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CELEBRITY WAITERS RAISE FUNDS FOR BATON ROUGE KIDS

The Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center (BRCAC) is excited to resume its 15th annual Celebrity Waiter fundraiser in person this year on Wednesday, August 18 at L’Auberge Casino Hotel. Since 2006, the event has raised money to fund programs and services BRCAC provides to support child abuse victims and their families. The nonprofit now supports children who have been sexually or physically abused in four parishes: East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville and Pointe Coupee. The event highlights will include a tip competition among the local celebrities who serve as waiters for the evening, a silent auction featuring more than 100 items, and a live auction. Tickets are $75 each and include a raffle entry. ■ batonrougecac.org

Vaccines remain our best way to prevent COVID-19 infections now, but scientists are working on additional ways to prevent disease. Researchers at Baton Rouge General are studying whether a new at-home nasal spray can prevent COVID-19 and are seeking adult volunteers who have not had COVID-19 to be part of the phase two clinical trial. “The initial data is very encouraging, and through this trial, we hope to find a safe, effective prevention option that acts as a barrier of defense against upper respiratory infections like COVID-19,” says rhinologist Dr. Henry Barham, who is leading the research. If successful, sprays could provide protection against other respiratory illnesses, such as the flu, as well. ■ brgeneral.org

August is an active month for hurricane season, and the potential for severe weather can evoke strong emotions in children. Child Advocacy Services has created Prepared Not Scared, an interactive resource to educate children and families about severe weather. The resource helps address feelings and fears that can arise around emergencies such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and thunderstorms. Prepared Not Scared introduces “Sunny,” a friendly turtle who helps with preparation, shares communication tips and emphasizes the importance of developing a plan for all types of severe weather. While weather is unpredictable, discussing appropriate responses in advance can increase safety levels and children’s comfort levels when faced with these types of emergencies ■ childadv.net

BR GENERAL TESTING COVID-19 PREVENTION NASAL SPRAY

PREPARING KIDS FOR SEVERE WEATHER

LAUNCH THERAPY HELPS LIVINGSTON CHILDREN

Launch Therapy Center in Livingston Parish helps exceptional children lead extraordinary lives by providing high-quality, evidenced based therapy practices, support groups and education. The center has been operating since 2015 and has served more than 1,500 children with disabilities and their families. Launch is able to do this work because of community support. More than 80 local businesses and individuals made its recent Derby After Dark a huge success, and the first in-person fundraiser since COVID-19 raised more than $110,000 for children of Launch. The Kentucky Derby-themed event was presented by First Guaranty Bank and hosted by Shepherd Wealth Solutions. Launch has two Denham Springs locations with 15 therapists and 7 support staff. ■ launchpeds.com

NEW POET LAUREATE NAMED

Poetry allows us to express who we are and communicate our ideas. This method of expression helps bring communities together and start conversations, and no one knows that better than newly appointed poet laureate, Jonathan Mayers. Mayers was announced as the poet laureate by Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome. “Jonathan’s work inspires others to protect and preserve the historic Creole culture within Louisiana; the combination of both Kouri-Vini and his talents will help keep this language alive for future generations,” says Mayor Broome. “This unique asset will strengthen the cultural fabric of our community. I look forward to seeing how this will shape his tenure as poet laureate.” ■ brla.gov

Vegetables aren’t typically favorite foods for young children, but including broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, squash, greens, corn and other veggies in their diets is important for optimal health and growth. A new study from researchers at Penn State University found a reliable trick to get kids to eat more vegetables: increase the serving size. When the amount of corn and broccoli served was doubled, the children ate 68 percent more of the vegetables during meals. Changing the seasoning by adding butter and salt did not affect consumption. Most children in the U.S. don’t eat the recommended amount of vegetables, which is about 1.5 cups per day. The findings were recently published in the journal Appetite. ■ sciencealert.com

NOT EATING ENOUGH VEGGIES?

PHONE CASES TO STIMULATE BABIES’ BRAINS

Parents and grandparents take a lot of pictures of their new additions. And honestly, none of us are immune from quick checks of email or social media while taking care of our tinies. As a result, babies regularly spend time gazing at the back of a phone. An entrepreneurial mom has created a product to make that gaze a learning opportunity. Kim Bui created Maisel, phone cases designed to strengthen baby’s brain power with high-contrast black and white graphic images. “Our Eureka moment was when we realized we could get better pictures and increase baby’s brain development with a Maisel phone case,” Bui says. Available in three designs for several iPhone models, each costs $30. ■ hellomaisel.com

CLARA’S CLOSET FUNDRAISER SUPPORTS DANCERS

The Nutcracker–A Tale from the Bayou is a Baton Rouge tradition, and many little ballerinas dream of twirling in the annual production. Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre (BRBT) has launched a fundraiser to support qualified dancers otherwise unable to afford participating. Clara’s Closet, an idea from Carolyn Herman, a St. Joseph’s Academy senior and BRBT company dancer, is the first effort to raise funds to support dancers. Donations will go toward providing tickets and fun extras such as T-shirts, dolls and backstage photos. Through Wednesday, September 1, Clara’s Closet will collect clothing, purses, shoes and accessories to be sold through consignment. Donations can be dropped at Dancers’ Workshop. ■ batonrouge ballet.org

CASA SEEKING VOLUNTEERS

Abused children in our area are waiting for advocates to speak up for them, and local Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) associations are recruiting volunteers to serve. The programs–Capital Area CASA in East Baton Rouge Parish and Child Advocacy Services CASA in Ascension Parish–train everyday community members to advocate for children in foster care, serving as a trusting adult to make a difference and be the children’s voice. Caring adult volunteers are needed to help the children reach safe, permanent homes. Advocates don’t replace social workers or legal representation but serve as an independent voice for each child’s best interests. In-person volunteer trainings have resumed in Baton Rouge, and virtual trainings are also continuing. ■ childadv.net and casabr.org

NEW MONITOR BRINGS FERTILITY DATA TO YOUR PHONE

When you are ready to get pregnant, you want to be pregnant now. Sometimes our bodies take time to catch up with our family planning desires, and tracking ovulation and hormone levels takes center stage. Of course, there’s an app for that! A new at-home device that connects to a smartphone is making that data collection and analysis much easier. Inito is the first ovulation test that performs lab-grade fertility diagnostic tests at home, and the app provides personalized insights. “Inito gives you a full picture of your hormones, without the stress of repeated lab or clinic visits,” says Aayush Rai, Inito co-founder. The starter kit is $149 and works with iPhones. ■ inito.com

USS KIDD MUSEUM RECEIVES GRANT

Is any childhood in Baton Rouge complete without having visited the USS KIDD Veterans Museum downtown? After weathering COVID-19 restrictions, the museum has received a $15,000 Louisiana Culture Care Fund grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. The museum will use the funds for operational expenses including staffing, insurance and utilities. “NEH and LEH have recognized the needs of museums

with humanities collections both during the pandemic and now as part of the recovery process,” says Rosehn Gipe, executive director. “We are grateful for their continued support.” USS KIDD is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a few holiday exceptions, and admission ranges from $8 to $13. ■ usskidd.com

RECYCLE TOYS WITH NEW PROGRAM

Reduce, reuse and recycle is a mantra we all know, but when faced with a pile of unusable broken toys we may not know how. Mattel PlayBack is a new program from the toy company that will keep valuable materials out of landfills. When possible, materials will be reused to create new toys, and otherwise, they can be downcycled into other plastic products or the materials can be converted from waste to energy. To start, the program accepts Barbies, Matchbox and MEGA toys for recycling, and more brands will be added in the future. The playback process includes generating a free, prepaid shipping label, boxing the no longer useful toys, and sending them into Mattel. ■ mattel.com/en-us/playroom/playback