#teachers – Anitha Rao-Robinson

Episode 66: Kindness Is Helping The Homeless Community

Published on March 16, 2024 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Many of us see and walk past folks who live in parks, street alcoves and under bridges, but rarely do we stop. Anitha’s guest, Lorraine Lam, not only stopped, she wanted to help. Lorraine chats with Anitha about the homeless crisis and her involvement in finding a solution.

Here are some action points for listeners who want to get involved in trying to solve the housing crisis.

· Follow social media accounts of people and organizations that are directly engaged in this work

· Look for local groups in your city that are engaged in direct outreach and systems advocacy and look for ways to dive in!

· Host a conversation with your friends about things you have learned and questions you may have

· Look for your local councillor, MP, MPPs voting history on issues related to housing and homelessness, and contact them with your concerns. Develop this relationship; have ongoing dialogue

To learn more about Lorraine and/or support her endeavors to help the homeless community, check out her website: https://lorrainelam.me/about

As a thank you to Lorraine for being a guest on the podcast, Anitha donated to All Saints Toronto. This organization supports folks by providing a space of belonging and hope. They offer services such as counselling, advocacy, and nursing care. To learn more about All Saints, click here: https://allsaintstoronto.com/

Episode 65: Kindness Is Founding Farm Sanctuary

Published on March 8, 2024 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Anitha was over-the-moon star struck to chat with the incomparable Gene Baur. Gene is the founder of the Farm Sanctuary, an animal advocate, author and so much more. He has been on shows such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Larry King Live, and now The Kindness Is Everything podcast!

Gene talks about his incredible journey from doing commercials for companies like McDonalds and KFC, to advocating for the shutdown of factory farms. Animals are forced to endure tortuous conditions at factory farms and these places supply companies like McDonalds and KFC.

Gene talks about his optimism for animal welfare and how he’s been able to help bring in legislation to end such cruel practices as gestational crates.

He also shares the amazing rescue story of Hilda the sheep. She was Farm Sanctuary’s first rescue.

Hilda & Gene (photo credit Farm Sanctuary)

As a thank you to Gene for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Farm Sanctuary. This sanctuary provides shelter to more than 400 rescued cows, pigs, turkeys and other farm animals. They help animals used and abused by the animal agriculture through rescue, education and advocacy.

Anitha is looking forward to personally visiting the sanctuary this summer.

To learn more about Farm Sanctuary, please check out their website or follow them on IG.

Homepage

https://www.instagram.com/farmsanctuary

Episode 64: Kindness Is That WylieVegan

Published on March 5, 2024 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

With issues such as climate change, food insecurity and animal welfare all related to/caused by the animal agricultural industry, Anitha is thrilled to continue her discussion around veganism.

Anitha is joined by Kelly Chianciola and her two lovely daughters, Dani and Lana.

All three talk about how their decision to become vegan has impacted their lives. They also tackle questions like—Why don’t parents/caregivers want children to know how the animal they are eating lived and died? Why so much secrecy?

Please check out this episode for an open and interesting discussion about animal agriculture.

As a thank you to the Chianciola family for being guests on the show, Anitha donated to Unity Farm Sanctuary. This vegan sanctuary, located in Sherborn, Massachusetts, provides lifetime care for animals in need.

To learn more about Unity Farm, please check out their website: https://www.unityfarmsanctuary.org/

To learn more about Kelly, Dani and Lana, check out their Instagram account. It’s full of fun and cool information, such as recipes that kids love to make and eat and facts about animal welfare. https://www.instagram.com/thatwylievegan/

Episode 62: Kindness Is Rabia Reads

Published on January 6, 2024 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

For the first episode of 2024, Anitha chats with educator and education and equity consultant, Rabia Khokhar.

Spurred by her desire to showcase diverse stories, Rabia created Rabia Reads, her Instagram account where she recommends picture books with diverse main characters.

Anitha and Rabia chat all about books, including her current favourite book. Hair Oil Magic by Anu Chouhan

If you’d like to learn more about what Rabia’s reading check out her Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/rabia_reads/

Authors/publishers interested in submitting a book to Rabia for a review can contact her through her Instagram account or by email: rabia91k@gmail.com

As a thank you to Rabia for sharing her story, Anitha donated to North Toronto Cat Rescue, the only No-kill, No-cage shelter in the GTA. This volunteer run, registered charity is committed to rescuing, rehabilitating, and re-homing ailing and abused stray cats and kittens.

To learn more about this rescue, check out their webpage: https://www.northtorontocatrescue.com/

Episode 61: Kindness is Eco Evie

Published on December 30, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Thirteen-year-old Evie Mutsch, joins Anitha to talk about her very cool clothing line called Eco Evie.

Made from recycled water bottles, Evie’s clothes have stopped over 30,000 water bottles from going into landfills.

In addition to creating beautiful clothes, Evie donates a portion of all sales to charities supporting animals, the environment and people.

To learn more about Eco Evie, check out the following links:

https://www.instagram.com/ecoevie/

https://ecoevie.com/

As a thank you to Evie for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Save Animals Facing Extinction.

This not-for-profit organization works to protect endangered wildlife by ensuring strong laws are in place and severe penalties are levied against criminals who deal in wildlife trafficking. To learn more about them please check out their website:

Homepage

Episode 59: Kindness Is Cogs Dogs

Published on July 11, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Some people have a huge heart. Susie Cogswell is one of those incredible humans who not only has a huge heart, but willingly allows it to be broken over and over again.

Susie joins Anitha to talk about her journey in animal rescue and what it’s like to adopt, foster and love senior dogs.

The incredible senior dogs Susie adopted

Sadly, senior dogs can find themselves in shelters for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, these dogs are often overlooked when it comes to being adopted. Through no fault of their own, these dogs, who were once part of a family, now must face their final days, months, years alone in a shelter.

The Fabulous Fosters

Layla & Susie- wearing matching outfits from COGS DOGS

Thankfully, there are people like Susie who want to love these dogs for the rest of their days, no matter how long or short that is.

To learn more about Susie and the dogs she’s shared her life with, check out her website. At Cogs Dogs – https://www.cogsdogs.com

As a thank you to Susie for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Harbor of Hope Dog Rescue, a non-profit dog rescue comprised entirely of dedicated and compassionate foster homes ready to provide a safe haven to dogs in need.

Please click on the link to learn more about this organization. https://www.harborofhopedogrescue.org/

Episode 58: Kindness Is Being a Kid Conservationist

Published on April 21, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Twelve-year old Jack Dalton joins Anitha to talk about the many ways he helps animals, including his favourite animal, the Orangutan.

Through his YouTube Videos, public speaking engagements, fundraising efforts and writing a picture book, Jack has raised funds and awareness for critically endangered orangutans. In fact, as of March 2023, Jack has helped plant over 13,000 trees to reforest habitat for Orangutans and other animals, raised over $13,500 for education and orangutan rehabilitation, presented to over 5000 people worldwide and has had over 217,000 views of his fun and educational YouTube videos.

Jack talks about why palm oil trees are the main reason Orangutans are critically endangered. He shares incredible information about C16 Biosciences, a company that has created a synthetic palm oil from yeast!

Jack also shares his recent experience travelling to Sumatra and Borneo and what it was like to see Orangutans in the wild.

As a thank you to Jack for sharing his story, Anitha donated to the Orang Utan Republik Foundation. This organization is dedicated to saving Orangutans of Indonesia through educating local people about the plight of Orangutans and how working together to find sustainable ways of utilizing the forests will benefit both people and animals.

To learn more about all the amazing initiatives Jack is involved in and buy his book, check out his website: https://www.kidconservationist.com/

To watch some of his fun and educational videos, check out his YouTube videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@kidconservationist

You can follow Jack on his social media accounts: https://www.instagram.com/kidconservationist/

https://www.facebook.com/kidconservationist

To learn about the innovative products available from C16 Biosciences, click here: https://www.c16bio.com/

If you’d like to learn about and support Orang Utan Republik Foundation, please check out their website: https://www.orangutanrepublik.org/

Episode 57: Kindness Is My Beautiful Hair

Published on March 29, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Ten-year old, Normani Hamilton joins Anitha to talk about all the things she is doing to empower other black children.

From writing and publishing her first book to entering pageants, Normani hopes to inspire other children to love themselves just the way they are.

To learn more about Normani’s efforts to help critically ill children, click here: https://give.gktw.org/fundraiser/4520867

To follow Normani on Instagram and order her book, click here: https://www.instagram.com/princess_normi/

As a thank you to Normani for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Give Kids The World Village. This non-profit resort located in Florida, provides cost-free getaways to critically ill children and their families. To learn more about this organization, please check out their website: https://www.gktw.org/

Episode 56: Kindness Is No More Dolphinariums

Published on March 3, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

This episode is full of hope and shows that dedication and persistence can make a positive impact.

Kamilya Tulebaeva from Kazakhstan shares her inspiring story of how she moved a country to ban dolphinariums.

It’s an incredible achievement and one you will definitely want to hear about.

If you’d like to learn more about Kamilya and her efforts to keep dolphins out of captivity, click here: https://www.instagram.com/kamilyatulebaeva/

Here are the links to the movies/documentaries Kamilya mentioned.

Intraterrestrial. A Fleeting Contact

English version: https://youtu.be/7f0-UKxWJxs

Version Française : https://youtu.be/0igkMcyXXF4

The Cove https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozLZkXcrFrk

As a thank you to Kamilya for sharing her story, Anitha donated to New Chance Animal Shelter in Kazakhstan.

https://newchance.kz/index.html

Episode 55: Kindness Is Dr. Izzy Goes Wild

Published on February 27, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Izzy Hirji wears many hats—wildlife vet, world traveller, photographer, conservationist, vegan, and television celebrity! He joins Anitha to share his incredible adventures as he follows his hero, Dr. Jane Goodall, in making the world a better place for all beings.

Izzy begins the episode by talking about his childhood fear of dogs and how he not only overcame that fear, but now travels the world, treating all kinds of wild animals.

A fabulous episode for kids and adults, alike—packed full of beautiful, touching and often funny stories about the life of a wildlife vet.

To learn more about Izzy, you can follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dr.izzygoeswild/

To check out the TV series—Jungle Animal Rescue, that Dr. Izzy mentioned, here’s the link. https://www.disneyplus.com/series/jungle-animal-rescue/62AjlzYo2ddR

Here are some links for the book by Dr. Jane Goodall that changed Izzy’s life:

https://shop.janegoodall.org/product/Harvest-For-Hope/JGI104

https://www.audible.ca/pd/Harvest-for-Hope-Audiobook/B071468C5X

As a thank you to Izzy for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary. This sanctuary provides healing and recovery for primates who have been rescued from laboratories, roadside zoos and other terrible circumstances. In addition to all the amazing and kind things Dr. Izzy is involved with, he also makes time to donate his veterinary skills to treat and care for these residents.

To learn more about Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, please check out: https://www.storybookmonkeys.org/