Chicago Museum Partners with Humanitarian Organization to Connect Students with Darfuri Refugees thr

Starting this month, the Little Ripples Global Citizens curriculum, an education program of iACT, will be part of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center’s Myself, My Community teaching resources available for K-2 classrooms. Schools who participate have the opportunity to connect their classrooms with classrooms in Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad. Students will explore personal and cultural identity, empathy, family, and friendship through the lens of character education. They explore how to be a contributing part of their local and global community, what it takes to care for themselves and others, and how to speak up for what is right.

The Little Ripples Global Citizens, a 2018 Make Change Awards finalist, program provides empathy-based and developmentally-appropriate tools, activities, and resources that meet nationally-recognized learning foundations. The four-week curriculum offers daily lessons with objectives, resources, and activities that teach students about themselves and the life of their refugee peers, while focusing on social-emotional development, language and literacy, mathematics, science, performing arts, physical development, health, history/social science, and science. Global Citizens, recently nominated as an Innovation of the Year for Los Angeles’ Make Change Awards, fosters connections and meaningful learning opportunities for children as global citizens. It is a historic experience for youngsters which plants seeds of compassion and interdependence that will last a lifetime. This experience is a safe way to share the joys of participation, cultural ambassadorship, and empathy-based living within our younger school communities.

The Museum’s Teaching Trunk program, sponsored by PNC, allows educators to create meaningful, age/grade-appropriate lessons employing award–winning fiction, nonfiction, and historical reference materials, as well as DVDs and teaching posters. The focus of each trunk has been carefully developed to address State and National Learning Standards, including Common Core State Standards. Trunks can be requested at:

Teaching Trunk Program

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Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, located at 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL, honors the Survivors and victims of the Holocaust and transforms history into current, relevant, and universal lessons in humanity. Through world-class exhibitions and programs, the Museum inspires individuals and organizations and provides a universal wake-up call to action: Take history to heart. Take a stand for humanity. The Museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and Thursday evenings until 8:00 p.m. Learn more at ilholocaustmuseum.org

iACT is an award-winning Los Angeles-based international organization providing humanitarian action to aid, empower, and extend hope to those affected by mass atrocities, creating a world where people are connected and equipped to act. Through responsive action campaigns and leadership development in the U.S., iACT provides tools and training necessary to create a new culture of participation for people facing and responding to humanitarian crises. iACT utilizes innovative thinking, human-centered design, and collaborative relationships to co-create replicable and cost-effective programs in refugee camps. iACT currently serves more than 8,000 refugees living in Chad, Cameroon, and Sweden. U.S.-based empathy and education programs have reached more than 110,000 people in more than 25 states. www.iact.ngo

Press inquiries: Katie-Jay Scott | Chief Operating Officer iACT (310) 738-0285 ktj@iact.ngo