Comfort Cases, Power Imbalance in Relationships, Super Corals, Donating Clothes, Checking on Loved Ones, Healthy School Year

Comfort Cases for Foster Children (0:00:00) With over 700children entering the foster care system each day, neglect is an unfortunate reality for many of them. Because of the sheer volume of new foster children, kids are typically only given a cheap trash bag to carry everything they own. Inspired by a desire to help these kids, Comfort Cases, a nonprofit based in Washington DC, came to be and is providing each foster child with a backpack filled with comfort and personal care items. Joining us on the show today is Rob Scheer, founder of Comfort Cases, who was once a foster child himself. Today, we’re discussing the challenges foster kids face today and the power of providing them with a comfort case. Power Imbalances in a Relationship (0:17:36) Imbalance—a sensation usually felt when juggling too many things, be them physical or otherwise. However, imbalance can also be found in our relationships as well in the form of power imbalances. Feeling a sense of power in a relationship is not an inherently bad thing. It can aid us in experiencing a sense of efficacy and self-control. That being said, an imbalance in power in a relationship can open up the door to situations like codependency. Here to discuss how to recognize power imbalances, how they manifest, and rectify them is Darlene Lancer, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and expert author on relationships and codependency. The Super Corals of the Red Sea (0:35:23) The ice caps are melting, the ocean is warming, and our coral reefs are bleaching. Pictures of white reefs are becoming common as coral bleaching events around the world increase. However, there yet remains hope for the reefs and the organisms they house. Promising new research on the coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba shows that the reefs in the Red Sea are proving to be more resilient than many of the counterparts around the world. Here to discuss these super-corals is Dr. Moaz Fine, professor at Bar-Ilan University and principal investigator at the coral research lab at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Israel. Donating Clothes During COVID-19 (0:52:47) I know I’m not the only one who’s had the organization bug lately. Something about being home more makes me want to deep clean everything. Which means I’m without throwing some stuff out. Now, we don’t want to waste anything, after all--one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! But donating unwanted items isn’t as simple as it used to be thanks to COVID. To help us know where and how to donate our unwanted items this year, we’ve invited organizing expert Katherine Lawrence. Checking in with Aging Loved Ones (1:12:48) Because we’ve been trying to protect our loved ones who are aging, a lot of us haven’t been able to visit them in person lately. But we know we need to interact with them for their mental health and our own. Phone calls are a great way to check in with aging family members, but what should we be asking to make sure they’re ok? Ruth Busalacchi is the owner and operator of Synergy HomeCare, a company specializing in in-home care. She joins us to discuss how we can check in with aging loved ones. Healthy School Year (1:28:14) The new school year is fast approaching, and I’m assuming many of us feel a little apprehensive. Some of you maybe sending your kids back to school, others might have kids who go for half a day. And for some, sending your kids back might not even be an option as schools in your area are staying closed. Well despite our differing situations, our kids’ health is a top priority for everyone. Today, we have invited pediatrician Dr. Mona Amin on the show to share advice on what we can do to help our kids stay healthy during this upcoming school year.