Have you ever attended what you thought would be an ordinary event and discovered it was brimming with magic? This happened recently to attendees at the Bright Futures Breakfast fund raiser for bursaries. These bursaries are monetary awards for post-secondary students from the Children’s Aid Society of London Middlesex.
Referring to what children and youth require to thrive, Dr. Vicki Schwean, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Western University, in her keynote address, proposed that caregivers must release in children the “ordinary magic” that leads to resilience. This resilience, she further explained, “is highly dependent on other people who are warm, attentive and responsive”. In other words, children, including those in care, need responsive, loving and supportive caregivers in order to thrive.
The young MC for the Bright Futures breakfast, who spent years in foster care, oozed confidence and resilience as she conducted the event’s proceedings. Presently in her first year at Carlton University, she outlined how many wonderful CAS people provided ordinary magic during her formative years that led to her obvious maturity and joie de vivre.
Andrea thanked all those assembled for being magic makers by supporting the CAS in a variety of ways, particularly through supporting the Bright Futures bursaries. Her recent bursary has enabled her to pursue her dream of studying neuroscience.
How thrilling it was to see 200 shining faces reflecting back to Andrea and the CAS workers present, the mutual loving, supportive attentiveness that makes ordinary magic happen.
Jean Moylan CSJ