Letters: Preschool faces challenges, but teachers persevere; Advocating for human and environmental health

Preschool faces challenges, but teachers persevere

This pandemic has forced our child care program closed. Fortunately, our program is able to pay our staff for their time, and not charge parents. However, this will drain our reserve funds. We are a nonprofit owned by a church and the church is struggling at this time as well. Our staff have been amazing! They have developed online platforms to offer suggestions for parents to do with, and for, their children at home. They have been hosting Zoom calls with their classes, doing live circle times, sharing science experiments, reading stories and so much more, so they stay connected to the children and help them to continue exploring the world around them with wonder, curiosity and joy while still observing the “rules” of social isolation. Our teachers do all of this for our preschool families while most of them have school age and preschool age children at home themselves.

This is a difficult time especially as we try to continue to connect, build and maintain relationships with the children and families in our program. We soldier on though, like so many others. Being role models now for the children is more important than ever. We intend to reopen as soon as we are cleared but we know there are other child care and pre-K programs in the community that are not as fortunate and they need financial support to survive until this crisis is over. All families need to know there will be child care and pre-K when businesses re-open.

Government should advocate for human and environmental health

It may be difficult to think about climate change during the global pandemic we face today. This pandemic has a multitude of severe consequences, as well as fueling the environmental justice crises we have long endured. There is current discord surrounding government bailouts for airline companies, and oil and gas producers due to the economic consequences of the pandemic. This bailout is being considered on top of the proposed tax subsidy for petrochemical projects. Considering bailouts for some of the world’s wealthiest and most harmful industries at a time when all others are suffering is criminal.

H.B. 1100 is a part of the Energize Pennsylvania package of bills. It allows for an $800 million tax subsidy over the next 30 years for petrochemical building projects, such as fracking-to-plastics plants. The bill passed through the State House and Senate with broad bipartisan support; yet, the governor recently vetoed it. We must encourage our Representatives and Senators to vote to uphold that veto in order to attain a safe and livable climate.

I cannot help but feel outraged as I see our government consistently advocate for harmful corporations rather than human and environmental health. As a young adult, I live in a world where the government fuels petrochemical, fracking and plastic industries, which have clogged our oceans and waterways, contaminated our air and land, and killed our ecosystems and wildlife. Yet, in my future, I hope to live in a world where we are holding these industries accountable.