October has a lot of things going on (Halloween! Breast Cancer Awareness! People already selling Christmas stuff!) but it also happens to be National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. Bullying is something that affects millions of kids across the U.S., and I’d bet that everyone reading this has some kind of bullying-related story. For me it was harassment from boys on my baseball team and comments from girls who decided I wasn’t cool enough. For my brother, it was a girl on the bus who tormented him for months before the school finally stepped in.

Today, over 2 million people will congregate in classrooms, libraries, community centers, homes across the U.S. as part of Jumpstart’s 11^th annual Read for the Record. Volunteers will read to kids from this year’s book, “Quackers,” an adorable story about a kitten who grows up believing he’s a duck.

If you’re familiar with UWSECT, you’ll notice that much of our work focuses on ALICE-  Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed- families. After hearing this acronym and seeing on our publications, I decided to do a little digging into what that really means. Luckily, a brief overview is already provided on our website, which gives some useful statistics.

On October 19, United Way will have its annual fall reading day in support of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. Volunteers will flood into schools, libraries, and community centers across the country to make kids’ days by reading aloud from the same book. But the point of this event is not just to enjoy a book together (although this year’s book looks adorable, check it out here). It’s also to bring attention to the importance of early childhood literacy and quality education.

At a recent event of United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, President and CEO Virginia L. Mason asked everyone in the audience to inspire kindness and “pay it forward.” As added encouragement, she provided each person with a $5 bill and asked them to pass it onto someone in need. Several individuals shared their heartwarming stories back to United Way.