A Surprising Substitute

By C.J. Hirschfield

A couple of weeks ago, Fairyland’s education director and animal caretaker were all set to visit East Oakland’s Markham Elementary School as part of Science Alive!, our life-sciences outreach program, when disaster struck. Melissa Tauber, who is charged with caring for the park’s 20-plus animals, came down sick—the first sick day she’s ever taken.

What to do? We had two kindergarten classes that were expecting a very special day, and the show had to go on.

Up stepped Nick Mitchell, Fairyland’s facilities manager.

Nick Mitchell and his son, Axel.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

By C.J. Hirschfield

I’m not ashamed to say that I have a copy of a little book by my bedside titled Wisdom from The World According to Mr.Rogers: Important Things to Remember. It features quotes and anecdotes from Fred Rogers about courage, love, inner discipline and, of course, being good neighbors.

For those of you who don’t know who Mr. Rogers was (he died in 2003), he hosted a revolutionary children’s television show called “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” for over three decades. Wearing his signature zippered cardigans (knitted by his mother), and joined by his puppet friends, he spread the message of kindness and love—always respecting kids, and never talking down to them.

The U.S. Postal Service just announced that it will immortalize Mr. Rogers with a Forever postage stamp. (It will be released in March.) A documentary about Fred Rogers, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. And if this isn’t enough, Oakland’s own Tom Hanks recently signed on to star in a biopic about Mr. Rogers, You Are My Friend.

Why all the sudden interest in Mr. Rogers? When you think about it, we’ve never needed him more than we do now.

A Day in the Life at Primary Care

By C.J. Hirschfield

A 10-year-old boy in foster care comes out of his shell after completing a program at Fairyland that teaches him how to be an expert animal caretaker.

A 6-year-old boy, being raised by his grandmother after his brother was shot, enjoys coming with her to a place where he can be a kid again.

An elementary school student in East Oakland wins a Fairyland family pass in a library reading contest, and regularly takes the bus with her mom to delight in our laid-back reading room and literacy-rich activities.

The 2016 Junior Animal Caretaker group enjoys a visit from the Oakland Zoo's Zoomobile, one of several Fairyland community resources for underserved families.

An autistic child surprises his mom by boldly swallowing an edible flower during a horticultural therapy session in Fairyland’s gardens.

We’ve seen how our low-tech, high-touch park can have a markedly therapeutic effect on kids and their family members who have experienced trauma and other challenges.

Which is why we are so pleased that our newest board member, primary care pediatrician Javay Ross, understands the role Children’s Fairyland can play in helping families heal and thrive, and will help us move even further in that direction.

Dr. Javay Ross, Fairyland's newest board member.

We asked Javay, who works at an Oakland clinic for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland (BCHO), to make a presentation at our last board meeting about the state of pediatric health in Oakland. She decided the best way to do that would be to draw from her actual experience: a day in the life in primary care. She chose a few patients from the 12 she saw during a single day.

Here are a few of them, in her own words:

A Sprite Alights

By C.J. Hirschfield

I often tell people that there really is magic at Fairyland. As proof, I observe that the people who work here seem to have been destined to do so.

And as a case in point, I give you Jacqui June Whitlock, our new program manager, who at a recent meeting of the Children’s Fairyland board of directors entertained a roomful of adults with her balloon-twisting talents.