We see it everywhere:
Layoffs!
Cutbacks!
Rising food prices!
Stores are closing and people are losing their jobs.
Changes are happening in our economy, our world, our community.
What will happen?
We don't know.
Uncertainty can make us feel nervous and afraid.
(Hey! What does "uncertainty" mean? I am certain you can figure it out if you think about it a bit. And is "uncertainty" a noun or a verb? And what does the prefix "un" mean? If you are not certain, check a dictionary.)
The best way I know to deal with uncertainty is to take action.
As the saying goes, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
I think you all know a little bit about that, eh? It takes a strong, smart person to come to a new country and deal with a new culture, new rules, and crazy, crazy English. You know how to be tough and you know how to get going. You do it every day.
Many people this winter will be short on money for the basic necessities: food, rent, warm clothes.
Here's one way we can help with that:
The "One Warm Coat Project" collects gently used coats for people who don't have enough money to buy one.
What does that mean?
If you have a coat or jacket you don't need, and it's clean, and it's not falling apart, you can donate it to the project. They will give it to someone who really needs this coat to stay warm this winter.
How about that name "One Warm Coat"? Does that mean you can only give ONE coat?
No. It is a name someone picked because thought it sounded good. Maybe they thought just one coat can make a difference in this world. One small action could make things better.
Also, "one" and "warm" both start with the same "w" sound.
(I know! Crazy English! Why can't we spell it "won"? Good question!)
When two words start with the same sound, this is called "alliteration."
That is a long word. If you forget it, that is okay. ;-)
Okay, so where you can bring these clean, gently used coats so that other people can stay warm?
You can bring them to the Adult School.
We have two boxes: one in the SMART Center (the big red building) and one in Room 32 (I hope I got that number right!) - the Student Lounge.
Teacher Cynthia and Teacher Jay and Teacher David and Teacher Pat and Teacher Toshio and a lot of other teachers will drive the coats to the pick up points for One Warm Coat.
If you want to read more about the project, you can go here:
http://www.onewarmcoat.com/.
We are also going to have a Food Drive at the school. The collection barrels will be there soon.
(I have to stop and tell that I just had to look up the word "barrel" in the dictionary because I couldn't remember how to spell it. The next time you are going crazy with crazy English spelling, remember that native speakers, even native speakers who teach ESL, also go crazy with English spelling. This makes sense. English spelling is crazy. ;-))
Note: Coats for children are especially needed.
Also note: You can bring more than one coat.
Also note: You can even buy a coat and donate it.
It is your choice.
It is always your choice. It is always OUR choice:
Do we get involved?
Do we take a step to make things better?
When times are hard and the future is uncertain, what do we choose to do?
What do you choose?
2 comments:
Wow - I wrote that post and I read it over and I didn't see any mistakes but now I do.
This is always the way with me.
Many typos!
It should be:
The best way to deal with uncertainty is TO take action.
Poor little "to" did not make it into the post.
I will have to ask James how to make corrections.
when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I liked that espression, so I would like to see some more of those,
Post a Comment