Compassion and Giving are good for our health. Adolescents can participate in the Giving Games and help their community and their health!
What a great time to highlight a recent article on recognizing the important role community interaction plays in an individual’s health. Recently Parissa J Ballard and S Leonard Syme published “Engaging youth in communities: a framework for promoting adolescent and community health.”[1] It is well accepted in the fields of public health and social epidemiology that communities play an important role in individual health. The authors of this article focus on examining the implications of community engagement on health. Of particular interest is the adolescent population. There are a number of factors that contribute to adolescent development – biological and mental- in regards to community factors (for example neighborhood structures and socioeconomic conditions) but less recognized is the impact of an individuals contribution to their community. “What people contribute to their communities, through collaboration with others to address social issues, may be just as – or even more- beneficial to health than receiving support.” The authors propose an initiative in health research to focus on youth civic engagement (YCE) as a promising approach to synergize efforts to promote adolescent and community health. "Adolescence is a critical window of development with changes at multiple levels, from biology to social role transitions, during which opportunities for participation in meaningful activities, feeling that one matters, and forming warm and supportive relationships with adults are crucial to positive youth development." The authors believe that by offering youth meaningful and empowering opportunities to engage with their communities, you can provide positive experiences for adolescents at a crucial developmental period while at the same time channeling the considerable skills and energy of youth to improve communities. Right now in Play for Peace we have partnered with Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest to do just this, promote community service, generosity and compassion among children and youth. Below are reports from our Play for Peace Community and friends who are participating in the Giving Games that started yesterday. Day 1 Report: Play for Peace has a great start to the Compassion Games Norway - Team Alfie We have organised a workshop with more than 40 kids from 3 to 12 years old. We shared glue, painting and glitter and have sang Christmas songs. We shared stories and laughed. It was a wonderful experience that has impacted our small community a lot by creating joy.Bibliography
[1] Ballard PJ, Syme SL. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2015 Oct 6. pii: jech-2015-206110.