An Amazing Trip to Camp “K”

On Saturday January 24, BYU UNICEF club members traveled to the Kostopulos Dream Foundation in Salt Lake City. Camp K, is an organization that provides fun community based activities for individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities.  We had a blast snowshoeing and singing karaoke with the campers. High School Musical 2 was the definite hit! After such an amazing experience we all look forward to returning soon. 

A Special Visit from UNICEF

On Thursday January 22, the BYU UNICEF club was privileged to be visited by Linda Naugle. Ms. Naugle is the Senior Major Gifts Officer of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Linda spent over two hours of her very busy schedule meeting with the BYU AdLab and sharing her experiences with the BYU UNICEF club about her trip to Rwanda last year. One of the wonderful moments that Linda shared was when she was traveling in a UNICEF vehicle in Rwanda. As they traveled down the dusty roads, people cheered with excitement as the vehicle passed.  Thank you Linda Naugle for your inspiring visit. 

UTAH TAP Project – Launch

The Utah TAP Project has begun!  There was a flurry of excitement this last Wednesday, with students getting ready to recruit restaurants across the state of Utah. If you missed out, we still can use your help! Training will start on Wednesday January 28th. Please email us for information. 

January Lecture

“Child Disability and Acceptance – - What can I do?”

This month we were privileged to hear from Tina Taylor Dyches, an associate professor from BYU’s department of counseling psychology and special education. Professor Dyches has received many teaching awards and has published numerous articles on topics including special education, autism and parenting.

Ms. Dyches covered the Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as UNICEF’s commitment to children with disabilities. Half way through the meeting, Ms. Dyches broke the group up into teams of four. She asked each member of the group to explain to the other members why they joined UNICEF, except they could not use the letter “r”. It was a small example that helped many to understand the difficulties and stigmatism’s that a child, with a disability, may face. 

In closing Ms. Dyches shared a very special quote from Cory Moore,  a parent and special educator in testimony before the U.S. Congress. 

“My middle child carries a number of labels; ‘mentally retarded,’ physically handicapped,’ ’speech impaired,’ developmentally disabled.’ At our house, we call her Leslie.”

Thank you Ms. Dyches for your commitment to children, and for helping us become more prepared to see the person first, and not the disability. 

A Holiday Card from UNICEF

This holiday card was sent to the BYU UNICEF Club. It was signed with the message “Your work is so important. Thank you. -Rachael” Rachael Swanson is the Program Manager for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. We hope you all had a very happy holiday break.