Yoga for Kids on the Farm

12/27/2025

No gilded letters. No renaming buildings after herself. No hand-picked boards assembled to sing her praises. For MacKenzie Scott, it's about funding the work, not feeding the ego.

In just six years since her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott has emerged as one of history's most transformative philanthropists, donating an extraordinary $26.3 billion to more than 2,700 nonprofits addressing society's most pressing challenges. Her approach -- no strings attached, no naming rights, no galas -- stands in stark contrast to Bezos, who has given approximately $3-4 billion in his lifetime (roughly 1.5% of his $240-250 billion fortune).

Scott's approach prioritizes unrestricted funding and trust in organizations' expertise, creating ripple effects that have revitalized entire sectors from education to affordable housing. Her catalytic impact includes record-breaking donations to key organizations: $436 million to Habitat for Humanity, $122.6 million to Big Brothers Big Sisters, $84.5 million to Girl Scouts of the USA, and $100 million to Grameen America.

Meanwhile, Bezos' priorities tell a different story. The disparity between their philanthropic commitments was highlighted as Bezos reportedly spent an estimated $50 million on his extravagant three-day wedding celebration this year with Lauren Sánchez in Venice, Italy, including private jet transportation for guests, luxury accommodations at five-star hotels, and opulent events aboard his $500 million superyacht.

This contrast raises a broader question about how the ultra-wealthy contribute to society. Many economists, policy experts, and a substantial portion of the American public argue that billionaires should contribute more of their fair share to society through taxation, especially at a time of extreme economic inequality. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that about 60% of adults are "bothered a lot" that corporations and wealthy people don't pay their fair share in taxes, with an additional 20% saying it bothers them "some."

These views run contrary to Trump's tax policy direction, which prioritizes tax reductions for the wealthiest Americans rather than asking them to contribute to the collective well-being and advancement of American society. This prioritization of the rich is now enshrined in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill." Of the legislation's roughly $4 trillion in tax breaks, just 200,000 of the wealthiest households will receive approximately $500 billion -- averaging $250,000 each over the next decade -- while the bottom 10% of households will lose an average of $1,600 per year due to cuts to Medicaid and food assistance.

Until systemic tax reforms ensure billionaires contribute their fair share, MacKenzie Scott's exemplary generosity stands as a powerful example of what genuine commitment to social responsibility looks like. Scott's principled approach sets a powerful precedent that other ultra-wealthy individuals would do well to follow, channeling their wealth back to the communities and workers that built their vast fortunes.

For Mighty Girl books that teach children about the importance of giving -- both through charity and community service -- you can find many reading recommendations in our blog post: "Making an Impact: 40 Mighty Girl Books About Charity and Community Service” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10983

For an excellent way to make donating to charity a regular part of your child’s life, we recommend a divided piggy bank that includes a separate chamber for charitable donations -- two of our favorites are the Moonjar Moneybox (https://www.amightygirl.com/moonjar-classic) and the Smart Pig Trio Bank (https://www.amightygirl.com/smart-piggy-trio-bank)

For an insightful parenting book focused on raising kind kids, we highly recommend “UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World” at https://www.amightygirl.com/unselfie

For two wonderful books that help foster children's compassion for others by giving them a visual way to think about kindness, we also recommend "Have You Filled a Bucket Today: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids" for ages 4 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/have-you-filled-a-bucket-today) and "Growing Up With A Bucket Full Of Happiness" for ages 9 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/growing-up-with-a-bucket-full-of-happiness)

For more empathy-building book for young kids about the importance of compassion and being kind to others, visit our blog post "25 Children's Books That Teach Kids to Be Kind," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=19359

Thanks to Hear Her Stories for sharing this image!

12/24/2025

Some kids eagerly hug everyone at holiday gatherings. Others feel uncomfortable with physical affection, especially from relatives or family friends they seldom see. Both responses are valid. These moments offer a chance to teach children an important lesson about body autonomy: you don't owe anyone physical affection. To learn why experts say this matters, especially for girls -- and how to navigate it with family -- visit https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=21616

To start teaching children -- girls and boys alike -- from a young age about the need to respect others and their personal boundaries, we highly recommend "Let's Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent, and Respect" for ages 4 to 7 at https://www.amightygirl.com/body-boundaries

For older kids, check out the excellent "Consent (for Kids!)" for ages 6 to 10 at https://www.amightygirl.com/consent-for-kids

There is also a charming picture book about a young lovebird who learns there are many ways to show that you care, "Rissy No Kissies" for ages 3 to 7 at https://www.amightygirl.com/rissy-no-kissies

For more books for young children that establish an early foundation of respect for personal boundaries and bodily autonomy, visit our blog post "Body Smart, Body Safe: Talking with Young Children About Their Bodies" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11069

Thanks to Safe kids, thriving families for sharing this image!

12/24/2025

12/24/2025

Taylor Swift is honoring her father after his heart surgery by making a seven-figure gift to the American Heart Association.

12/24/2025

12/24/2025

12/24/2025

With so many wonderful presents generously donated, we’re incredibly blessed to have amazing groups helping us get them wrapped and ready! We're grateful for the fun and energetic staff from Experience Champaign-Urbana for spending time with us this week. Their cheerful spirit—and those famous jazz hands—brought extra joy as they helped wrap presents for Cunningham kids and families. We’re so grateful for your time, enthusiasm and holiday cheer!

12/24/2025

Big check, big smiles. Thanks to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks Lodge 2497, long-time supporters of DBSK.
Our man on the sidewalk, Charlie B.is bundled against the weather and happy to accept the donation.

11/30/2025

In Alfred Hitchcock's 1942 thriller "Saboteur," a desperate man tries to warn America's wealthy elite about fascism -- and they laugh him off as drunk. Dorothy Parker, one of the film's screenwriters, knew exactly how he felt. Her opposition to fascism had begun in childhood, when she witnessed workers with purple hands shoveling snow during a blizzard while her wealthy aunt remarked how fortunate it was that the storm had given them work.

Even at five years old, Parker understood the cruelty of a system where people could only survive in desperate conditions. This childhood awakening evolved into fierce advocacy in the 1930s as Hi**er's far-right N**i party consolidated power in Germany and fascist forces gained ground across Europe. She became consumed with a question that would define her activism: "Which is worse: the perpetrators of injustice or those who are blind to it?"

In 1936, Parker and Donald Ogden Stewart hosted a dinner where Otto Katz, a German refugee who had fled N**i Germany, spoke powerfully about the horrors unfolding under Hi**er's rule and warned that the dictator could spark a second world war. Parker took those warnings to heart and immediately co-founded the Hollywood Anti-N**i League, becoming its honorary chairman. The organization grew rapidly to 4,000 members, publishing newspapers, organizing rallies, and working to expose the monstrous realities of N**i Germany.

Yet despite this success, Parker still faced fierce resistance from much of Hollywood's establishment and the broader American public. Many dismissed her warnings as exaggeration or communist propaganda. At speaking engagements about N**i atrocities, she was often greeted with rolled eyes and charges that she was becoming a humorless zealot. Her short stories from this period increasingly addressed social justice themes, using her gift for exposing hypocrisy to skewer those who remained indifferent to fascism's rise.

Parker's activism extended beyond Hollywood. In 1937, she traveled to Spain to report on the Loyalist cause during the Spanish Civil War, witnessing fascist air raids firsthand and writing about terrified children whose eyes she could never forget. She also served as national chairman of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, helping to support refugees fleeing fascist regimes.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Parker applied for a passport with plans to become a foreign correspondent, but her application was denied for political reasons. The FBI had already compiled a 1,000-page dossier documenting her anti-fascist activities, marking her as a security risk.

Parker paid a tremendous personal cost for speaking truth to power. During the Red Scare following WWII, she became a target of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist crusade. At a November 1947 reception supporting the "Hollywood Nineteen" who refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee, Parker described the hearings as "incredibly hideous, as though the Gestapo were there." She warned the audience: "For heaven's sake, children, Fascism isn't coming -- it's here. It's dreadful. Stop it."

Her predictions about both the rise of fascism in Europe and the dangers of political persecution in America proved tragically accurate. Yet she was punished for being right too soon, blacklisted from Hollywood and watching her career crumble. Parker's impact was tremendous -- she brought vital awareness to anti-fascist causes and civil rights when few dared to speak out. In her final act of defiance, upon her death in 1967, Parker left her entire estate to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- choosing to use her legacy not to celebrate herself, but to fund the fight for justice she had championed her entire life.

Today, her stark warnings about power-hungry authoritarians remain chillingly relevant. Writing from Spain in 1937, Parker witnessed how fascist leaders crushed democratic movements for their own ambitions: "That these people who pulled themselves up from centuries of oppression and exploitation cannot go on to decent living, to peace and progress and civilization, without the murder of their children, and the blocking of their way because two men -- two men -- want more power. It is incredible, it is fantastic, it is absolutely beyond all belief... except that it is true."

For a definitive compendium of her prose, essays, journalist writing, and more, we highly recommend "The Portable Dorothy Parker" at https://bookshop.org/a/8011/9780143039532 (Bookshop) and https://amzn.to/3KefMaP (Amazon)

For a powerful book for adult readers about the fight against fascism in America prior to WWII, we recommend "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism" at https://amzn.to/4abmzMN (Amazon) and https://bookshop.org/a/8011/9780593444535 (Bookshop)

For books for tweens and teens about girls living under real-life authoritarian regimes throughout history that will help them appreciate how precious democracy truly is, visit our blog post "The Fragility of Freedom: Mighty Girl Books About Life Under Authoritarianism" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=32426

For books about kids who heroically resisted the N**is, we recommend "The Whispering Town" for ages 6 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-whispering-town), "Making Bombs for Hi**er" for ages 10 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/making-bombs-for-hitler), and "I Am Defiance: A Novel of World War II" for ages 10 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/i-am-defiance)

For two books about the courageous German students who organized a resistance movement at the height of N**i power, recommend "We Will Not Be Silent" for ages 10 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/we-will-not-be-silent) and "White Rose" for ages 13 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/white-rose)

Thanks to Dorothy Parker quotes for sharing this image!

11/30/2025

Thank you to Mark Cronin of John's Crazy Socks for sharing the following call to President Trump to show basic human decency to people with disabilities. Over the past months, we've seen far more frequent use of the word "re****ed" by trolls on our page as Trump has normalized such dehumanizing language among his followers. This is not leadership -- it's cruelty disguised as candor, and it causes real harm to millions of Americans with intellectual disabilities and their families. And to the trolls who seek to emulate his poor example: don't bother. Your hateful comments are deleted and you are banned from this page. You alone wallow in your own ugliness.

** A message from Mark Cronin of John's Crazy Socks **

"Mr. President, Please Stop Calling People Re****ed

We get it, you're blunt. You speak your mind. But words matter.

Last night, you referred to a public official as 'seriously re****ed.' That word is outdated. It's hurtful. And it wounds millions of people, people like my son John, who has Down syndrome and who also happens to be a successful entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and a global ambassador for inclusion.

Let me be clear: this is not about political correctness. It's about human decency.

Every time someone in power uses the r-word as an insult, it reinforces the false idea that people with intellectual disabilities are less than. It treats them as if they are not fully human. It undermines decades of work by advocates, families, and individuals with differing abilities who are proving every day that ability matters more than disability.

I am not asking you to be soft; I am asking you to be better. To rise up. To lead by example.

Because if you're truly about strength and greatness, that starts with how you treat others, especially those society has historically marginalized.

We built John's Crazy Socks to spread happiness, to show what people with disabilities can do. More than half of our team has a differing ability. They are not 'less than.' They are not punchlines. They are hardworking, capable, valuable citizens.

Here's our invitation: Mr. Trump, meet our team. Look them in the eye. Hear their stories. You might see that inclusion isn't a weakness; it's powerful. You might see they are part of the America you say you love.

Mark X. Cronin
Co-Founder, John's Crazy Socks and Abilities Rising
Dad. Advocate. Employer. Voter."

John's Crazy Socks was co-founded by Mark Cronin and his son John, who has Down syndrome, in 2016 with a mission to spread happiness and create meaningful employment for people with disabilities -- today, 22 of their 34 employees have differing abilities.

To learn more about their work or order some fun socks for the holidays, visit https://johnscrazysocks.com/

A great way to make socialization easier for kids with disabilities is to ensure that they are represented in children’s literature! For a selection of books featuring characters with disabilities for all ages, visit our blog post “Many Ways To Be Mighty: 35 Books Starring Mighty Girls with Disabilities” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12992

For an inspiring picture book about a real-life Mighty Girl who fought for disability rights by crawling up the steps of the U.S. Capitol, we highly recommend "All The Way To The Top" for ages 5 to 9 at https://www.amightygirl.com/all-the-way-to-the-top

For a lovely picture book by a young Down syndrome advocate celebrating diverse families, we recommend "You Are Loved" for ages 4 to 8 at https://www.amightygirl.com/you-are-loved

There is also a gorgeous picture book biography about an artist with Down syndrome, "Unbound: The Life and Art of Judith Scott," for ages 5 to 9 at https://www.amightygirl.com/unbound-judith-scott

11/14/2025

The girls pictured here playing joyfully in a New Mexico river had no idea they were caught in the radioactive fallout from the world's first atomic bomb test. On July 16, 1945, thirteen-year-old Barbara Kent (center) and her fellow dance camp students thought the white flakes drifting from the sky were snow -- an inexplicable summer miracle. "We were grabbing all of this white, which we thought was snow, and we were putting it all over our faces," Kent later recalled. "But the strange thing, instead of being cold like snow, it was hot. And we all thought, 'Well, the reason it's hot is because it's summer.'" It wasn't snow. It was fallout from the Manhattan Project's Trinity test, detonated just 40 miles away. Of the 12 girls at that camp, only two would live to see their 40th birthday.

That morning, the girls had been jolted awake at 5:30 AM when the explosion shook their cabin so violently that those in top bunks fell to the floor. Their dance instructor, Karma Deane, rushed them outside, thinking a water heater had exploded. Later that day, when the mysterious "hot snow" began falling, the excited girls changed into their swimsuits and spent the afternoon playing in the river, catching the flakes on their tongues and rubbing them on their faces. Government officials later told the community the explosion had been at a dump and assured everyone that everything was fine.

Kent wouldn't learn the truth for another ten years. "It was so wrong of the government not to evacuate everyone when they knew this was going to happen," she said. "They never told us so we played in the thing that killed us." Kent herself survived multiple cancers -- including endometrial cancer, skin cancers, and thyroid cancer requiring the removal of her thyroid -- before passing away in 2024. Her mother, who was staying nearby, died of a brain tumor.

The Trinity test was part of the top-secret Manhattan Project to develop the world's first atomic bomb during World War II. Nearly half a million people lived within a 150-mile radius of the test site -- some as close as 12 miles away. None were warned or evacuated. The radioactive fallout contaminated water, crops, and livestock across the region, with effects lasting decades. More than seventy years later, radiation at the site remains about ten times higher than normal background levels.

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, described the affected communities as having been "relegated to a sort of nothingness as if we don't count." The toll was staggering: one Tularosa woman compiled a list of 285 people she knew who died from cancer in the decades following the test -- all from a small town of a few thousand people just 45 miles from the blast site.

In 1990, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to provide $50,000 compensation to "downwinders" exposed to nuclear testing, but it only covered communities in parts of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, not New Mexico. "This thing really caused so much suffering," Kent said, "and the government never wanted to acknowledge anything."

Cordova's words cut to the heart of the matter: "America poisoned its own citizens, and it has been looking the other way. They can never say that they didn't know ahead of time that radiation was harmful, or that there was going to be fallout. They were depending on us to be unsophisticated, uneducated, and unable to stand up for ourselves. And anyone who hears this story and believes that people weren't harmed, or that it doesn't matter that they were harmed, is complicit if they chose to do nothing and look the other way. Our country has to be better than that."

Last week, Trump declared that he was ordering U.S. nuclear testing to resume after 33 years, claiming "with others doing testing, I think it is appropriate that we do also." In reality, aside from North Korea's 2017 test, no nuclear weapons have been detonated anywhere in the world since the late 1990s and the last test by any major nuclear power was by China in 1996.

Trump's vague and contradictory statements have already prompted dangerous escalation. Just days after his social media pronouncement, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered top officials to develop proposals for resuming nuclear testing for the first time in 35 years, with Defense Minister Andrei Belousov recommending Russia "immediately begin preparations for full-scale nuclear tests."

"Putin is an opportunist, and Trump gave him a really great opportunity to rattle the nuclear saber," said Heather Williams, a nuclear weapons expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The confusion has been compounded by contradictory messages from Trump's own administration -- his Energy Secretary claimed the order referred only to "noncritical explosions," while Trump himself alleged on "60 Minutes" that Russia and China were conducting secret underground tests, claims that lack public evidence and contradict seismic monitoring data.

Even former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev acknowledged the chaos, writing that "No one knows what Trump meant about 'nuclear testing'" and adding "(he probably doesn't himself)." What began as Trump's impulsive and reckless social media post now threatens to unravel decades of nuclear restraint and reignite a Cold War-era arms race.

To speak out against new nuclear testing, you can contact Congress with a new action alert by the Union of Concerned Scientists at https://secure.ucs.org/a/2024-tell-congress-no-more-nuclear-weapons-testing

For a gripping account of the impact of nuclear bomb testing on the western U.S., we recommend "Downwind: A People's History of the Nuclear West" at https://amzn.to/439K2tI (Amazon) and https://bookshop.org/a/8011/9781496207661 (Bookshop)

For books for children and teens about the importance of standing up for truth, decency, and justice, even in dark times, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364

For a powerful book about a 6-year-old girl who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, we recommend "Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story" for ages 10 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/sachiko

For a detailed account of the civilian survivors of the Trinity test in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, visit https://thebulletin.org/premium/2023-07/collateral-damage-american-civilian-survivors-of-the-1945-trinity-test/

For an analysis of Trump's new call for resumed nuclear testing, visit https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/us/politics/trump-nuclear-testing-cold-war.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xk8.ynWj.m4di5NBwmDCf&smid=url-share

For more about Russia's response to Trump's call to resume nuclear testing, visit https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/06/trump-nuclear-test-russia-putin/