Toronto, July 16, 2020 – JUNO Award-winning, Taes Leavitt (aka Boots), from the children’s music super-duo, Splash’N Boots, and Save the Children join forces to bring fun and engaging meditation and mindfulness practices to children and their families in Canada and around the world.
The partnership will help children make sense of the unprecedented times our world is facing, focusing on everything from the pandemic to racism and social justice. The meditation and mindfulness practices will support children in learning techniques to handle difficult situations and ease stress while highlighting that all children have rights and their feelings are valid.
‘The Big Heart Journey’ is designed to help kids powerfully work through their emotions. Every week on Save the Children’s Kids Hub, Leavitt will share a new meditation, also referred to as a (‘Heart Hug’) for children to incorporate into their summer fun activities. These ‘Heart Hugs’ are not your typical lie-on-the-floor meditations, but mindfulness moments for children that are fun and empowering. They will teach children how to live life powerfully with a big heart. ‘Heart Hugs’ are great for the whole family to do together, encouraging conversations about emotions, about who you really are and how you can grow together as a family.
Leavitt and Save the Children are partnering to create material that will speak to our most vulnerable children. The intent is to ensure these children and their families feel seen, heard and loved.
“A lot is happening in the world right now, and many children are struggling to cope with the new normal. Save the Children is grateful to Taes Leavitt and the Big Heart Journey for this exciting new collaboration to boost children’s mental health and wellness, and help children thrive during these unprecedented times,” said Bill Chambers, President and CEO of Save the Children.
‘Heart Hugs’ are brought to life with a weekly intimate live-stream show on Facebook that dives right into all of the big feelings families are facing. The show does not shy away from big topics, instead, it embraces them to help kids learn how to navigate things like racism. The show will cover listening with ‘Big Heart Ears’ (a discussion about listening and empathy in relation to race) and Standing up to Racism, through your Big Heart and many more topics. Children will learn mindfulness and how to work through emotions using dance, music and art.
“Big Heart Journey was inspired by my desire to create a space where children feel heard, understood and loved unconditionally for exactly who they are,” says Leavitt. “Meditation and mindfulness practices changed my life and I’m so excited to bring that to kids in a format that is FUN and interesting. Cultivating curiosity about their emotions and creating a place for them to move powerfully through everything that comes up in life.”
You can find the weekly meditations on the Save the Children’s Kids Hub and watch the Heart Hug show Thursday’s at 7 streaming live from the Save the Children Facebook page. You can also learn more about Big Heart Journey on the website or follow the Big Heart Journey Instagram page @bigheartjourney.
ENDS
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About Save the Children
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In Canada and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.