About My Time

Scholastic My Time, A Box for Comfort and Fun™ is a "comfort kit" for children affected by disasters or crisis situations. Based on principles from the fields of child development and mental health, the kit features tools that can be used to help children handle stress and anxiety including: Hope is an Open Heart, a new book that provides an uplifting introduction to the meaning of hope; a "make your own" book that allows children to express their feelings through writing and drawing; a pack of colored pencils; and information to support parents’ and family members’ efforts to help children cope with difficult circumstances. There are two versions of the kit, one for grades K–3 and one for grades 4–6.

Scholastic My Time was created as a component of the company's Rebuilding for Learning™ initiative, a long-term effort aimed at supporting the restoration of learning infrastructures in communities. The overarching goal of the initiative is to help school leaders "rebuild" school and district interventions and infrastructures to better support learning for all children.

Scholastic has donated more than 25,000 kits to children affected by Hurricane Katrina and other crisis situations. The kits have primarily been distributed through Volunteers of America and its affiliates working in the region.

Going forward, Scholastic will make Scholastic My Time kits available to children around the country who are impacted by homelessness, abuse and neglect, and family and community crises.

About HOPE IS AN OPEN HEART

We've all had days when hope feels far away, when the world seems cold and dark. Thankfully, comfort can come to us in many ways, as it does in this very special book.

Lauren Thompson's luminous text, paired with breathtaking photographs from around the world, provides an uplifting introduction to the meaning of hope. Speaking to people of all ages, across all cultures, these words and images celebrate loving families, caring friends, small kindnesses, and great inner strength. Through this book, we can see hope reach around the world, and feel its power to change us all.

Scholastic Inc. will donate one dollar from the sale of each book, up to $30,000, to Volunteers of America, an organization that has helped millions of people rebuild their lives and reach their full potential through human services programs, housing and health care, since 1896.