Mental Health Hero – Lorie Summers
Mental Health Hero – Lorie Sumers
Since 1977, Kids on the Block has been interacting with children all over the world. The educational program promotes mental wellness to children through puppetry presentations, where participants are encouraged to express their emotions and communicate their stressors. MHAG’s version of the Kids on the Block program was created in 1998 as part of our children’s programs. Our troupe focuses on topics with mental health and social emotional issues.
Lorie Summers began volunteering with MHAG in 2000 and has been working for the program for over 20 years. She now serves as our Director of Youth Programs. When I asked Lorie her favorite thing about the job, she shared with me that is and always has been “interacting with our friends and students.”
Recently, a student made her day when they asked her “Can you come back and be our teacher with the puppet?” I loved hearing this story, because it’s a great representation of how impactful a simple shift from everyday learning can be on a child. Especially in our current state, creating new and innovative ways to teach and engage with children is HARD and NECESSARY. Lorie is doing such powerful work, and the students are noticing the impact immediately.
Lesson scripts incorporate diversity and wellness into a curriculum where students can feel comfortable sharing thoughts through a non-threatening vehicle. Our KOTB scripts can be found here. We will also be providing some videos of Lorie with our puppets, coming soon.
We hope you take the time to look at the #KidsOnTheBlock program page on our website. All donations made to MHAG in February will go to the Kids on the Block program.
To make a donation, click here.
