Joining the Village

Good morning and Happy New Year! Long time no blog, happy to see you again. 

I’ve been having an enjoyable January so far. How about you? For the first time in a long time, I actually felt happy and refreshed on December 31st instead of being overridden with anxiety (or indifference) about the new year. I think this positivity has a lot to do with the goals I set for myself way back in the summer of 2024. As a result of working on these goals throughout the year, 2025 will be filled with meaningful, child-focused activities and I’m so ready for that.

Here at Screenspire, my goal is to share transformative ideas with you that will inspire all of us to practice more health-enhancing and equity-promoting relationships with digital media, technologies, and our real-life communities. I look forward to centering these topics again in the coming weeks. Until then, I thought that sharing a more diary-adjacent post with you would be a nice way to kick off the new year and share a bit about a topic that is important to me: childhood flourishing.

Do you have kids in your life? Cousins, nieces, nephews, younger siblings, students, or children of your own? If you do, I’m here to tell you that I think you’ve “won” in life.

Children are full of light. They approach the world with this incredible sense of openness, hope, and courage. For as long as I can remember, I have loved spending time with children. 

Growing up, I took on a bunch of volunteer positions that allowed me to work with preschoolers, teens, and every age in between. I enjoyed throwing myself into roles where I could help children to live their best lives while showing them that they had a “big kid” on their side who genuinely cared about them. 

When I was in third grade, my elementary school had this irregularly-occurring period called Community Service, where students who finished their work early could visit different venues around the school to help out. I was usually very meticulous with my schoolwork, but I remember speeding through my assignments on Community Service days just so that I could volunteer. I usually volunteered in the Casa classrooms (classrooms for children aged 2.5 to 6 years old in the Montessori system) so that I could spend an hour or two helping little tots. 

Around that time, I was also taking a few dance classes, which gave me a chance to assist with preschool dance sessions each week. That was fun. Dancing was not my strong suit, but I felt right at home working with wonderful kids. 

When I grew into a tween and entered the Intermediate division of my elementary school — this was our middle school, where students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades had their classes — I got new opportunities to help out. Whenever our school had indoor recesses due to rain or extreme cold, I volunteered in a 1st grade classroom. It was this role that really caused my love for working with kids to bloom, teaching me what it means to show up intentionally in children’s lives. I spent my volunteer shifts walking around the classroom, visiting different groups of kids to learn more about the things they were doing and offer support as needed. 

On one of my first shifts, I noticed a young girl playing alone. She was a bit quieter than the others, sitting in a carpeted area while her classmates chatted in groups. As someone who grew up enjoying my own company by choice, I approached this situation knowing that solitude doesn’t always come from a place of loneliness or discontent. But I also knew that quiet kids sometimes received less enthusiastic attention and engagement from other kids and adults, which could be disempowering. So I decided that I would take time to really engage with this little girl each shift — beyond just checking on her and moving along. I wanted her to know that her classroom supervisor cared about her, and that I wasn’t overlooking her just because she was quieter. 

I began to intentionally invest into her during each volunteer shift, sending out clear words and gestures to communicate how interested I was in what she was doing. I asked questions about the things that seemed to matter most to her — the toys she gravitated to, the picture books she read, her favourite colour. We spoke about her family, her plans for the weekend, and how kind and smart she was. Soon, we were reading stories together and performing puppet shows. She really began to open up to me and seek me out. 

On one of my last days as a volunteer, I got my hair done by some of the other first graders (just picture me sitting in a chair while six or so kids hook multicoloured plastic hoops into my hair — five-star salon experience. No notes). When my little friend saw me spending time with the hairstylists-in-training, she inched closer to the group and then joined in! As she dipped her hands into a toy bin to scoop up more plastic hoops for my do, she was welcomed into the hairstyling troupe with open arms, giggles, and big smiles. Having a trusted big kid nearby encourages little kids to be brave and try new things. 

High school was much busier and far more stressful, but I continued to volunteer with a couple of organizations that supported children throughout. By this time, my desire to volunteer was partially motivated by my dream of becoming a children’s art therapist. I figured that it would be a smart idea to get more experience working with kids before entering university, so that I could confirm that working with kids was for me. It was. 

When I got into university, a more intense workload and study schedule meant that I had less time for volunteering. While it was totally possible for students in my program to juggle multiple clubs and commitments alongside schoolwork, I decided early on that I would forego a diverse portfolio of “college experiences” in favour of pursuing top grades. I wanted to secure a spot in my favourite graduate school program. 

I didn’t get a chance to volunteer with child-focused initiatives until my third and fourth years of undergrad, when I went all out and joined several child-focused labs and children’s technology / media projects. In these roles, I interacted with kids by running experiments, conducting playtesting research (which is where you invite members of your target audience to test out an app or digital product in development, so that you can get their real-time feedback [behavioural and verbal, qualitative and quantitative] on what can be improved before the product is launched and goes to market), and doing consumer research interviews with kids and their families. Then in graduate school, I interacted with dozens of 3- and 4-year-olds each week as I ran my own thesis study. It was intensive and invigorating! I felt so energized by all of the research I was doing! But none of it scratched the itch I had for doing genuine volunteer work. 

And just what was this “genuine volunteer work” I was dreaming of?

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

 

You know the saying “It takes a village to raise a child”? I wanted volunteer positions that allowed me to be part of a village.

 

I wanted to have a full-on “Sesame Street experience.”  Sesame Street reflects a very communal, multigenerational, and uber-compassionate neighbourhood where adults are firing at their greatest empathic potential and using their talents to serve kids. I wanted that. I wanted to volunteer in a setting where kids of all ages and abilities were supported by multidisciplinary adult mentors and community leaders. I wanted to work with optimistic folks who were passionately leveraging their life skills and wisdom to serve youth, showing up as the best role models they could be. I wanted to be part of a community of grown ups who had earned kids’ love and respect by being receptive, open-minded, involved, and kind…the kinds of adults who are usually the “cool favourite teachers” at school. Above all, I yearned to work on community projects that would have a lasting impact on kids. 

But I wasn’t doing any of that. And I could feel the ache of this unfulfillment slowly weighing me down, alienating me from the purpose and passion that had inspired me to pursue developmental psychology in the first place. 

With life being so busy as a grad student and freelancer (both good problems to have), I started to accept that I would not be able to volunteer in the way I wanted to for a few years. Then out of nowhere last summer, a switch flipped and I became wildly determined to be ambitious with my volunteering pursuits.

WHAT MOTIVATED ME?

 

To stay on top of industry trends last summer, I started listening to podcasts that covered topics in: children’s technology and media, children’s rights, children’s wellbeing, and digital equity (i.e, the digital divide, digital thriving, technology and human aging). I find it challenging to engage in deep work if I’m inundated with vocal audio, so I usually work in silence or with meditation music on in the background — this was a nice change for me! I ended up listening to a podcast (which I unfortunately can’t remember the name of. I’ll update this post as soon as I source the title) which had an episode covering how digital technologies are influencing childhood, and how the presence of community influences children’s wellbeing.

During this episode, the guest expert mentioned that the loss of a genuine sense of community in real-life environments (like neighbourhoods, for example) is having downstream effects on children’s wellbeing. The guest mentioned that, compared to past years, there is a lack of community accountability for the wellbeing of children in a given community, and that this – in concert with other trends like the movement towards screen-focused childhoods – is impacting  children’s abilities to take the risks that support creative thinking, friendship-building, and cultivating a sense of belonging. Overall, the lack of community accountability for children is fundamentally changing childhood. 

I’m definitely an “everybody’s kids are my responsibility” person, so hearing this made me sad. But it rang true – I know that I’m not doing nearly enough to be an active, positive force for children and families in my local community. I wanted to change this. 

I started to think through the actions I could take to better serve children in my community and beyond. After dwelling on this for a bit, I decided that I could begin to make an impact by volunteering with organizations that directly and indirectly support children and families. I have always wanted to learn more about the different community orgs I pass by during my walks – whenever I walk by or read their bulletin boards, it looks like they’re doing cool things, and the kids who participate in these programs look so happy 🙂 

THE PLAN

 

At the beginning of September, I searched everywhere (bulletin boards, Volunteer Toronto, local hospitals, Eventbrite, event listings) for volunteer opportunities that would allow me to meaningfully serve children and families. I made a spreadsheet to catalogue the different volunteer roles I found, their role descriptions, what each organization looked for in ideal applicants, their missions / visions / values, and the history of each organization.  

For the next few weeks, I applied to as many opportunities as I had energy for, prioritizing those that promised the skill-development and experiences I craved. I wrote resumes, perfected cover letters, sent out LinkedIn connection requests…

I was all fired up after sending off my applications, and wanted to begin volunteering right away!! Woo!! Every role I applied for required me to complete interviews with volunteer resource teams and supervisors, which made me nervous because I wanted to do well. But I didn’t need to worry; I spent hours practicing for each interview, and sailed through each one. All of my positions had start dates in the new year, so I waited excitedly for 2024 to wrap up. 

GEARING UP FOR THE NEW YEAR 

 

It’s 2025, and I’m eager to begin volunteering. Feeling very grateful for the chance to volunteer with so many great local organizations that support kids. With everything going on in the world, kids in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond need helpful adults now more than ever before. I hope that showing up to these positions every week will add a new sense of rhythm, purpose, and energy to my life while allowing me to make a positive difference. I can already feel myself becoming more buoyant whenever I think about volunteering.

Here’s what I hope to get out of these opportunities 

1. 1. I want to meet incredible people outside of my discipline who are passionate about creating a better world: I find that it’s so easy for me to occupy a limited social world, where the only people I see everyday are those who are in my program, family, or industry. I’d love to learn about the lives of people outside of that bubble. Humans are so complex, living with entire worlds and experiences within them. I love hearing others’ stories, learning about their worldviews, and encountering different personalities. It’s such a great way to build genuine appreciation for humanity and explore the richness of your community. 

2. 2. I want to begin living a life of increased service to others: Something I say a lot is that love is a catalyst for excellence. This is one of my driving beliefs. My experience has been that whenever I’m working on a project or task from a place of love (“Wow, the problems I’m solving are fascinating.” “I can’t believe I get to learn about this topic.” “This is going to make such a huge impact.”) instead of fear (“I need to get an A+ on this.” “If I make a mistake, my career is over.” “Do it perfectly or don’t do it at all.”), I get immersed in it and do my absolute best — even if this best isn’t perfect. It’s easier for me to approach projects from a place of love when I know that they will help others. I’ve worked on so many impactful projects, but it has been a while since I’ve worked on a project that directly taps into children’s wellbeing; it can take years for research — like the thesis I completed — to be corroborated by multiple studies and communicated to the public. It can also take time for the effects of children’s technology and media to be observed and reported on in ways that reach the public (although organizations like the Children’s Media Lab, Media Smarts, and the Center for Scholars and Storytellers are working to change that). I’d like to revive my service-oriented nature by doing good in environments that make an immediate impact in children’s lives. 

3. 3. I want to learn more about how I can better support kids of all abilities: My roles will allow me to work directly and indirectly with kids. I hope to use my time in each volunteer position to tap into the needs of kids, corroborating what I learn through experience with what I’ve learned through reading research papers and child development articles. I’d love to leave my volunteer roles with a functional understanding of steps I can take to promote children’s wellbeing. 

4. 4. I want to become a more adept problem-solver: I want to strengthen my ability to think on my feet, generate strong solutions to project-specific and global problems, and become more nimble and peaceful in the face of uncertainty. 

5. 5. I want to develop / strengthen certain skills: I curated my volunteer positions by thinking about which positions would best support my development of certain employable skills. This year, I hope to develop the following skills: data visualization, data management, public speaking (especially presenting complex things to non-technical stakeholders), communicating with children (preschool to tween), agile thinking, planning, leadership, patience, and increased empathy.

A few of the organizations I volunteer with held their orientation sessions last week. As I continue onboarding and move through the first few weeks of each role, I’m going to revisit this list every day so that I can stay close to my intentions. 

What kind of volunteer work do you enjoy doing? Do you think you’ll take time to pursue that this year?