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Sheva Carr |
Students, Parents De-Stress, Strengthen Bonds – Care Counts
Students and their parents or relatives turned out in large numbers in mid-July to reduce stress, increase resiliency and strengthen family bonds at a Los Angeles elementary school. About 300 students and family members showed up for the Care Counts event in conjunction with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Day of Service.
HeartMath trainer Sheva Carr and her stress-reduction company Fyera! presented Care Counts in English and Spanish at Gratt’s Elementary School where a high percentage of the students’ parents are illegal immigrants.
"The possibility of parental deportation creates a constant sense of fear in these young children," Carr said. "In fact, many have already lost parents in immigration raids and are now either living with guardians or in the foster-care system."
Students, their parents, grandparents, guardians or relatives filled nearly 30 classrooms for the hands-on program. Carr and more than 40 community volunteers helped empower students and parents with the idea that their care counts. Although living in uncertainty, their love and care for each other are extremely important to maintain hope, resiliency, and confidence in the future, she said. To help facilitate this goal, the HeartSmarts® program for grades 3-5 was introduced to family members. The program helps students transform stress, improve learning and strengthen relationships.
Many of the adults, who spoke little or no English, showed up reluctantly. A lot of the mothers came only for a free meal and intended to leave before the presentation of the complete program. But the quality of the program and the heartfelt involvement of their children motivated family members to stay. Many parents became deeply inspired by watching their children on video and also practicing and exchanging skills and heartfelt messages between themselves and their children. The program included the viewing of a recently-made video of Gratts students learning the HeartSmarts program, families practicing HeartMath-related skills together and the planting of flower seeds in pots by families that will require sustained care before the flowers blossom.
The idea behind Care Counts began when Sheva lived in Nicaragua for a year as an aid worker. Before she was forced to leave in 1989 because of mounting political tensions, she committed to help a number of homeless youth through monthly donations. As the years went by, those acts of care helped transform these youth into responsible adults who share Sheva’s value of helping others in need.
Another key element of the day’s program was providing the emWave® PC/Mac Stress Relief System in each of the classrooms for anyone – children or adults – who wished to try it out. To help teach the skills and tools, IHM’s Heart-Based Education Sponsorship Fund donated 34 emWave PC/Mac finger sensors for the day and for future use in all the upper elementary classrooms. Among the stress reduction exercises children learned was HeartSmarts’ Shift and Shine Technique in which they internally shift attitudes about situations and then shine feelings of appreciation and care out to others.
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