Tragedy struck Virginia Polytechnic Institute on April 16, 2007. Thirty students and faculty members were shot by a fellow student. This kind of tragedy is experienced in different ways by different people, but anyone who cares about others surely felt something. The students and faculty at the college had access to  therapeutic counseling as did students in high schools, middle schools and elementary schools in the Blacksburg Virginia area. Caregivers including parents and daycare workers and non-school age children did not have the same access. As a result, on October 26 & 27, 2007, I was invited to present on several different levels.                                              

On Friday morning I visited an adult daycare that is housed with an adjacent children's daycare. The goal was to present an intergenerational storytelling program that would allow the children and adults (many of whom are Alzheimer patients) to interact physically and in story. (See VT Intergen for photos and insights.)     

Friday afternoon was a visit to the college to tell healing stories to students and faculty. (See VT visit for insights)

Friday night's program was open to the community at-large and was designed as a community building program. The goal was to bring the community together, supply them with information about dealing with trauma, and help them move forward in a positive way. (See The Magic Fish Pond for photos and additional information.)

On Saturday morning, I was the keynote speaker for the NRVEYC (New River Valley Educators of Young Children) conference. (See There's a Kingdom in the Closet for excerpts.)