For Our Kids: parenting for the 21st Century

What would you do for your kids and grandkids? Anything, right? You already work to provide conditions to help them prosper. So, would you also work to give them a livable planet?

That’s the question the new non-profit For Our Kids is putting to parents and grandparents. In mid-August, the Catherine Donnelly Foundation partner launched a Canada-wide initiative to help parents and grandparents connect with like-minded neighbours and organizations to mobilize against the climate emergency.

 

“The greatest threat to the future for our kids and grandkids is the climate crisis. Around the world, young people are taking to the streets to call attention to the fact that the planet we all call home is in real trouble,” writes coordinator Matt Price. “We adults can’t let them deal with this alone. We are all needed to tackle the climate emergency. For Our Kids is here to help Canadian parents and grandparents get active.”

Price is asking individuals to “opt in” and take part in a simple three-step process: find some friends; take something on; and share the story on the For Our Kids network.

Joining with friends provides ideas, support and the kind of coordinated action necessary to bring about climate change. If there’s an existing local group to join, For Our Kids will let you know about them.

And when parents and grandparents create a group, the organization has suggestions for actions, such as hosting a house party to recruit others or talking with kids about climate, as well as clear how-to guides to walk you through the process. “Your team or group doesn’t need to take it all on,” notes their website. “But it does need to take something on.” Smaller actions then begin to add up.

Price’s two decades of experience working with environmental organizations has taught him that sharing positive experiences is crucial to engaging others. “You amplify your impact when you tell the story of your work so others can be inspired to act too,” writes Price. “This is a core part of the work of the For Our Kids network, to help capture and lift up those stories so that we build a movement together.”

For Our Kids also has regular video/voice calls where individuals meet, share insights and see how they can support one another.

Get involved with the For Our Kids network at www.forourkids.ca Link opens a new window, follow them on Facebook Link opens a new window, on Instagram @For_Our_Kids_Climate or text/call 250-466-9709.