God being placed on every individual person.  In a society where physical looks are often overvalued, I felt compelled to understand and share the stories of the CCA community through my photographic medium, hoping that beauty and dignity would be assigned to each child.

You'll be seeing the photos he took in many of our social media and blog posts and 
here are a few to enjoy today, as well. 

Thank you, Matt, for your kindness, generosity, and artistic vision. 
The photos you took are truly evidence of your gift. 
You captured some very special and beautiful memories for CCA and our families. 







Check out more of Matt's work here: http://matthewmorgan.net/blog/

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Talking to a Person with Differences Can Make You Kinder


Today on the blog we have a video of a research study conducted as a part of the BBC Documentary by Adam Pearson, "The Ugly Face of Disability Hate Crime." This excellent documentary follows Adam as he seeks to uncover some justice regarding disability hate crime (including cyberbullying) and also as he tests out his theory that engaging with people with facial differences can in fact change how individuals will act towards people with differences in the future.



This documentary is certainly timely, because as students head back to school, it's important to help them reach out to their classmates and educators about their conditions. By proactively scheduling introductions and presentations, students develop the skills of assertiveness, positive non-verbal communication, and self-confidence. Learning to talk about one's self can be difficult for anyone, and can be even more so with a facial difference. However, using tools and resources like our Wonder classroom kits, students can proactively set the tone for a school year built on kindness, empathy, and respect.

Please contact us if you'd like help setting up a presentation at your school.



Sunday, August 2, 2015

I'm Going Back to School, Too! by Livie & Luca

It's that time of year again!

Back to school is here and this month, we're featuring resources and opportunities to spread kindness as you embark on this new academic year. Whether you're starting Kindergarten or college, as a preteen or an educator, this year is full of opportunities to #ChooseKind.

We hope you'll check out our Wonder resources page and plan to share Wonder with your class, school, or department this year.

Today, we are excited to share the #ImGoingBacktoSchoolToo video and campaign by Changing the Face of Beauty and Livie & Luca shoes featuring #WonderKid, Mary Cate Lynch.


We are SO excited about our collaboration with Livie & Luca shoes! #imgoingbacktoschooltoo launching on July 28th at...
Posted by Changing the Face of Beauty on Monday, July 20, 2015

Changing the Face of Beauty is an organization whose purpose is to encourage companies, other organizations, and the media to include people of all abilities in their advertising.  Founded by Katie Driscoll and Steve English, their goal was to show the world how beautiful all people are.  Help fund their next educational campaign letting kids know differences should be celebrated! Livie & Luca will match all donations made, $1 for $1.